The Western Mustangs led four different times during the game and held on to win 4-3 over Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks at the Sun Life Arena at the Waterloo Recreation Complex on March 4 in front of more than 700 fans.
Yashar Farmanara (West Vancouver, B.C.) scored the game-winning goal in the final two minutes to give Western an opportunity to advance to the national championships with a win Saturday night over Laurier at Thompson Arena.
Jeff Martens (Maple Ridge, B.C.) and defencemen Adam Nemeth (Amherstburg, Ont.) and Geoff Killing (Embro, Ont.) scored the other Western goals.
Sal Peralta (Leamington, Ont.) had two assists, while Killing and Nemeth added an assist each for two-point nights. Brad Topping (Strathroy, Ont.) made 25 saves for the win in Western’s net.
Laurier pulled goalie Jeff MacDougald late for an extra attacker but could not generate a goal to send the game to overtime. MacDougald made 26 saves in the loss.
The winner of the best-of-three OUA West Final series qualifies for the CIS Cavendish Cup national championships in Thunder Bay March 26-29.
Ahead
Game 2 goes Sat., March 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Thompson Arena. If a Game 3 is necessary, it will be at Sun Life Arena in Waterloo, Ont., on Sun., March 8 at 7:30 p.m.
With two major varsity sports games scheduled Saturday on campus, a special two-for-one offer is being made to faculty, staff and students. For one price, ticket buyers get:
Men’s Basketball, March 7, 2 p.m., OUA Wilson Cup Final vs. Carleton, Alumni Hall
Men’s Hockey, March 7, 7:30 p.m., Game 2 OUA West Final Series vs Laurier, Thompson
CHRW Radio, official voice of the Mustangs for more than 25 years, will provide coverage of the entire best-of-three OUA West Final series. Fans can listen at 94.9 FM in the London area or online at www.chrwradio.com/listen/.