London, ON - The Western Mustangs took on the Guelph Gryphons in a special Wednesday night match-up. Though the Mustangs were at home, it was not their usual campus ice. Instead, the game took play at the historic Budweiser Gardens.
Western got out to a hot start in this contest, with Adam Watson tallying the first goal of the game just 1:15 into the first period.
The Mustangs would strike again moments later, this time on the penalty kill. Kyle Petit Tallied the goal on an abbreviated breakaway to give Western the 2-goal lead early.
Guelph would get the goal back on the same powerplay, erasing the shorthanded tally. The Gryphons goal seemed to change momentum, with Guelph gaining most of the significant chances in the ensuing minutes.
This momentum would carry throughout the first period as the Gryphons out-shot the Mustangs 15-7 in the first period.
The second frame would start at a similar tempo featuring physical play and high-quality scoring chances. Guelph would be the first to capitalize when a cross-ice backdoor pass was one timed into the net.
The Gryphons then received a golden opportunity to take their first lead of the game when a Mustang was whistled for interference, sending Guelph to the powerplay. Western, however, would thwart the extra-man opportunity without much incident.
Moments later, the Mustangs would have an opportunity on the powerplay of their own to take back the lead. And take back the lead they did, with a rebound goal by Reed Morrison.
The Mustangs would not enjoy the lead for long, as the Gryphons tied the game with a goal by Ted Nichol.
But Western would not let the game stay tied for long. Stephen Desrocher scored his seventh goal of the year when he collected the puck and shoveled a backhander above the Guelph goaltender's shoulder. Desrocher talked about the goal after the game.
"It was a big faceoff win in their zone. Their forwards were coming up pretty hard so I got around them and was able to put a backhand on net. Just force it enough to go in after getting some zone time."
Western scored again, adding to their lead and appearing to put the game on ice late in the third period. The goal was an unassisted tally, scored by Kyle Langdon. The goal was Langdon's fifth this season.
Just as it seemed the Mustangs could cruise to a win Guelph would claw their way back into the game after a scramble in front of the net converted into a Gryphons goal. This game had a lot of ups and downs for Western, something that head coach Clark Singer talked about after the game.
"It's really important to manage the hills and valleys in a game. In the second half of this season we've let a lot of games slip away by not dealing with those hills and valleys. Tonight we saw them again, but did a much better job dealing with them. It turned out well for us tonight."
The Mustangs return to Thompson Arena this Saturday to take on the University of Waterloo. The race for a playoff spot is heating up and the contest should be crucial.
