Against the thunderous noise of 2300 cheering elementary students, the Western women's hockey team won 2-1 against the Waterloo Warriors at Thompson Arena in a Friday morning matchup at Thompson Arena.
 
Over 2300 elementary students piled into Thompson Arena as part of the School Days Game, organized by the university, Western Recreation, and the Mustangs Athlete Student Council/Mustangs Care. Western forward Hannah Irwin was happy to have so many fans there.
 
"It was definitely quite the background noise to have going on, but you just kind of tune it out," said Irwin. "It's fun when you score and they're all behind you cheering. Definitely a good experience to have."
 
Going into this game, the Mustangs knew they had quite the challenge ahead. Looking to bounce back from a 3-1 loss against the Nipissing Lakers last weekend, Western was hoping to bring back a work ethic and style of play that was their own. The Warriors came in with the best powerplay percentage in the league, while the Mustangs had the 9^th best penalty kill – a point of concern there for the Mustangs that they were sure to focus on heading in.
 
The first frame was incredibly fast paced as both teams were quick to jump on the rush and attempt to score. Western forward Kira Memet had a great backhand opportunity two minutes into the period that Warriors netminder Alysha Letwin was able to stop.
 
Then, the Mustangs' penalty kill was put to work, as Sarah Irwin sat for two minutes for holding. On the penalty kill, first year defender Kyle Bertrand was tenacious, planting herself in the slot, battling down low with an attacker to help prevent a goal, and intercepting a pass to clear it down the ice. Western was able to kill it off, and it would be the first of four penalties that they would all kill off, keeping a perfect record on the PK.
 
With twelve minutes to go in the first period, Western began to feel pressure in the defensive zone, as the Warriors piled on the shot attempts. Irwin was able to snag the puck for a breakaway two-on-one, but was pulled down by a trailing defender, resulting in a power play for the Mustangs. Though they weren't able to convert on the player advantage, they also prevented the Warriors from doing the same, as the 'Stangs killed off a Jenna MacLean body checking penalty. The two teams entered the first intermission tied at 0-0, hungry to get on the scoreboard.
 
In the second frame, the Warriors got off to a hot start, but the Mustangs were even hotter, as they broke the seal and scored the first goal of the game barely two minutes in. Co-captain Renae Nevills took a shot from the point that forward Hannah Irwin was able to tip cleanly into the net past Letwin, putting the Mustangs up by one and propelling their momentum.
 
The Warriors, though, were eager to respond quickly, intensely pressuring Mustangs netminder Carmen Lasis who stayed calm throughout, even when skaters were poking at pucks in tight. Lasis was able to extend her right pad to make a save on a two-on-one chance, and the Mustangs headed back the other way to score yet again. A shot from defender Sarah Irwin from the point was picked up on the rebound by co-captain April Clark, whose own rebound was tucked in past Letwin by line mate Emma Suitor.
 
"Our line kind of needed that one as we'd been working hard all game," said Suitor. "Just kind of a lucky bounce off of Clarky's shot and I tucked it in - it was a nice feeling."
 
The Warriors finally did respond after that, as Waterloo forward Brooklyn Cole made a hard drive to the net and flipped it up past Lasis to get the opposing team on the board, but that would be the only goal scored by them in the game.
 
In the final period, Lasis and the penalty kill was put to work, as Nevills was whistled for two minor penalties. However, though the Warriors were able to maintain pressure in the Mustangs' zone for long periods of time, the line of Sarah Irwin, Sydnee Baker, Brooke DiCicco, and Olivia Kariunas were phenomenal in blocking shots, killing off most of both penalties for the team.
 
"I mean, we watch film, we look at scouting reports, so we know what to expect, and what their tendencies are," commented head coach Candice Moxley. "We failed to get some clears at times when we did win those pucks, but they shut down that offence, and they shut down some pretty heavy-duty shooters that they have in their lineup. You want to be on the PK, you have to be willing to block shots, and they were doing everything they needed to do."
 
The Mustangs would go on to win the game, staying calm in the face of the Warriors' attack, even with the extra attacker on the ice as Letwin was pulled with two minutes to go. Overall, Moxley was happy with the effort put forward by her team, and additionally highlighted the play of Lasis.
 
"Carmen's been fantastic. She's come up with some big saves for us, and [there were] two big, grade A chances in the third period there where she shut the door, and that's exactly what you want your goaltenders to do. The players played well in front of her, and when it was her opportunity to step up, she did."
 
The Mustangs will hit the road tomorrow as they take on York University in the afternoon in Toronto. The game can be streamed on oua.tv at 2:15PM.