Mustangs shut out Warriors to take Game One
LONDON, Ont. – Evra Levesque provided the offence, while netminder Kelly Campbell turned aside all 23 shots she faced to help the Western Mustangs defeat Waterloo 1-0 in Game One of their OUA Quarterfinal series on Thursday night at Thompson Arena.
LONDON, Ont. – Evra Levesque provided the offence, while netminder Kelly Campbell turned aside all 23 shots she faced to help the Western Mustangs defeat Waterloo 1-0 in Game One of their OUA Quarterfinal series on Thursday night at Thompson Arena.
"I thought we did a good job not permitting odd man rushes for the other team," said Western head coach David Barrett about his team's performance. "I can't really think of too many situations where they came through the neutral zone with a numerical advantage."
"Kelly, as always, played solid," said Barrett about his goaltender. "I don't think she had to make to spectacular saves today but she made great saves when called upon."
The win puts Western up 1-0 in the best-of-three series and gives the Mustangs the opportunity to eliminate the Warriors on Saturday in Waterloo and advance to the OUA Semi-Finals.
Levesque's goal came in only her first ever OUA playoff contest, and continues a rookie season that has seen the Wawa, Ont., native record four goals and four assists, while playing in each of the Mustangs 24 regular season games.
"We played a pretty good game, a lot of speed. We were responsible the whole game" said Levesque.
The low score of the game may have been somewhat surprising as both teams came into the series as two of the highest scoring offences in the league, but the physical nature of playoff hockey turned the game into a defensive battle.
"[The] shot count was pretty low, so it was a tight checking affair and in those types of games it is usually 1-0 or 2-1," said Barrett.
True to this form, both teams started a bit tentatively in the first period. Neither team took very many risks, with both remaining very conservative on the forecheck in order to have numbers back to defend the transition game. Waterloo, however, was able to muddy several Mustangs breakout attempts, which put Western on its heels for several stretches on the period.
However, the Mustangs were able to turn the tide on the Warriors and strung together several shifts that pinned the Warriors in their end. This pressure paid off for the Mustangs, as Levesque opened the scoring just under 17 minutes into the game.
Afterline mate Lyndsay Kirkham pressured the Waterloo defender into mishandling the puck, Levesque pounced on it in the slot and rifled it above the shoulder of Waterloo goaltender Rebecca Bouwhuis to give the Mustangs the 1-0 lead.
The second period saw the physicality escalate. Western got very involved on the forecheck and controlled the play for the majority of the period. Levesque played another great period, including a shift in which she pressured a Warrior forward on a partial break, blocked a shot, and cleared the puck from the zone in the span of 15 seconds. The Mustangs were then given a power play chance late in the frame but were unable to capitalize and the score remained 1-0 going into the third.
The third period saw the Warriors press hard for the tying goal. The Mustangs blocked several shots and had solid defensive zone coverage in order to secure the victory. Due to the extended pressure, the Mustangs were outshot in the period 8-3, however Campbell was more than up to the task, stopping every puck sent her way to preserve the shutout and the win.
When asked about how he wanted his team to improve for Saturday's elimination game, coach Barrett said that he will be looking for the little things.
"I'd like them to be a little grittier below the hash marks in the offensive zone to produce chances down low."
The Mustangs will look to close out the series on road Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Fans can tune in live on OUA.tv and CHRW Radio 94.9 FM
Source: Western Mustangs
