London, ON - The Mustangs fell 5-2 to Lakehead on Saturday afternoon in the second last game of the OUA season.

"I thought we had a real good first 10 minutes, and then they got the first one there on a bit of a break and it sort of changed the complexion of the game." said Mustangs Head Coach Clarke Singer "Things have been kind of going our way the last couple weeks, but obviously not today,".

Prior to the game, eight graduating seniors were recognized for their contributions to the team including Andrew Bruder, Andrew Barwinski, Jack Sander, Jack York, Jake Gravelle, Drew Wawrow, Harlan Orr & Franco Sproviero. 



"I've had a lot of great senior classes, but those eight guys are just tremendous men, great character, foundational pieces of the program," said Singer "If you look at sort of the 4 or 5 years they've been here, they've gone through so much, Spro (Franco Sproviero) was here when nationals got canceled and then COVID  and then we had that weird kind of game at TMU in the shortened season, loss and double overtime. So, you know, obviously really important guys to to lose, but hopefully we got the most important chapter yet to right here with them."

GAME RECAP

Western ended the first period trailing Lakehead 2-0. Lakehead's Justin Paul opened the scoring at 9:57, followed by Alex Izyk scoring his first goal at 14:59. The Mustangs had a late powerplay chance late in the period but were unable to capitalize and remained scoreless in the period.

In the second period, Lakehead added a pair of goals extending their lead to 4-0. Western managed to score once in the frame with Nicholas Yearwood finding the net, assisted by Noah Danielson and Aidan Prueter, marking Yearwood's third goal of the season.

M?? MUSTANGS GOAL!
Nick Sherwood finishes a nice zone entry for the Mustangs to get us on the board.

?? Yearwood (3) from Danielson & Prueter @ 13:14

LAK l 4
WES l 1
?? Watch the live action at https://t.co/otXrD4PfAj #RunWithUs l #LetsGoMustangs l #LAKvsWES l pic.twitter.com/OoRG3V4tHM

— Western Mustangs (@WesternMustangs) February 15, 2025

The period concluded with Lakehead ahead 4-1.

In the third period, Lakehead added to their lead early in the period with a short-handed goal to push their lead to 5-1. 

Western managed to narrow the gap with a power-play goal by Jacob Santerre at 11:42, assisted by Jake Gravelle and Franco Sproviero, marking Santerre's third goal of the season.

M?? MUSTANGS GOAL!
Jacob Santerre gets the final touch on the cross-seam pass to cut into the Lakehead lead.

?? Santerre (3) from Gravelle & Sproviero (PP) @ 11:42

LAK l 5
WES l 2
?? Watch the live action at https://t.co/otXrD4PfAj #RunWithUs l #LetsGoMustangs l #LAKvsWES l pic.twitter.com/luWpyR93DU

— Western Mustangs (@WesternMustangs) February 15, 2025

Despite the Mustangs' efforts, Lakehead would hold on and take the 5-2 win. 

GAME STATS
2nd Period - Nick Yearwood (3) from Noah Danielson & Aidan Prueter @ 13:14
3rd Period - Jacob Santerre (3) from Jake Gravelle & Franco Sproviero (PP) @ 11:42

NEXT GAME
The two sides will be back on the ice Sunday morning. The game could have major implication on the OUA playoff picture as Western now sits tied for 5th in the OUA West standings. Lakehead moves into a tie for 3rd with the win Saturday. The two points on the line on Sunday will mean a lot. 

"I just said to our group, we've got a lot to play for tomorrow, so recover and be ready to go for the morning game," said Singer. 

Puck drop is set for 11:00 am at Thompson Arena. Tickets are available at WesternMustangs.ca/Tickets and fans can watch the action on OUA.tv.