Lancer Men, Mustang Women sit atop the standings heading into holiday break

It was an exciting first half of OUA men's and women's hockey and there will be several storylines to watch when the teams return from the holiday break in January.

On the men's side, the defending Queen's Cup champion Windsor Lancers picked up where they left off last season, bursting out of the gates winning 11 games in a row.

Led by CIS leading scorer Spencer Pommells, who has 33 points in 17 games played, Windsor did not lose in regulation time until the final game of the first half, falling to the Western Mustangs 4-3.

It was a huge win for Western, as it pulled the team within two points of Windsor for first place in the OUA West Division standings.

The Waterloo Warriors are another team to keep an eye on in the West. After a 4-6-1 start, the Warriors have rolled off six wins in a row, and are establishing themselves as a darkhorse contender come playoff time.

In the OUA East Division, there is a log jam atop the standings, with McGill clinging to a narrow two-point lead over Carleton and UQTR. The Redmen closed out the first half of the season on a six-game winning streak, and once again looked poised to make a serious run at the Queen's Cup championship after winning three in a row from 2009-2012.

McGill will have an opportunity to create a little bit of separation when they come out of the break and face UQTR in the teams' first game back.

Arguably the most impressive individual accomplishment of the first half occurred in Laurentian's 7-6 overtime win against Laurier on Nov. 1. In that game, Laurentian defenceman and team captain Vincent Llorca scored five goals, setting a single-game school record for goals by a defenceman. He would be named OUA and CIS Player of the Week for his performance.

The Western Mustangs women's hockey team is off to one of its best starts in school history, and did not lose a game in regulation in the first half of the season. Western posted a 12-0-2 record and leads Queen's in the standings by four points.

The defending champion Laurier Golden Hawks are off to a slow start by their lofty standards. The Hawks currently sit sixth in the OUA standings with a 7-4-3 record, but there is still few teams who would be eager to face Laurier come playoff time.

York Lions forward Lisa Stathopulos leads OUA in scoring with 12 goals and 21 points in 14 games this season. She was also chosen to represent the conference as a team of OUA women's all-stars takes on the Team Canada U-18 national team in two exhibition contests, as part of Team Canada's World Championship selection camp.

Also garnering headlines has been Waterloo Warriors rookie goaltender Stephanie Sluys. In just her first OUA season, Sluys has posted five shutouts in eight starts, including a shutout streak that lasted over 200 minutes. She leads the league in goals against average, and is tied with Western's Kelly Campbell for the league lead in save percentage.

Sluys has allowed just one goal in her past six starts, and is the main reason the Warriors have won five games in a row and are back in playoff contention after a 1-5-3 start.

Women's regular season play resumes on Thursday, Jan. 8 when the UOIT Ridgebacks travel to face the Ryerson Rams at 7:30 p.m.

The men's schedule resumes the prior week when Queen's travels to Nipissing on Friday, Jan. 2 for meeting at 7:00 p.m.

Be sure to check OUA.ca for a full schedule of games, and remember to check OUA On the Airwaves to see which games will be broadcast live on OUA.tv!