London, ON- The Mustangs lose 7-3 in a battle against Toronto Metropolitan University at home.

The Mustangs play for the second time this weekend against Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). These two teams have met once in this season, back in November, when TMU took the game 5-0. The Mustangs are keen to not only tie up their history with TMU, but also to get back a win from last nights loss to the Varsity Blues.

The start of the game is filled with energy from both teams. The action begins right away, not even a minute into the game, with the opening goal coming from TMU from a breakout that brought the puck into the Mustangs zone and an unlucky shot on goal put the put into the back of the net. Not long after this goal, as TMU gained momentum, they take a second goal from a shot to the net in the Mustangs zone. As TMU puts their foot down, it puts the pressure on the Mustangs to get a goal quick. With eleven minutes left in the third period, the Mustangs take a penalty for interference which gives TMU the opportunity to increase their lead, and they do just this. With a one player advantage and a scramble at the Mustangs net, TMU manages to advance their lead by three goals, leaving the score 3-0. The Head Coach of the Mustangs, Candice Moxley, calls for a timeout at this time in the game, hoping to put some encouragement and momentum back into her team. The end of the first 20 minutes of the game is looming as both teams are putting their all into this game and the score has not changed. The Mustangs receive a penalty for slashing and TMU takes advantage of this again, as they did at the beginning of the period. The score is now 4-0, in favour of TMU. The buzzer goes for the first period and the Mustangs are able to regroup before the second period to ensure that this next period comes with a goal.

Emma Catalano, one of Western's back-up goalies, starts the second period off with a beautiful save. The Mustangs are motivated at the beginning of this period to get themselves on the board as they have several back to back scoring opportunities but don't capitalize on these opportunities. Head Coach Moxley has stated that this is something the team struggles with. They are able to generate these opportunities, but getting the puck to the back of the net doesn't come as easy. Fortunately, even though they haven't had much luck with this struggle in the game so far, the Mustangs take their first goal of the game. A shot by Grace Bellamy from Emma Suitor, the Mustangs Team Captain, puts the Mustangs on the board! The score is now 4-1, in favour of TMU. With the momentum and excitement from this goal, the Mustangs are putting immense pressure on TMU as the second period comes to an end. It is clear that the Mustangs are eager to close the gap of the lead that TMU has on them right now. Unfortunately, with two minutes left in the second period, TMU expands their lead from a scramble by the Mustang net. The second period comes to an end with the score 5-1, TMU.

The last 20 minutes of the game starts off with action in both ends of the ice, neither team clearly dominating over the other. Four minutes into this period, on a power play, Haylie Kirkpatrick takes a top-shelf shot which lands perfectly in the back of TMU's net. This advances the Mustangs on the scoreboard as the score is now 5-2, but still in favour of TMU. With half of the first period left, the puck is in the Mustangs zone. A TMU defense player takes a shot from the point which lands top-shelf into the Mustangs net, much like the previous Mustangs goal. This pushes the score up to 6-2, TMU, with 10 minutes left in the game. A couple minutes after this goal, TMU sends another puck forcefully into the Mustangs net, advancing the score of the game to 7-2, TMU. With a minute left of the game, Adeline Kristoff from the Mustangs takes the puck from end to end and gets the last goal of the game. The clock winds down to 0 with the final result being 7-3, TMU.

The Mustangs next game will be Friday, February 3rd, against the Brock Badger's at 7:00pm in London. Be sure to check out the live action of that game at OUA.tv.