London ON – The Mustangs competed in their final home game of the season tonight and did not disappoint the home crowd as they won 3-2 in overtime against the Guelph Gryphons.
Tonight's game began with a ceremony that honoured the five graduating players on the Mustangs team. These players include Josh Leblanc, Reed Morison, Matthew MacDougall, Jack Tucker, and Dylan Myskiw. The ceremony also honoured Associate Coach Patrick Ouellet, who is stepping away from the position at the end of the season.
The first period began with two quick goals from Brett Willits to give his team an early lead.
Jake Gravelle skated into the Gryphon's zone and passed the puck to Willits, who made a beautiful move before backhanding the puck past Guelph's netminder.
Willits doubled the Mustang's lead just minutes later with a tap-in from a scrum in front of the net to record his second of the evening.
Guelph responded to the two back-to-back Mustang goals towards the end of the period and tied the game at two, heading into the first intermission.
The second period saw end-to-end action, with both goalies making great saves.
The Mustangs were creating excellent passing sequences and generating a lot of offensive zone time.
It was a scoreless second period, with the game remaining 2-2 through forty minutes.
Western had a total of 10 penalty minutes in the final period of tonight's contest and was able to kill off all of them. The Mustang's penalty kill was aggressive throughout the whole period and generated multiple short-handed opportunities.
The game remained tied at two through 60 minutes of play, forcing it to go into overtime for some three-on-three action.
Mustangs had possession for most of overtime and were getting great opportunities to end the game.
Christiano Aiello skated up to the blue line in the offensive zone before passing across the ice to Andrew Bruder, who then passed it out in front of the Gryphon's net for Jake Gravelle to tap in.
"We came out really well tonight, with it being the last home game and senior night as well, we wanted to do it for them." Said Mustangs defenseman Jake Gravelle. "We started off well in the first and then lost it a bit in the second and then some penalty trouble in the third, but it feels good to pull that one off tonight."
Gravelle was the overtime hero of tonight's game, giving the Mustangs a 3-2 win against the Guelph Gryphons in their final home game of the season.
"We're out of the playoffs, but the season isn't over; there's still a lot to prove, and I think a lot of guys are still trying out for spots that are still available. With the senior guys leaving, we're losing a few big guys for us, so it's up in the air for anyone to grab." Said Gravelle. "Hopefully, these next two games, we finish off the way we did tonight."
Western will travel to take on the Guelph Gryphons once more on Thursday (Feb 8). The puck drop will be at 7:30 PM. Fans can watch the action on OUA.tv.
