The Lakehead Thunderwolves will host the Western Ontario Mustangs for game #1 of the OUA West Division quarter-finals Wednesday night at the Fort William Gardens, with the opening face-off set for 7:30 p.m.
This will be the only home game of the best-of-three series, as game #2 will be played Saturday afternoon in London with a 4:00 p.m. start time. If necessary, game #3 will be played in London on Sunday at 7:00 p.m.
Last Time Out
The Thunderwolveswound up the regular season witha weekend on the road with games at Waterloo and Laurier. After falling 7-4 at Waterloo on Friday night, Lakehead downed Laurier 3-2 on Saturday to clinch a playoff berth with a regular season record of 10-14-3.
Western Ontario split its last two games of the regular season as well. After taking a 5-2 loss at Guelph on Thursday night, the Mustangs returned home to blank Laurier 6-0 on Friday.
Series History
The Thunderwolves hosted the Mustangs for a pair of games at the Fort William Gardens in late November, with both teams getting a win in the final weekend before the Christmas exam break. Western Ontario took the Friday game 3-2, but Lakehead responded with a 4-3 overtime win in the Saturday rematch.Western Ontario is the only OUA West Division rival that holds a winning record over the Thunderwolves. Lakehead is 24-40-1 all-time versus the Mustangs.
Injury Report
Forward Kelin Ainsworth (ankle) is out for the remainder of the season, and goalie Jeff Bosch (concussion) is doubtful for the Western series.About the Mustangs
Western Ontario is traditionally one of the strongest programs in the OUA and this year is no different as the Mustangs finished the regular season in second place in the West Division with a record of 19-7-1.The Mustangs main scoring threats are a pair of fifth-year seniors, Steven Reese and Stefan Salituro. Junior winger Kyle DeCoste is also someone the Wolves will need to keep an eye on.
Junior defenceman David Corrente and sophomore rearguard Alex Micallef anchor the Western Ontario blue-line.
Sophomore goalie Greg Dodds has been the mainstay in the Mustangs net this season.