Photo Courtesy: Nav Mohan - 94.9 Radio Western

 

GOJHL

The London Nationals took on the Komoka Kings last night at the Western Fair Sports Centre, beating them 4-3. After the Kings took a 3-1 lead after the first period, the Nats would score three unanswered goals to ultimately take the game 4-3. Josh Castle would record the game-winner with under 10 minutes to play in the third period. That’s the only action London will see this week, as they won’t be in action again until Wednesday. The Kings on the other hand, will be back in action tonight when they face the Sarnia Legionnaires on the road. Sarnia comes into tonight’s game three points ahead of Komoka in the GOJHL West. The Kings will then play the St. Thomas Stars on Saturday

The St. Thomas Stars will open a back-to-back tomorrow night when they host the Chatham Maroons at Joe Thornton Community Centre. The Stars are fourth in the GOJHL Western Conference with an 8-7-1-1 record. St. Thomas will then be in Komoka on Saturday night for their battle with the Kings at 7:15pm.

 

High School Football

Here are the senior high school football district championship matchups!

 

St. Josephs C.H.S (3-2) @ Catholic Central H.S (5-0) – Thursday, 2pm

 

South C.I (4-1@ A.B Lucas S.S (5-0) – Thursday, 2pm

 

London Jr. Mustangs

The London Jr. Mustangs are Tier 1 Peewee Fall Champions after they beat the Burlington Stampeders 46-0 this past weekend. Congratulations to the London Jr. Mustangs on another championship!

 

Western Mustangs

 

Football

The Western Mustangs will be playing in yet another historic football game this weekend as they will be hosting the Guelph Gryphons in the 111^th Yates Cup. This is the fourth straight Yates Cup that Western has hosted, and the eighth they’ve participated in in the past 12 years. The Gryphons are coming off a 5-3 season where they finished third in the OUA. They ousted the Waterloo Warriors in the first round of the playoffs 45-34, before mounting a 17-point second-half comeback against the Ottawa Gee Gees in the OUA semis last week to win 27-22. The Mustangs enjoyed a first-round playoff bye before they easily handled the Carleton Ravens 39-13 in their OUA semi-final matchup. The Mustangs held the Ravens to just 272 total yards of offence, which earned Mackenzie Ferguson both OUA and Usports Defensive Player of the Week. The Western Mustangs also have 14 OUA All-Stars as they were named on Wednesday, with half of them earning first-team honours. The Gryphons had seven total players earn OUA All-Star honours. The Mustangs’ defence will be tasked with containing Guelph quarterback Theo Landers, who threw for nearly 1400 yards and 10 TDs, while also leading his team in rushing during the regular season with over 500 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. A Western win would be their 22^nd in a row, which would set a Usports record currently held by both the Mustangs and the McMaster Marauders. All the action will go down on Saturday afternoon at 1pm from TD Stadium.

 

Hockey

The women’s hockey team will have only one game this weekend, heading to Waterloo on Saturday afternoon to take on the Warriors. Western took both of the teams’ regular season meetings last year, but two years ago it was the Warriors who got their first-ever McCaw Cup series win over the Mustangs in the quarter-finals. Western’s top line of Alyssa Chiarello, April Clark and Shailyn Waites have combined for 27 points in their six games this season, with all three players sitting in the top four for OUA scoring. The Mustangs are currently 5-1-0-0 while the Warriors are 3-1-0-1 to start the season. Action will begin at 2pm on Saturday in Waterloo from the Columbia Ice Fields.

The men’s team will finish a five-game homestand on Friday when they welcome the Windsor Lancers to Thompson Arena. The two teams have played one another already this season, with Windsor winning their season-opener 4-2. The Mustangs will then hit the road on Saturday to face off against the Ryerson Rams in a playoff rematch from last year. The Rams beat the Mustangs in three games in the first round of the Queen’s Cup Playoffs last season. Western is 4-4-1-1 to start the season, not winning nor losing more than two games in a row so far this season.

 

Soccer

The women’s soccer team will be competing in the Usports National Championship this weekend which is held by the Ottawa Gee Gees in the Nation’s Capital. The Stangs will open the tournament with a game against the Cape Breton Capers today. Western has never won a National Championship in women’s soccer.

 

Basketball

The Mustangs basketball teams will be hosting a pair of opponents from Ottawa this weekend. On Friday, the Carleton Ravens will be in town. The women’s team were national champions last year, with the men’s team annually finishing as one of the top programs in the country. The women’s team is 1-3 so far this season, with an inexperienced team. The men’s team is showing promise so far with a 3-1 record, averaging 76 points a game and leading the OUA in steals per game (14). Games are at 6pm and 8pm from Alumni Hall for the women and men, respectively. Saturday evening the ball squads will do it all over again when they host the Ottawa Gee Gees. The men’s team is 1-2 so far this season, while their women’s team is 2-1. Tip offs are at the same times (6 & 8pm) from Alumni Hall.

 

Volleyball

The Mustangs volleyball teams will have a brief road swing this weekend with a pair of away games. On Saturday, the men’s and women’s teams will be in Guelph to take on the Gryphons. Last year’s Gryphons squads were 8-9 on the men’s side, and 9-10 on the women. Thru two games this year, the men’s team is 2-0 with the women going 0-2. On Sunday the teams will battle the Waterloo Warriors. The Lady Warriors are 3-0 so far this season while the men are 0-1 on the year. Western’s men’s team is 2-1 while the women are 3-0.

 

Fencing

The Western Mustangs fencing team will be hosting their annual Western Open on Saturday morning. This is the second of two events held at Western for the fencing circuit, with Mustangs always having strong performances on their home campus. This will be the last-ever time that Thames Hall will hold the Western Open after it has been home to the annual event for the past six decades. The event will begin at 9am on Saturday morning.