OUA.tv Marquee Matchup: Mustangs and Lancers meet with top spot in the West on the line

(Photo: The Windsor Star)

With just four games remaining in their respective regular seasons, the No. 7 Windsor Lancers and Western Mustangs are coming down to the wire in the chase for the OUA West Division.

Separated by just two points in the standings, Windsor sits in first place with 37 while Western follows with 35, the two rivals will meet in the OUA.tv Marquee Matchup tonight at 7 p.m. in a game with huge implications on the OUA playoff picture.

Having met in the OUA West semifinal last season – Windsor won the best-of-3 series 2-1 en route to winning the Queen's Cup – the Lancers and Mustangs matchups have budded into one of the best rivalries in CIS men's hockey.  Add in such high stakes late in the season and you have all the ingredients for an exciting and intense matchup.

"It's almost impossible to make a game (against Western) more meaningful than it already is," said Windsor head coach Kevin Hamlin. "It's always exciting when we play Western and our guys are really jacked up for this one."

Western head coach Clarke Singer, who coached the team to its only CIS championship in 2002-03, credited Hamlin and his staff for turning Windsor into a national contender and further fueling the rivalry.

The teams have already met once this season with Western coming out of Windsor with the two points, defeating the Lancers 4-3 on December 3^rd. In that game, Western trailed 3-1 before scoring three unanswered goals, including two in the third period.

It's no surprise five of the seven goals scored that game came on the powerplay (three by Windsor, two by Western), as Western and Windsor own the best and third-best powerplays in the conference, respectively.

"The best way to deal with (Western's powerplay) is to limit opportunities," said Hamlin. "We felt we beat ourselves last game (against Western). We have to play with discipline and emotion, and not cross the line."

Though they are challenging for top spot in the division, Western remains outside looking in when it comes to the CIS Top 10 rankings, and while some Mustangs supporters may be bothered by that, their coach certainly isn't.

"I couldn't even tell you who's in the Top 10, to be honest with you," said Singer. "The rankings don't help you on the ice at all. All you can do is go out and play the best you can and win the games you have to win."

While both teams are near the top of the league in goals allowed, they are even better at finding the back of the net. Windsor ranks second in the conference averaging 4.22 goals per game, and Western is not far back in fourth spot at 3.87

For Western, leading the way is Steve Reese who ranks seventh in the conference with 29 points in 23 games and was described by the opposing coach as "one of the best players in CIS hockey, if not the best."

Offensively, though, no one in the country has been more prolific than Windsor forward Spencer Pommells. He is currently leading CIS averaging nearly two points per game, recording 14 goals and 29 assists for 43 points while playing all 23 games so far this season.

With the structure of the OUA postseason, this game could very well determine home-ice advantage throughout the conference playoffs and potentially the Queen's Cup. However, last year Western won the division but lost both of its home playoff games against Windsor.

A win for the Lancers would all but clinch the division, while a Mustangs win will create one of the most exciting final weeks in recent memory. Both teams know what's at stake Thursday and expect to leave it all on the ice, so be sure to catch the game live tonight at 7:00 p.m. on OUA.tv!

Matchup By the Numbers

14 – Wins for Windsor goalie Parker Van Buskirk. His 14 wins lead OUA and ties him for second in CIS. He's trailed closely by Western's Greg Dodds who ranks second in the conference with 13.

6 – Powerplay goals for Western forwards Julian Cimadamore and Steve Reese, which ties for the most in OUA. As a team, Western leads OUA with 29 powerplay goals converting on a conference-best 26.1 percent of their chances.

87.2% - The success rate of Western's penalty kill, which ranks fourth in the conference. Windsor, currently ranks 12^th at 81.2 percent and will have its hands full with the Mustangs top-ranked powerplay.