London, ON – The Western Mustangs wrapped up their last home game of the semester on Saturday night, battling hard but coming up short in a 5-3 loss to the Guelph Gryphons at Thompson Arena. 

"Like most games in our league, it comes down to one goal one way or the other," said Head Coach Clark Singer, "We forechecked very well and generated almost 40 shots. We just need to finish a little better."

The game had a slow start but steady back-and-forth pace as both teams tried to establish momentum. Six minutes in, Western took their first penalty of the night, and Guelph converted on the power play to take a 1-0 lead. Shortly after, Eric Van Impe was called for slashing, but the Mustangs tightened defensively and killed off the penalty to keep the game within reach. 

The rest of the period neither side added another goal. The Mustangs entered the intermission trailing 1-0. 

The Mustangs faced another penalty just 42 seconds into the period, and Guelph took man advantage again, making it 2-0 on their second power-play goal of the night. 

Western answered back midway through the frame. At 8:48, Brett Willits scored on Western's first power-play of the evening, finishing a clean setup from Lawson Sherk and Shane Bulitka to cut the score to 2-1. 

Guelph responded quickly, scoring at 9:58 to restore their two-goal lead. Late in the period, both teams took minors, leading to the first four-on-four of the game. With 1:51 left, the Mustangs capitalized as captain Shane Bulitka buried a shot off feeds from Sherk and Drew Wawrow, bringing Western back within one at 3-2. 

The period ended with Guelph holding the narrow lead, but momentum beginning to swing Western's way. 

The final frame started with the remaining four-on-four time carrying over. Western earned another power play three minutes in but couldn't convert. 

At 9:11, Guelph extended their lead to 4-2. Western kept pushing, and after another round of penalties on both sides, the Mustangs struck again. At 16:01, Jacob Santerre scored on the power play, finishing a pass from Bulitka to make it 4-3 and bring the game back within reach. 

In the final minutes, Western pulled the goalie to gain the extra attacker, but Guelph sealed the game with an empty-net goal at 19:44. 

The Mustangs couldn't close the gap and fell 5-3 in their final home game of the semester.

The Mustangs now hit the road on Thursday, November 27, for a 7:00 p.m. matchup against the Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo.