Photo Courtesy: Nav Mohan - 94.9 Radio Western

GOJHL

The London Nationals had just one game this past weekend, toppling the Chatham Maroons 6-2 on Tuesday. Noah Tooke and Zach Sheedy both recorded a goal and an assist each while Jukka Schotter made 28 out of 30 saves to get his 10^th win of the year. The Nats are still top in the Western Conference with a seven-point lead over Leamington in second. London will host the Strathroy Rockets on Wednesday evening.

The St. Thomas Stars split their weekend set, first losing to the Chatham Maroons on Friday night 6-2. On Sunday, the Stars’ offence came alive, lighting the lamp seven times in a 7-4 barn-burner against the Strathroy Rockets. Liam Fedak and Sean McGurn would both have dominant five-point nights in the win. Fedak would notch a hat-trick along with two helpers, while McGurn scored a pair of goals and dished out three assists. The Stars will host the Leamington Flyers on Friday.

The Komoka Kings kept their solid play going on Friday evening, doubling up the St. Mary’s Lincolns 8-4. Despite two goals from the Lincolns’ Mason Goldie, it was no match for Ryan McAllister, who had a goal and three assists. Luc Arsenault would also have three assists, while five other Komoka players had multi-point nights. The Kings were supposed to play the Leamington Flyers on Saturday as well, but the game was postponed due to weather. Their next game will be on Saturday when they take on the St. Thomas Stars.

Western Mustangs

Hockey
Both Mustangs hockey teams had a pair of road games this past weekend.

The men’s team was looking to sweep a home-and-home against the York Lions on Friday evening after the Mustangs beat them 2-1 at Thompson just one week prior. The purple and white would have the edge yet again, edging York 5-3 in Toronto. The Lions opened the scoring just 30 seconds into the first period, but the Mustangs would respond just 10 seconds later with Ethan Szypula’s eighth of the season. Kyle Petit would then follow that with a natural hat trick in the first period, with all three assists coming from Spenser Cobbold. They would put in on cruise control from there, as Luke Peressini would make 34 of 37 shots for the win. The Mustangs would then lose an ugly game in Guelph on Saturday against the Gryphons 7-1. David Ovsjannikov would give up all seven goals in the Western cage, but he did face 45 shots in the Mustangs’ lacklustre effort. They’ll be hoping to rebound this Friday when they host the Ryerson Rams at Thompson Arena.

The women’s team were in Kingston on Friday taking on the Queen’s Gaels in a McCaw Cup rematch from last year. The Mustangs, however, were without their stud pair of twins Edie and Evra Levesque, who had to attend to family matter. Their absence was felt, as the Gaels quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead, eventually taking the tilt 5-2. The ladies would then leave Kingston on Friday evening and trek down to Oshawa for their game against the UOIT Ridgebacks on Saturday afternoon. The Mustangs arrived in the Motor City at around 1am Saturday morning in order to avoid the polar vortex that rocked Southern Ontario on Saturday. Fatigue was certainly noticeable against the Ridgebacks as Western fell down 1-0 in the second period. The Mustangs were able to empty the tanks though in the third period, with goals from Alyssa Chiarello and Rachel Armstrong less than three minutes apart giving the purple & white the 2-1 win.

Basketball
The Western Mustangs basketball teams continued their four-game homestand this past weekend, first hosting the Waterloo Warriors on Friday night. The women’s team seemed as if they were finally back to health, but senior Julia Curran was held out of action after reaggravating the injury that’s held her out most of the year, and defensive specialist Deb Kamba was also on the shelf with a lower body injury. The Mustangs though, did have the services of Maddy Horst, who suited up in her third game of the season after being sidelined for the first half. She didn’t start but still made an impact, dropping a team-high 17 points in 35 minutes of playing time. The women’s team kept on rolling on Saturday, knocking off the Gryphons 70-66. Five Mustangs players would account for all of their scoring: Laura Graham with 23, Brett Fischer with 16 and a rebound shy of a double-double, Emma Johnson with 14, Maddy Horst with 10 points and 8 boards and Nelli Larjava with 7 points. The women’s team has now won four games in a row to improve to 5-11, which ties them with the Gryphons for sixth in the OUA West.

The men’s team would have a dominant performance of their own against the Waterloo Warriors on Friday, defeating them 95-81. Omar Shiddo would be the leading scorer for the Mustangs, staying true to his season average by dropping 19 points. Nik Farkic would score 12 points and also dish out 9 assists. The men’s team were also able to beat the Gryphons on Saturday, overcoming a slow first quarter to win 72-53. Omar Shiddo went 4-6 from three-point-land in a game-high 19-point effort, while Julian Walker would record a 10-point, 14 rebound double-double. They have now won seven straight games, hold sole possession of first in the division and also hold the #10 national ranking.

The basketball teams will look to stay hot when they head up to Thunder Bay for a doubleheader against the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday and Saturday nights.