The Western women's ice hockey team dropped a tight contest against the Toronto Varsity Blues on Valentine's Day by a score of 2 – 1 at Thompson Arena.
The Varsity Blues were quick to spring their offence on the Mustangs squad early on, potting both of their goals against Western netminder Carmen Lasis in the first three shots of the game midway through period one. The two goals came within two minutes of each other and shifted the momentum towards the Varsity Blues. Despite having three opportunities on the player advantage, Western was unable to convert. However, the team would find a bright spot in the fact that the Varsity Blues were held from the scoreboard for the rest of the game.
The Mustangs seemed invigorated after the intermission and turned on the jets in the second period. Lasis came out of the net for Tareya Webster, who posted a shutout in relief, making a few incredible saves in tight to give her teammates some momentum. Nearing the ten-minute mark, the hockey gods finally gave in to Western's prayers (and intense effort) as Kira Memet stuffed home a rebound in tight against Toronto's Erica Fryer to the jubilant cries of her teammates. That would be the first and only goal Western would score against Toronto this year, as they lost 3 – 0 in their other regular season matchup, as well as their exhibition game back in September.
The offensive pressure would flip back and forth in the middle frame after that, as each team took two consecutive penalties to round out the twenty minutes.
In the final period of the game, the Mustangs continued to put pressure on the Varsity Blues, and had many great offensive chances, outshooting their opponents 15 – 7. However, they weren't able to tie up the score, and the affair ended in a 2 – 1 decision.
Head Coach Candice Moxley, though satisfied with her team's effort, is looking ahead to tomorrow's game already, and hoping the team converts on the opportunities given to them.
"We out shot them, out played them at times," commented Moxley. "A bit of a slower start – had to find a different way to motivate the girls, and flip the goalies after the first period, and they came out on fire. Kind of the story of our second half of the season – lots of opportunities but just not finding the back of the net for us, not getting those bounces."
The Western Mustangs will close out the regular season at home tomorrow night at Thompson Arena at 7 PM, where they'll take on the Ryerson Rams for a spot in the playoffs. Tickets for what will be a nail-biter of a game are available online at westernmustangs.ca/tickets or at the door.
