The Windsor Lancers Men's Hockey team will look to open strong in the new year as they host the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday night at Windsor Arena.

The Lancers currently sit at 6-8-3 on the season and in 7th spot in the tightly packed OUA West Division. 

Only six points separate fifth place from ninth place with the Lancers only four points behind York for fifth in the standings.

Over the holiday break, Coach Hamlin's team hosted the Waterloo Warriors for an exhibition match-up in Windsor. The Lancers scored five times in the second period as they skated to an impressive 5-2 victory on home ice.

Up front, the Lancers have been led all season by the solid play of second year forward Mark Thorburn. The native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario has registered 9 goals and 14 points in 17 games thus far and will need to continue his strong play in the second half.

Brett Oliphant and Brett Vandehogen have also provided needed scoring as the pair have combined for 26 points (13 each) through the first half of the year.

The second half of the season will see Windsor face four of the top ten teams in the country in Western, Lakehead, Waterloo and Laurier so they will need to be clicking on all cylinders from the start.

If the Lancers are able to make a big move in the playoff race, it will be critical that they get strong goaltending from veteran Jim Watt and more timely and balanced scoring up front from their group of young forwards.

Team defense will also be critical as Windsor looks to keep the conference rivals in check over the next two months.

The action gets started this Saturday night as the Lancers host the Waterloo Warriors at 7:30pm at Windsor Arena.