LONDON, Ont. – The Western Mustangs edged the Laurier Golden Hawks 4-2 to take Game One of the best-of-three OUA West Quarterfinal series on Thurs. Feb. 16 at Thompson Arena.
Andrew Eastman, Keaton Turkiewicz, Steve Reese and Kevin Baker scored for the Mustangs as Zack Woolford and Joseph Vanni added goals for Laurier.
The Mustangs special teams, which have been struggling as of late, were put to the test early as Laurier’s Tyler Stothers was called for tripping less than five minutes into the game. Western’s power play unit worked the puck around in Laurier’s zone, looking for an open lane. Shaun Furlong protected the puck behind the net and made a swift pass out to left defenceman Eastman who pinched down low. Eastman fired a one timer at the net as soon as the puck hit his stick to put Western up 1-0.
Only fourteen seconds later, the Golden Hawks were called for another infraction and the Mustangs power play went to work in the opposition’s zone. Mustangs Zach Harnden gained possession of the puck and fired a pass from the bottom of the right circle through the crease. The puck soared past the Golden Hawks defenders and onto Turkiewicz’s stick as he tapped home Western’s second goal.
Reese added the Mustangs third goal before the end of the first frame as he picked up speed and streaked down the left wing. Reese cradled the puck along the boards and beat both defenders on the outside. Reese cut hard to the front of the net and tucked the puck past Laurier’s netminder Ryan Daniels on the far post.
The second period saw hard checks and quick plays but neither team could find the back of the net.
Laurier started the third period with more intensity than the previous 40 minutes as they caught the Mustangs on their toes, notching their first goal at 3:27.
The Golden Hawks had a second goal called off just over a minute later on a controversial play as the puck squeaked through Mustangs’ netminder Josh Unice’s legs, but the net wasn’t in place. Laurier bounced back with determination as Vanni jammed a loose puck past Unice off a scrum in front of the net for a 3-2 game.
Baker added Western’s fourth goal as the puck bounced around in front of Laurier’s goal.
Head coach Clarke Singer was happy with the team’s power play performance, noting, “With how Laurier kills (penalties), you want to try and get the puck down low and look cross-crease and I thought we did that on a couple of our goals.”
“We got the two points tonight, but tomorrow night’s a brand new game, it’s 0-0 again. We’ve got to go out and try to get the win because we don’t want to come back here and play game three,” Singer added.
The Mustangs will travel to Laurier University tomorrow Feb. 17 for Game 2 of the best-of-three series at 7:30 p.m. Western will return home on Sun. Feb. 19 for Game 3 at 7:30 p.m. if necessary.
Highlights courtesy CTV London
