Box Score The Western Mustangs' women's ice hockey team were triumphant over the Laurentian Voyageurs on Friday evening, as they beat their opponents 2-1 in Countryside Arena in Sudbury, Ontario.
 
After a frustrating loss against the Guelph Gryphons at home last weekend, the Mustangs came into this game hot and ready to pounce, using their speed and tenacity to out-work the Voyageurs.
 
In the first period, the Mustangs dominated in the offensive zone, which would remain a theme throughout. Spending plenty of time pressuring the Laurentian team, the twelve-minute mark was when the Voyageurs started to really give the Mustangs some trouble, as they broke up zone entries time after time.
 
In a great scoring opportunity with five minutes left in the period, co-captain April Clark passed from the slot to rookie forward Janneke Watt for a back door tap in that didn't quite make it past Voyageurs goaltender Shanna Dolighan; however, they were able to draw a penalty on the play. On the powerplay, the Mustangs maintained their pressure in the offensive zone, but most of the shots were contested by the Voyageurs' skaters in front of the net.
 
The second frame saw the Mustangs go on the powerplay yet again, barely five minutes in. Tessa Marcon took a body-checking penalty to put her team short-handed, and Western was quick to capitalize. After spending about one minute and a half in the offensive zone, pressuring Laurentian, defender Sarah Irwin took a slapshot from the blue line that sneaked past the crowd in front of the net over the blocker shoulder of Dolighan.
 
The Mustangs continued their aggressive attack after that, although the referees were quick to tamper it, as Clark was called for slashing midway through the game. The 'Stangs were up for the kill, though, as they cleared the puck out of the zone extremely quickly, even holding it against the boards to eat up time, allowing their co-captain to be back on the ice in no time.
Western was awarded another power play with four minutes to go, as Brynn O'Dwyer went off for body-checking. However, the Voyageurs were hot on the heels of the Mustangs, and managed a successful shorthanded breakaway to tie up the game. Karissa Hoskin scored on the rebound, as the puck got stuck under the pad of Mustangs goaltender Carmen Lasis, and veered into the net with her momentum.
 
With the game tied, both teams were now back on even ground. However, Western was given yet again another power play that put them on a two-player advantage after Michele Weaver-Vitale took a cross-checking penalty. The 'Stangs took full advantage of the opportunity, and scored ten seconds into the 5-on-3 power play, as co-captain Renae Nevills, back from injury, made a slap pass from the point that Emma Suitor was able to bat down with nifty hands to forward Sydnee Baker who tucked it in back door, scoring the game-winner.
 
The third period was a lot of back and forth action between the two teams, with an aggressive forecheck from both sides. They both also traded penalties, as Gabby Jex took a cross-checking penalty and Emma Thomas took a tripping penalty. Thomas' penalty came with just over a minute to go, so the Voyageur's took a time out in an effort set up a last-minute scoring play. However, Western was able to hold out for the win, settling for a 2-1 score over Laurentian.
 
This win puts Western 4-1 overall on the season, and second overall in the OUA standings. They'll look to maintain their success tomorrow, as they face off against the Nipissing Lakers at Memorial Arena in North Bay at 7:30PM. The game can be streamed live on oua.tv.