Photo Courtesy: Nav Mohan - 94.9 Radio Western

54th Vanier Cup

The Western Mustangs were playing in their second consecutive Vanier Cup against the Laval Rouge et Or on Saturday, only this time the perennial Quebec powerhouse would exact their revenge beating the Mustangs 34-20. Laval had it going for them right from the start, as their opening possession saw them march 91 yards on two plays, resulting in a touchdown just a minute into the game. The Mustangs would get their offence rolling in the second quarter after a long drive was capped off with Cedric Joseph’s third-career Vanier Cup touchdown to make it a 10-7 game for Laval. The two teams would go into halftime 17-13 for the Rouge et Or. The Mustangs would immediately go on a three-and-out to open the second half, which Laval would follow up with a Hugo Richard TD run--his third total touchdown of the day. Chris Merchant and the Mustangs’ offence took the field trying to respond with a major, but a pass would deflect off the hands of Cole Majoros and into the mitts of Adam Auclair for an interception. Laval would win their record 10th Vanier Cup with a 34-20 win, handing Western their first loss in over two calendar years. Hugo Richard would win the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy as game MVP with over 400 yards and three total touchdowns. Adam Auclair would get the Bruce Coulter award for Most Outstanding Defensive Player with an interception and a game-high 10.5 tackles. The Laval Rouge et Or move to 10-2 all-time in Vanier Cups, while moving to 11-0 in Bowl Games played in the province of Quebec. The Rouge et Or football program has been in 12 Vanier Cups in their 22-year existence. For the Mustangs, Harry McMaster, Alex Taylor, Jimmy Hawley and David Brown all played their final games at Western.

Congratulations to the Western Mustangs football team for a historic season!

Western Mustangs

Basketball

The Mustangs basketball teams played a pair of Toronto opponents this past weekend. On Friday, it was the Toronto Varsity Blues. The women’s team would lose 82-59, while the men’s team would win 79-73. Omar Shiddo would shoot the lights out against the Varsity Blues, with 31 points on 9-24 shooting, including five three-balls. Both Mustangs hoop squads would suffer against the Ryerson Rams, with both teams losing by over 35 points. The stangs will finish their fall schedule with a road trip this weekend where they will play the Nipissing Lakers and the Laurentian Voyageurs.

Hockey

The Western Mustangs men’s hockey team seemed to have found their rhythm at this point in the season, as they picked up their third win in a row on Saturday night, 2-1 against the Brock Badgers. It was the second time in a row that the Stangs topped the Badgers, as this was the back end of a home and home between the two teams. Spenser Cobbold would open the scoring in the first period with his first goal of the season. Tied 1-1 late in the third, Matt Watson would break the deadlock to give the purple and white the dub. David Eccles also added two assists from the blueline. The Mustangs are now 7-6-1-1, on a three game winning streak, and will host the Windsor Lancers on Thursday night.

The ladies, on the other hand, played two games this past weekend. They were hosting the lady Badgers on Friday evening, and fell in a shootout 4-3. It was a special night though, as Edie and Evra Levesque’s uncle who was diagnosed with ALS 22 years ago, was there for the ceremonial puck drop. The teams exchanged two-goal periods thru the first and second, before they both scored one in the third, sending the game past regulation and into the skills competition. Amanda Ieradi and Cassidy Maplethorpe would score for the Badgers, while April Clark and Alyssa Chiarello would miss their shots. The Mustangs would turn around and shut out the Ryerson Rams 4-0 on their home ice on Saturday. April Clark would score another 2 goals, to give her 10 on the season, which is tied for the league lead, while the St. Mary’s native does lead the OUA in points with 16. The ladies will be in action this Friday at York when they take on the Lions.

Volleyball

The Mustangs volleyball teams both suffered losses in their only match this past weekend against the Windsor Lancers. The women’s team would fall in straight sets, while the men managed to push it to four sets, but still lost nevertheless. Both teams are 5-3 on the season, and will host the powerhouse McMaster Marauders on Friday night at Alumni Hall, 6pm for the women, 8pm for the men.

GOJHL

The London Nationals played their suburban-rival St. Thomas Stars on Friday evening, beating them 5-2. The Nats’ top line got themselves going again, with Christian Polillo and Cal Davis picking up a goal and two assists each. Zach Springer made 16 saves in his 12th win of the season. London will host the Chatham Maroons on Wednesday night at the Western Fair Sports Centre at 7:30pm.

The Stars would try to rebound after their loss to the Nationals on Sunday when they played the Chatham Maroons. After a scoreless first period, the Maroons would put together back-to-back three-goal frames, led by Nolan Gardiner’s hat-trick performance, which would give Chatham a 6-2 win. The Stars will next be in action on Friday against the Sarnia Legionnaires.

The Komoka Kings played just one game this past weekend, hosting the St. Mary’s Lincolns on Saturday night. The Kings would defend home ice with a 4-2 win, led by Joel Mazzilli’s three-point effort (1g, 2a). Komoka will be in Leamington on Thursday, taking on the Flyers.