London, ON – The Western Mustangs kicked off their final home weekend with a composed 3-1 win over the Windsor Lancers on Friday night at Thompson Arena.
"Yearwood, Aiello, and Power have been really good all year. They work hard, they score, they play a full two-hundred-foot game. They finished their chances tonight, but it was a really good team effort overall." Head Coach Clark Singer said.
Western came out fast in the opening frame, trying to carry over the momentum from last week. Just three minutes in, the Mustangs earned their first power play, and Nicholas Yearwood wasted no time, scoring 49 seconds into the man advantage to make it 1-0. Assists from Christiano Aiello and Owen Saye.
Midway through the period, Western took a penalty, but Jack McNaughton stood tall. Turning away Windsor's power-play chances and keeping the 1–0 lead intact. Windsor earned another power play later in the frame but still couldn't break through.
The Mustangs closed out the period with another power play chance of their own, but the score stayed 1-0 after the first period.
Windsor started the second period on the power play after a late penalty on Western, but McNaughton came up big again with multiple saves.
At 3:45, Windsor tied the game 1-1, but the Mustangs answered at 9:18, Zach Power regained the lead as he put the puck in the back of the net, assisted by Yearwood and Aiello, making it 2-1 Western.
Both teams generated chances through the rest of the period. The pace picked up, multiple shot attempts and emotions rose. With 50 seconds left, matching penalties sent both sides to four-on-four, but neither team added to the scoreboard. Western carried a 2-1 lead into the third.
Windsor pushed hard in the third, trying to tie the game, but Western stayed clam and didn't give up much at even strength.
At 8:50, the Mustangs added another goal when Christiano Aiello finished off a rush to make it 3-1, with assist from Yearwood.
Windsor continued to press, but Western's penalty kill stayed solid. In the final minutes, Windsor pulled their goalie for the man advantafe, but the Mustangs held strong defensively and closed out the win.
McNaughton finished with 34 saves on 35 shots and was significant for Western controlled the game despite Windsor outshooting them 35-15.
McNaughton said: "I owe a lot of credit to my team. They kept shots to the outside and helped me out a lot tonight," he said. He pointed to the Mustangs' penalty kill and improved structure as keys to the win. "Our PK was really good. We limited their chances and stuck to our game plan."
"Jack has been phenomenal for us throughout his career," he said. "Tonight was probably one of his best games in a Mustangs uniform. But in our league, you have to do it again tomorrow. We'll enjoy this for an hour and then get ready for the next one," Coach Singer said.
Western is back on Saturday, November 22, at 7:00 p.m. for their final game of the weekend, hosting the Guelph Gryphons in London, ON.
