Photo Courtesy: Nav Mohan - 94.9 Radio Western

GOJHL

The London Nationals have already played twice this week, splitting a pair of games on Wednesday and Thursday. During Wednesday’s weekly home game, the Nats took down the Strathroy Rockets 4-1. Three London players would have multi-point nights: Josh Wright (1g, 1a), Cal Davis (2a) and Noah Tooke (1g, 1a). Eric Schneider would also make 30 of 31 saves to pick up his first win between the pipes for the Nationals. London would follow that up the next night when they travelled to Leamington but would get blanked 3-0. Zach Borgiel would stop all 40 shots he faced in the Flyers’ cage for his third shutout of the season. The Nats still lead the GOJHL Western Conference but Leamington closed the gap to seven points. London will head to LaSalle on Sunday to play the Vipers, rounding out a busy weekend.

The St. Thomas Stars will have a Friday/Saturday back-to-back this weekend, first hosting the Leamington Flyers tonight at the Joe Thornton Rec Centre. St. Thomas has yet to beat Leamington this season, losing three times and tying once. The Stars will then trek down the road to Komoka Kings on Saturday. The Stars have had the Kings’ number this season, winning three out of four meetings so far. St. Thomas is still in second-last in the Western Conference with a 12-20-3-3 record.

After the Komoka Kings take on St. Thomas on Saturday, they will round out their weekend on the road against the Strathroy Rockets. The Kings have dropped three out of four meetings against the Rockets, who trail Komoka by just a point for the sixth spot in the standings.

Western Mustangs

Hockey

The Western women’s hockey team has another road trip this weekend, as they head up to Northern Ontario for a pair of games. They will first be in North Bay tonight to play the Nipissing Lakers for the second time this season. Western took the first meeting 2-1 just two weeks ago. This is a significant matchup in the standings as Nipissing trails the Mustangs by just four points in the OUA standings, as the two teams are fourth and second, respectively. The purple & white will then head an hour-and-a-half west to Sudbury for a matchup against the Laurentian Voyageurs on Saturday. The Mustangs trounced Laurentian 6-0 two weeks ago, a game that saw April Clark record a natural hat-trick. Western comes into the weekend trailing Guelph by three points for first in the OUA.

The men’s team returns home tonight for a matchup against the rival Ryerson Rams. The Rams took the two teams’ first meeting of the season back in November 5-1 in Toronto. These two teams also met last year in the first round of the Queen’s Cup playoffs where the Rams emerged victorious in three games. Ryerson has the two top scorers in the OUA: former Plymouth Whalers captain Matt Mistele (17g, 24a), and former North Bay Battalion assistant captain Matt Santos (17g, 18a). Puck drop will be at 7pm from Thompson Arena. The Mustangs will then head to Waterloo on Saturday to take on the Laurier Golden Hawks. Laurier took the first meeting of the season during Western’s School Day Game 5-1 just a couple of weeks ago, and now come into play having won their last three games in a row. Western comes into the weekend in the third spot in the OUA West, trailing Ryerson by five points and leading York by four.
 

Basketball

The Mustangs basketball teams will also be embarking on a long road trip, as they will play a back-to-back against the northernmost opponent in the OUA: the Lakehead Thunderwolves. The women’s team has finally found their rhythm since players have returned from injury, as they are yet to lose a game when Maddy Horst plays. Julia Curran will be a game-time decision to play after reaggravating an injury prior to last weekend’s competition. The Mustangs are 5-11 though, taking on a Thunderwolves team who are 12-4 but have lost their last three games in a row.

The men’s team comes into the weekend looking to extend their seven-game winning streak against the 4-12 men’s Thunderwolves. The Mustangs have an opportunity to create further separation in the OUA West standings, as they lead second-place Laurier by a half-game.

Volleyball

The Mustangs volleyball teams resume their seasons tonight as they host the Trent Excalibur. The Excalibur women’s team is 1-10 on the season, while their men’s team is 0-10. The Mustangs women’s team is 6-5—third place in the OUA West, while the men’s team are 7-4 but sit in fourth place in their conference. This will be the first OUA match the Mustangs teams have played since January 13^th against McMaster. The women’s game will be at 6pm, with the men following at 8 from Alumni Hall.

Wrestling

Western University will be home to a pair of wrestling meets this weekend. The junior provincial championship will take place on Saturday, as some of the top wrestlers in the OUA will compete against one another. On Sunday, it will be the annual Western Open, which is open to more than just OUA athletes as some clubs and colleges will also take part in it. Both meets will happen at Thames Hall on Western’s campus.