Box Score Thunder Bay ON - The Mustangs picked up a huge win, their first of the season Saturday night, taking home a 4-1 triumph over the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
It was the second of back-to-back games in Thunder Bay this weekend for the Mustangs, and they came out strong. The team appeared eager for a better result after Friday's 3-2 defeat.
The Mustangs opened the scoring thanks to a great passing sequence between Jake Gravelle, Reed Morison, and Josh Leblanc, who fired the puck into the back of the Thunderwolves net.
It was a much stronger start to the game for Western than in previous contests, and just moments after getting the icebreaker, the Mustangs doubled their lead to make it 2-0.
The second goal came from a fantastic defensive effort by Zach Power in the offensive zone. After picking the pocket of a Thunderwolves defenceman, Power created an excellent opportunity for Shane Bulitka to tap the puck past Lakehead netminder Max Wright.
With the help of over three thousand fans cheering them on, the Thunderwolves came out much more aggressively to start the second, making it more of an end-to-end period. They were able to cut the Western lead in half.
The Mustangs took six penalties throughout the second period, although Western showed off an impressive penalty kill and did not concede a goal while being shorthanded. This included killing off a five-on-three towards the end of the period, allowing them to maintain the lead while going into the second intermission.
Western dominated throughout the third period, outshooting the Thunderwolves 13-4.
Halfway through, Mustangs forward Jack Tucker weaved his way over the Lakehead blueline and buried the puck into the back of the net, giving his team a two-goal lead again.
With just 30 seconds left in the game, Andrew Bruder was able to find the empty net and secure the Mustangs their first win of the season.
Western will play the Concordia Stingers on Friday (Nov 10) for a 7 PM puck drop at Thompson Arena and then host the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks on Saturday night (Nov 11) at 7 PM. Mustang fans can buy their tickets at WesternMustangs.ca/tickets, and Western students get FREE admission to all regular season on-campus games with the Western ONECard.
