Photo Courtesy: Nav Mohan - 94.9 Radio Western

GOJHL

The London Nationals lost their fifth game of the season on Thursday night when they fell to the Sarnia Legionnaires 6-3 on Thursday night. The Nats led 2-0 after two periods, but Sarnia piled on the offence in the final frame scoring five goals in just ten minutes of play. London is 19-5-0-1, with a healthy lead in the GOJHL West. They will host the Chatham Maroons on Wednesday night at the Western Fair Sports Centre.

The St. Thomas Stars were able to beat the Sarnia Legionnaires on Friday night in a barn-burner, 7-6 in double overtime. After Sarnia scored an empty-netter to seemingly end the game, the Stars rattled off two goals in the final minute of regulation to force overtime, where Cal Horvat would win it with his fifth goal of the season. The Stars were looking to carry over the excitement of the win into their next game on Saturday against the Strathroy Rockets. This time though, the Stars would be on the other end of an incredible comeback. St. Thomas led 3-1 after two periods, and would score two quick goals early in the third to tie it 3-3. Emmet Pierce would score the game-winner for the Rockets in the final minute of the game to steal the 4-3 win from the Stars. St. Thomas moves to 11-11-1-2, good for fifth in the West, with their next game not scheduled until Sunday, December 9th.

The Komoka Kings would drop their first game of the weekend, losing 6-4 to the Leamington Flyers on Thursday night. The Flyers would pull away in the third period with three unanswered goals, despite five Kings having multi-point nights. Komoka would get some points in their next game on Saturday though, as they played the LaSalle Vipers to a 2-2 final. Joel Mazzilli would score a goal and an assist, to give him 39 points (16g, 23a) in 24 games, which is good for 8th in the GOJHL scoring race but third amongst Western Conference players. The Kings will take on the Nationals on Saturday night in Komoka.

Western Mustangs

The OUA had its final weekend of competition this past weekend, here’s what went down for the Mustangs!

Hockey

The Western Mustangs hockey teams were closing out their 2018 schedules this past weekend. Starting with the men, they were playing the rival Windsor Lancers in a home-and-home, starting with a game on Thursday night at Thompson Arena. The Mustangs came in having won their last three games in a row, while the Lancers, who were one point behind Western in the standings, had lost their last four games in a row. The patterns would continue on Thursday night, as the Mustangs would light the lamp five times against the Lancers to take the game 5-1.

The final minutes got real chippy between the two foes, as there were 96 minutes in penalties given out in the game, with three player ejections. Kolten Olynek would score two goals, while also being one of those who were ejected. Kyle Petit also picked up his first goal of the season, while also adding a helper. The two foes would be right back at it again on Saturday when they completed the home-and-home in Windsor. The Mustangs would come out on top again 4-1, to finish 2018 with five straight wins. The fourth Mustangs goal was an empty-netter scored by goaltender Luke Peresinni, who shot it down the length of the ice for his first-career OUA goal. Peresinni now has more goals than seven of his teammates. The Mustangs head into the winter break sitting in fourth place in the OUA West. Their first action of 2019 will be on January 4th when they host the Guelph Gryphons.

As for the ladies, the Mustangs just had one game this past weekend to close out their 2018 side of the schedule. They were in Toronto on Friday taking on the York Lions. After the Mustangs tied the game up 2-2 late in the third period, the Lions’ Erin Locke scored the game-winning goal in overtime to give York their first win over Western since 2011, 3-2. April Clark picked up her league-leading 11th goal and 17th point with a shorthanded marker in the second period. The Mustangs also lost defenceman Renae Nevills with what looked to be a serious head injury. The women’s hockey team is now sits in fifth place in the OUA, but just a single point out of first as the top of the standings are jam-packed. The ladies will return to action on January 5th when they host the Ryerson Rams in their first game of the new year.

Basketball

The Mustangs basketball teams were on a northern Ontario road trip to close out 2018, taking on the Nipissing Lakers and the Laurentian Voyageurs this past weekend. The women’s team would drop both of their games, losing 70-53 against Nipissing, and 76-59 against Laurentian. The men’s team would win both of their games, beating the Lakers 77-72 with a 34-point performance from Omar Shiddo and shooting nearly 50% from the field as a team. Western kept rolling against Laurentian, edging the Voyageurs 76-59, with four Mustangs players recording double digit point totals, and Nikolai Farkic helping out with nine total assists. The men’s team finishes the fall schedule with back-to-back wins, putting them in a two-way tie for second place in the OUA West. The basketball teams’ first games of 2019 will be on January 5th when they host the Brock Badgers.

Volleyball

The Mustangs volleyball squads were in tough in their final game of 2018, as they were hosting the perennial powerhouse McMaster Marauders on Friday night at Alumni Hall. The women’s team engaged in an all-out battle against their Hamilton visitors, falling in five sets 3-2. Kate Van Camp led the Mustangs in kills in the match with nine.

The men’s team were looking to rebound after a disappointing loss to Windsor in their previous match. They would bounce back pretty nicely, as they were able to hand the Marauders their second loss of the season in five sets.

The women’s team heads into the break with a 5-4 record, tied for second in the OUA West in what’s proving to be a very tightly contested division this season. The men’s team is now 6-3 and also battling for the top spot in their division, with it being a three-way tie for first place. The volleyball teams will be back in action on January 12th to kick off the new year.