MUSTANGS TO HOST QUEEN'S CUP OUA MEN'S HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP
With the win, the No. 6 ranked Mustangs clinch the best-of-three OUA West Final series 2-0 and advance to the national championships for the first time since the 2004-05 season. Western will also host McGill in the Queen's Cup on March 14 at 7:30 p.m. at Thompson Arena.
"It's a great feeling to beat a team as strong as Laurier," said head coach Clarke Singer. "Defence, goaltending and special teams, I thought we did a good job in all those areas throughout the playoffs."
"It was an outstanding effort and the atmosphere here you could feel the excitement in the building," he said. "We hope it's even more packed for the Queen's Cup."
Ryan Martinelli (London, Ont.) had a goal and an assist for the Mustangs in a game that ended with a skirmish in front of Laurier goalie Jeff MacDougald that caused both benches to clear.
Yashar Farmanara (West Vancouver, B.C.) and Kyle Lamb (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) scored the other Mustangs goals.
MacDougald was solid in Laurier's net making 36 saves, while Western's Brad Topping (Strathroy, Ont.) made 27 saves for the victory.
Nick Vergeer (West Lorne, Ont.) and Craig Voakes (St. Thomas, Ont.) scored Laurier's goals.
After a scoreless first period - during which Topping made a fantastic leg save on a semi-breakaway from Jean-Michel Rizk (Dunham, Que.) - things heated up in the second.
The second period featured five goals.
Farmanara opened the floodgates snapping the puck over top of MacDougald from 10 feet out in what looked like a redirected shot to make it 1-0 Western.
Defenceman Martinelli (London, Ont.) made it 2-0 Western when his point shot sailed past MacDougald.
The Hawks, although rattled, responded less than a minute later.
Vergeer got the puck alone in the slot and was stopped on his first attempt, leaving a juicy rebound in front of Topping. Vergeer shelved it to pull Laurier within one goal.
Then just two minutes later, Craig Voakes scored to tie the game at 2-2 with a nice back-and-forth triple deke.
But Lamb gave Western the 3-2 edge, winning the face-off back to Martinelli and then tipping in the puck with just over two minutes left in the period.
In the third, both teams played good back-and-forth hockey but struggled to get open looks at the net. When they did, Topping and MacDougald were equal to the task.
A late Jeff Martens penalty on Western forced the Mustangs to kill off a minor penalty to hold on to the win. Senior forward Sal Peralta (Leamington, Ont.) and defenceman Adam Nemeth (Amherstburg, Ont.) both blocked shots on the penalty kill, while Martinelli made a diving poke check to stop a Laurier rush.
Western will host McGill in the OUA Queen's Cup Final on Sat., Mar. 14 at 7:30 p.m. at Thompson Arena.
Tickets will go on sale on Mon., Mar. 9. Call 519 661.4077 to order. Prices are $12 for adults, $8 for students, youth and seniors.
Source: Western Mustangs Athletics
Photo Credit: Craig Glover