The Windsor Lancer men's hockey team picked up solid home win on Friday defeating the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 3-2 in front of their fans at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex.  The Lancers improved to 9-3 on the year while the Golden Hawks fell to 3-10. 
 
GAME STATS
The Lancers were led by solid goaltending from Jonathan Reinhart who stopped 23 of 25 shots faced.  Ryan Barbosa, Anthony Salinitri, and Alex Friesen all scored for the blue and gold.  Salinitri extended his scoring streak to three games tonight as he has now registered a goal in each of the last three consecutive games for the blue and gold. 
 
GAME FLOW       
Both teams came out with high energy right out of the gate to start the first period.  The intensity was high on both sides with both teams trading shots on each other's goal early on. Windsor stuck first however after Barbosa knocked in his third goal of the season to give the Lancers a 1-0 lead at the 6:51 mark in the first.
 
The Lancers would go on to get into penalty trouble towards the midway point in the period which allowed the Golden Hawks to have an opportunity to have a 5-on-3 powerplay or two-man advantage if you will. The Lancers penalty killers fought hard to stave off the Golden Hawk powerplay but ultimately due to the resilient mounting pressure put forth by the purple and gold allowed them to persevere and tie the game up at 1-1. Laurier's Anthony Sorrentino scored at the 10:19 mark.
 
The Lancers however would quickly respond as Salinitri capitalized on a shorthanded breakaway chance to restore the Windsor lead and that put the Lancers up 2-1 at the 11:10 mark in the first period. Salinitri's goal was his fifth on the campaign to date and served to be a big momentum boost for the Lancers closing out the first period and heading into the first intermission. 
 
In the second period, nothing seemed to click for both teams throughout most of the period. Both sides exchanged great scoring chances but could not cash in. That was until Laurier found a way to crack the scoring dry spell late in the period as Matt McJannet scored for the Golden Hawks at the 16:12 mark knotting things up at 2-2. 
 
The third period started off like the second with both teams coming out eager to break the tie. However, nothing seemed to be getting by either goaltender for most of the period. With both teams on the verge of overtime as regulation time was winding down, the Lancers caught a break with a Golden Hawk penalty assessed giving them new hope with intent to take advantage of the late period powerplay. Friesen became the hero that the Lancers needed in the tight contest breaking the stalemate at the 14:52 mark in the period on the powerplay which ended up sealing the deal for the Lancers. Friesen's goal was also his fifth of the season which allowed the Lancers some room to breathe late in the game.
 
However, the game still proved to be interesting late as Laurier did not want to go home empty handed. The Golden Hawks came out strong for the rest of the period and even put the puck in the net late for what many believed was the equalizer, however the goal was waved off by the officials who deemed the Lancer net to be off its moorings. With the controversial call, both teams were full of adrenaline to close out this contest but ultimately a tough break for Laurier decided their fate as Windsor took the win in dramatic fashion after a hard-fought battle from both squads. Outstanding goaltending kept both teams in it throughout this evenly matched game.
 
These two teams are scheduled to meet again later on this month.
 
UP NEXT
For the blue and gold, they will look to extend their winning streak to three games as they are right back in action Saturday night when they host the Waterloo Warriors at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30PM. You can purchase your tickets at www.goLancers.ca/tickets or catch the action live on OUA.tv.