Photo Courtesy: Nav Mohan - 94.9 Radio Western

 

GOJHL

The London Nationals were blanked by the St. Thomas Stars on Friday evening 4-0. It was just the second time all season that the Nats have been shut out. Anthony Hurtubise stopped all 34 London shots for his first shutout of the season, while the Stars’ offence was led by Jake Robinson who had a goal and three assists. The Nationals got back into the win column on Saturday though, taking down the Komoka Kings 3-1. Christian Polillo would score two of his team’s goals to give London its 29^th win of the year. They will be in action again on Wednesday in a matchup that could decide who wins the regular season division crown. The Leamington Flyers lead London by three points for first in the GOJHL West, with the two going head-to-head at the Western Fair Sports Complex at 7pm on Wednesday.

 

Western Mustangs

 

Hockey

Friday night at Thompson Arena was home to the first half of a back to back as the Western Mustangs men’s hockey team hosted the Lakehead Thunderwolves. The Mustangs had a chance to clinch third in the OUA West, while the Thunderwolves needed a win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. The former would prevail over the latter, with the Mustangs ending Lakehead’s season 4-2. Kenny Huether got the scoring started in the opening minutes of the game, with Adam Sinclair following up moments later with a goal of his own. Spenser Cobbold would score the eventual game-winner in the third period. Round 2 would go the next night as the Mustangs honoured their graduating players for Seniors Night. Cobbold, Ray Huether, Trent Ouellette, Trevor Warnaar and captain Jonathan Laser were all recognized before puck drop. With a lot of depth players in the lineup for a meaningless game, Lakehead would prevail 5-1. The Mustangs will take on the Laurier Golden Hawks in the first round of the Queen’s Cup playoffs, with Game #1 set to go Thursday evening at 7pm from Thompson Arena.

The Women’s hockey team were in Waterloo on Friday night to take on their old head coach Kelly Paton and her Laurier Golden Hawks. The Mustangs would play a solid 60-minute game, with April Clark picking up her league-leading 20th goal in the process. Shailyn Waites would also score her fourth goal of the season, while Carmen Lasis made 27 saves for her fifth shutout of the season. On Sunday, the Mustangs, honoured their graduating players prior to their matchup against the Waterloo Warriors. Evra and Edie Levesque, Shailyn Waites, Anthea Lasis and Catherine O’Connor were all recognized for their contributions over the years, with a lovely pre-game ceremony. The Mustangs would take the magic into the game, scoring two quick goals in the first period then locking it down from there to win their second straight game 2-0. Carmen Lasis made 25 saves for her second straight shutout, while Emma Suitor and Shana Alexander were the goal-scorers. Western has one game left in the regular season and can clinch second place in the OUA with just a single point against Windsor on Saturday.

 

Basketball

The Mustangs basketball teams were in St. Catharine’s on Saturday to play the Brock Badgers. The women’s team would fall 66-37. The men’s team would play an exciting overtime game, taking down the Badgers 96-91 in overtime. Omar Shiddo had 33 points and a clutch three-pointer in the extra frame, while rookie Aaron Tenant had 13 points and was two rebounds shy of a double-double.

The Mustangs would return home on Sunday to host the Windsor Lancers in a rescheduled game. The ladies would fall to the powerhouse Windsor team 77-39—giving up more points to the Lancers than they scored in their two games over the weekend (77; 76). The men’s team blew their opponents out of the water, breaking the century mark 102-63. Omar Shiddo couldn’t miss on Sunday, shooting an astounding 10-13 from the field, going 8-10 from beyond the arc. The men’s team are now tied with Brock for second in the OUA West. Both basketball teams will head to Waterloo to play the Warriors on Wednesday, then honour their seniors back home at Alumni Hall on Saturday against McMaster.

 

Volleyball

The men’s and women’s volleyball teams hosted the Windsor Lancers at Alumni Hall on Friday evening. The women’s team came into play jostling for position in a tight OUA West division, looking to remain in the top four. After dropping the opening set, the Mustangs rallied for three straight to win the match in four. Kelsey Veltman was a force yet again for the purple and white, leading the way with 23 kills and a .447 hitting percentage. Kate Van Camp and Jessica Lam chipped in defensively with 16 digs apiece.

The men’s team were in a little tougher on Friday, as the Lancers were second in the division at 9-3. The Mustangs would make that 9-4 after Friday, taking down the Lancers in straight sets, but with two of those sets needing tiebreakers. Jackson Bere had a .538 hitting percentage for the Mustangs, with team nearly doubling the hitting percentage of the Lancers. Western now moves into a tie for second in the OUA West at 9-4, while the women’s team sits third in their division at 10-5. Both teams will head to York this weekend for a date with the Lions.

 

Squash

The Mustangs’ men’s and women’s squash teams competed in the OUA Championships over the weekend. The women would take home silver after falling to the Queen’s Gaels, who won their fifth straight provincial title. Western’s women’s coach Holly Delavigne was named the women’s Coach of the Year.

The men continued their historic dominance in the OUA, winning their 36^th consecutive championship. They would lose just one match out of 42 as the breezed to the championship. David Mill was named an OUA All-Star while teammate Elliot Hunt was named the Rookie of the Year. Men’s head coach Derek Moore also won Coach of the Year honours.

 

Swimming

The Mustangs’ swimming teams both finished with a bronze medal at the OUA championships hosted by U of T. Matthew Loewen of Western was named the Male Swimmer of the Year, with a gold medal in the men’s 100m breaststroke, won gold in the men’s 200m breaststroke, gold in the 200m medley relay and 50m breaststroke, and helped the Mustangs to a silver-medal finish in the men’s 400m medley relay.