Photo Courtesy: Nav Mohan - 94.9 Radio Western

 

GOJHL

The London Nationals took on the Strathroy Rockets last night at the Western Fair Sports Centre, coming away with a 5-3 win. The game was tied 3-3 after two periods, with London adding the game-winner courtesy of James Turner plus an empty netter to round out the score. While the top line of Riley MacRae, Christian Pollilo and Cal Davis were held to just three points against the Rockets, the trio have passed the century mark of 100 combined points between the three of them, in just 18 games played. Pollilo leads the way with 14 goals, while Davis has the most points with 36 (12g, 24a) with MacRae just one point behind him with 35 (12g, 23a). The Nationals will be in Leamington tonight to take on the Flyers.

The St. Thomas Stars will be playing the Sarnia Legionnaires tonight in Sarnia for their firs of two games this weekend. Their second game is on Sunday evening when they head to London to take on the Nats at 7:30pm.

The Komoka Kings have just one game this weekend when they take on the Leamington Flyers on Saturday evening on the road. The Kings are seventh in the GOJHL West with an 8-12-0-0 record.

 

League 1 Soccer

Some huge news coming out of League 1 Ontario this week, as they have been acquired by the newly-formed Canadian Premier League (CPL). The CPL is set to kick off its inaugural season in April 2019, with a particular focus on Canadian soccer talent. They just had their first Usports draft where the top collegiate players were selected for the new league. League 1 is the home of the London FC soccer teams, who will now be a part of the CPL. This acquisition signals a dedication to the development of Canadian soccer talent in lieu of the co-hosting duties of the 2026 World Cup.

 

Western Mustangs

 

Football

The Western Mustangs are playing in their first Mitchell Bowl since 2013 when they take on the Saskatchewan Huskies at TD Stadium on Saturday. This is the first time the Mitchell Bowl has been held in London since 2008, where Western beat the St. Mary’s Huskies 28-12. That was the only time the Mustangs have ever won a Mitchell Bowl, as they sport a 1-2 record in their games. The Saskatchewan Huskies, on the other hand, are 4-0 in Mitchell Bowls, winning four in a five year span from 2002-2006; they didn’t win the Vanier Cup in any of those years. The last time the Mustangs and Huskies locked horns was in 1998 when Saskatchewan beat Western 33-17 in the Churchill Bowl held in Saskatoon. They have only played in London, Ontario once, which was in the 1974 Churchill Bowl that saw Western come out on top 41-17. The other two meetings went to Western when the played the Huskies in the 1989 and 1994 Vanier Cups. The last time the Saskatchewan Huskies won the Vanier Cup was in 1998 beating the Concordia Stingers 24-17 in the 34^th Vanier Cup. Saskatchewan had the top defence in the Canada West, and it was on display in their upset win over the Calgary Dinos last week where they forced the #3 ranked team in the nation to seven turnovers, blowing them out 43-18. That was the Huskies’ first Hardy Cup win in 12 years, in Head Coach Scott Flory’s second year on the sidelines. Kickoff for the 2018 Mitchell Bowl will be at 4pm on Saturday afternoon from TD Stadium.

 

Hockey

The women’s hockey team will host the York Lions tomorrow evening at Thompson Arena, as they are looking to rebound after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Waterloo Warriors last week. Western took the two teams’ meetings last season, without ever allowing a goal against while facing York as they were 3-0, and 1-0 finals. That game will start at 7pm on Friday night from Thompson Arena. The Mustangs will be back at it the next night when they head to St. Catharine’s to take on the Brock Badgers. Western is 5-1-0-1 on the year and sit fourth in the OUA with 16 points, two behind the top-seeded Guelph Gryphons who are also tied in points with the Queens Gaels.

The men’s team will also play a pair of games this weekend first playing the U of T Varsity Blues on Friday evening. The Varsity Blues took both meetings last season but are currently 2-7-3-3 in the 2018-19 campaign. The Stangs will return home the next night to take on the Brock Badgers, who are defending OUA-silver medalists from last year. The Badgers sit second in the OUA West with an 8-3-0-0 record, trailing division-leading Ryerson by three points. Puck drop will be at 7pm from Thompson Arena on Saturday.

 

Basketball

The Mustangs basketball teams have only one game this weekend, making the trip west to take on the Windsor Lancers on Saturday. The women’s team is 1-5 to start the season, and have already suffered significant injuries to veteran players Maddy Horst and Julia Curran. Laura Graham has been relied on to supply the offence as the only healthy 4th-year player, averaging nearly 14 points per game and shooting nearly 50% from beyond the arc. The lady Lancers are 3-3 on the season, most recently losing to Carleton 70-54.

The men’s team is an even 3-3 thru their first six games, suffering back-to-back blowout losses to the Ottawa teams last weekend. This will be a playoff rematch from last year where the Lancers upset the Mustangs at home in the OUA quarter-finals 89-72. The men’s Lancers team is 2-4 to start the year, after also losing to both Ottawa teams last weekend in blowout fashion. The action starts at 12pm from the St. Denis Centre in Windsor, Ontario.

 

Volleyball

The men’s and women’s volleyball teams will be enjoying a pair of home matches this weekend after a tough road swing last weekend.

On Friday, the teams will play the Toronto Varsity Blues at Alumni Hall. The Varsity Blues’ women’s team are 4-1 this year, second place in the OUA East division. The men’s team from Toronto are also 4-1 this season, with Western taking their only matchup last year in straight sets. On Saturday, the Ryerson Rams come to town, with the women’s team sporting a perfect 4-0 record while the men are 3-1 coming in. For the women’s teams, it will be a rematch of last year’s OUA Final Four where the Rams beat the Mustangs in four sets 3-1 to advance to the Gold Medal game. The Mustangs would end up winning bronze over U of T the following day. Start times will be at 6pm and 8pm both days, for the women and men, respectively, all coming from Alumni Hall.