The Western Ontario Mustangs defeated the Lakehead Thunderwolves for the second night in a row, after the Wolves lost 4-1 at the Thompson Arena in London, Ontario Saturday night.
Jason Furlong staked the Mustangs to an early lead when he put one past Lakehead goaltender Alex Dupuis at the 1:42 mark of the first period. The Thunderwolves evened the score at 1-1 when Mike Quesenele set up Andy Zulyniak for a powerplay goal that beat Western goalie Josh Unice at 14:07. That was the only time the Wolves were able to solve Unice, as he was solid in the Mustangs net for the rest of the night. Dupuis was kept busy in the Wolves net as Western Ontario outshot Lakehead 16-10 in the period.
Western Ontario started fast in the second period, building a quick 3-1 lead on goals by Josh McQuade at 2:32 and Kevin Baker at the 4:25 mark. Both teams played the middle stanza a little closer to the vest, with Lakehead out shooting the Mustangs 8-7.
Keaton Turkiewicz squashed the Wolves attempt at a comeback in the third period at 18:35 when he scored an empty-net goal to round out the scoring at 4-1 for the Mustangs. Shots on goal in the period were 10-8 for Lakehead, but Western Ontario held a slight edge in the final tally, 31-28.
The loss drops Lakeheads OUA record to 13-6-1, good for third place in the West Division, one point behind Laurier and eight points behind the division-leading Mustangs.
The Wolves return home to the Fort William Gardens next weekend for a pair of games with the Brock Badgers.