Rookie Tom Craig scored in dramatic fashion to help lift the Windsor Lancers to a 5-4 shoot-out win over the No. 4 ranked Western Mustangs on Friday night at Windsor Arena. 

 

Windsor has now captured three straight wins and their first shoot-out victory in program history. The Lancers are now 10-9-3 on the season and currently sit in 5th place in the OUA West division heading into Saturday night's game against the 4th place Waterloo Warriors.

 

On Friday night, the Lancers came out firing as they scored two goals in the first period to take a 2-0 lead heading into intermission.

 

Danny Anger scored three minutes into the contest to put the Lancers ahead early, before Mark Thorburn scored his fifth of the season on the power play, giving Windsor the two goal edge.

 

In the second, Western got a jump on Windsor with two goals from Julien Cimodamore and Josh McQuade to tie the game going into the final period.

 

Both teams played with great intensity throughout as neither team wanted to leave the building without the victory.
 

Late in the third period, Mustang Josh McQuade scored his second of the game with only 1:56 remaining to take a 4-3 lead.

However, the Lancers would not be denied and with one minute remaining, Lancer head coach Kevin Hamlin pulled goaltender Jim Watt to gain the extra attacker. The move paid off as Mark Thorburn scored the tying goal with his second of the game to send the match into overtime.

 

With overtime solving nothing, the game went into a shoot-out. Heading into the shoot-out, the Lancers had never won a shoot-out in the five years that it had been in existence in the OUA.
 

Tied at one goal apiece after the first three shooters, the Lancers and Mustangs went shot for shot and save for save for the next six rounds.

 

In the tenth round, after another excellent save from Lancer netminder Jim Watt, Coach Hamlin called rookie Tom Craig's number.  

The native of St. Louis, Missouri, who was playing in only his fifth  game in a Lancer uniform did not disappoint as he snuck one through the five hole of Western's Josh Unice to give his team the victory.

Jim Watt was outstanding in goal for the Lancers as he made some fantastic saves throughout to earn the win.

The Lancers will look to continue their winning ways on Saturday night as they host the Waterloo Warriors at 7:30pm at Windsor Arena.