Photo Courtesy: Navaneeth Mohan - 94.9 Radio Western 

GOJHL

The London Nationals took down the Leamington Flyers on Wednesday evening 5-3. A scoreless first period led into a seven-goal second period, with each team recording three-goal outbursts. Christian Polillo would score the last goal of the second period, which proved to be the game-winner. Polillo would finish with a goal and two assists, with linemate Riley MacRae scoring twice and Cal Davis chipping in with three assists. The Nats will be in Strathroy on Saturday night to take on the Rockets.

The St. Thomas Stars lost to the LaSalle Vipers on Wednesday night 7-2. The Vipers were led by AJ Ryan who had a goal and two assists. The Stars will host the Komoka Kings on Friday night. The Kings will host the LaSalle Vipers on Saturday after their game in St. Thomas.

Western Mustangs

Hockey

The Western Mustangs men’s hockey team opened up their playoff series on Thursday night by beating the Laurier Golden Hawks 3-2 in overtime. The game was scoreless after 40 minutes of play, until Trevor Warnaar broke the deadlock midway through the third period. Laurier would respond moments later with a powerplay goal from Anthony Conti. The teams would exchange goals, sending the game into overtime. On the powerplay, Spenser Cobbold’s point shot would beat Olivier Lafreniere to win Game #1 for Western. Game #2 will be on Friday evening in Waterloo, with the Mustangs having an opportunity to sweep the series. Game #3 will be played on Sunday should Laurier win on Friday.

The women’s team is looking to close out their regular season on a high note in Windsor on Saturday. The Mustangs have already clinched second place in the OUA, with the Lancers sitting dead last in the OUA. Western will likely use up some depth players in their lineup in preparation for playoffs which will start next week. As it stands coming into the weekend, Western will either play Waterloo or Brock in the first round of the playoffs.

Basketball

The Mustangs basketball teams were in Waterloo on Wednesday night taking on the Warriors. The women’s team would fall 54-45, despite Maddy Horst and Laura Graham both dropping game-high 17-point performances.

The men’s team were able to win their fourth game in a row against the Warriors 81-74. Julian Walker would have a game-high 28 points on a perfect 12-12 shooting night, with a rebound shy of a double-double.

Both teams will close out their regular season by hosting the McMaster Marauders on Saturday afternoon for each team’s Senior Day. The men will have a chance to clinch second place in the OUA West with a win. Tip off is 1pm for the women, 3pm for the men.

Volleyball

The volleyball teams will hit the road this weekend, first taking on the York Lions on Saturday.

For the women’s team, the Lions are fourth in the OUA East at 7-8, having lost their last three matches. The men’s Lions squad is 6-8, also fourth in the East coming off a four-set loss to McMaster.

On Sunday the Mustangs will head to North Bay to take on the Nipissing Lakers. The women’s Lakers team is 4-11, sitting fifth in the East dropping their last two matches. The Nipissing men’s team is 4-10, also fifth in the East. The Mustangs women’s team is currently 10-5 sitting third in the OUA West, while the men are 9-4 also third in their division.