London, ON – Looking for their first win of the season, the Mustangs returned home to Thompson Arena Saturday night for the second game in a back-to-back against the Waterloo Warriors and claimed a 3-2 overtime victory.
 
After losing 3-0 last night, the Mustangs would respond with a blazing start scoring a goal only 28 seconds in as Brooke DiCicco cleaned up the rebound off the goal post.
 
"You want the first face-off, you want to win that draw, you want to put the pressure on right away," said head coach Candice Moxley. "We did that and were fortunate enough to score a goal off of it, so it was a pretty exciting start for us."
 
The Mustangs would look to add to their early lead as the Warriors were called for tripping only 3 minutes later. Despite not capitalizing with the man advantage, the purple and white would continue to dominate the first half of the period, even generating a few 2-on-1 chances that ultimately found the side netting.
 
Western would take a slashing penalty with just over six minutes remaining in the frame. Their penalty kill has been solid all season and would put up another strong showing to prevent the visiting Warriors from tying it up with the extra man.
 
The purple and white would maintain their lead for the remainder of the period, with both teams registering a total of 8 shots.
 
Western goaltender Kaitlyn Booth made a big save to begin the second as a Warrior was net front and ready for a tap in.
 
The Mustang's powerplay would get another look halfway through the period after defenceman Sarah Irwin was boarded by a yellow and black jersey.
 
Despite not scoring on the powerplay, Grace Bellamy would extend Western's lead only moments after with a wrister as she skated up the wing and shot the puck past the Warriors netminder and into the top left corner for the first of her OUA career.
 
"[It felt] absolutely amazing. It was such a great feeling and to get it on a game where we get our first win too was perfect," said Bellamy. "I saw that the defence was pretty in between me and our other forward so I just figured I'd shoot it and hope for a rebound and it went in."
 
Waterloo would pull one back a minute later, keeping this game close.
 
The Warriors would head to powerplay with just over two minutes remaining in the period and only needed a few seconds to tie it up from the point. The period would finish 2-2. Despite this, the Mustangs remained calm and still believed that this game was theirs for the taking.
 
"It's a lot about mentality," said forward Hannah Irwin. "We take a deep breath, it's just a tie game, still technically 0-0 so we just keep our cool and relax and play our own game, stay on track, and go from there." 
 
"Our players do a really good job at supporting each other and keeping each other focused in those tougher times," added Moxley. "But again it shows the character of our team in coming together and sticking together for the rest of the game."
 
The third period sped by with end-to-end action and chances, as both teams searched for the winning goal.
 
Sam Wood had a chance to tie it up with 5 minutes on the clock as she danced in front of the Waterloo net but couldn't get it past the Warrior goalie.
 
Waterloo countered with a dangerous chance of their own, but Booth stretched to make the save and keep her team in the game.
 
Neither side could find a winner in regulation, so the game would be settled in sudden-death overtime. Western has played two overtime periods this season yet have not been on the winning end of them.
 
With chances flying both ways, it was Hannah Irwin who ultimately won the game for the Mustangs as she stripped the puck at the blue line and then deked before sliding it home for a spectacular goal to secure the team's first win of the season.
 
"I wasn't really thinking that much, just put it in the back of the net," said Irwin about her game winner. "I am happy we could pull that win out for the girls. We knew what we needed to bring into today and we did it throughout all three periods and we capitalized at the end there."
 
"Overtime is when you got to dig deep and find ways to get it done, and putting out a senior player in that situation, you have confidence in what they can do on the ice," said Moxley. "We had confidence in Hannah and she went in and was able to come up with the puck and had good patience and was able to bury it."
 
This win is the last game of the 2021 calendar year for the Mustangs, who will now have some time off before the second half of their schedule starts in January. Despite their 1-3-2 record showing only one win, their play has been strong.
 
"It was long overdue. I thought we played some pretty great games early on without being able to put the score up and win some hockey games, so I think it's great momentum for us," said Moxley. "We got to remember what this feels like so we can start the second half [of the season] like it."
 
"Going into the new year we need some momentum, and this win will definitely give us that," added Bellamy. "[We'll] just keep training and eating well and sleeping well and then we'll be nice and refreshed and ready to go for the new year."
 
The Mustangs will return to action on Friday, January 14^th, as they travel to Windsor to take on the Lancers. Puck-drop is at 4pm, with the action being available to watch at OUA.tv