The University of Windsor Lancers men's hockey team opened the OUA regular season with a strong 5-1 win over the visiting York Lions at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex on Sunday (Oct. 5) afternoon.

STATS
Keegan McMullen led the way for Windsor with two goals on the day, and last year's leading scorer for the Lancers picked up an assist for good measure. Aaron Shaw and Ty Toews each had two helpers, while Frank Jenkins, Owen Jones, and Sal Collora each scored for Windsor. Max Donoso stopped 32 of 33 shots in the winning effort.

Thomas Johnston scored for York, and goaltender Dawson Smith made 34 saves.

GAME FLOW
The Lancers were eager to get the home crowd into the game, coming out with lots of energy and pace. Their intensity paid off as McMullen scored the first goal of the season four and a half minutes into the game, finishing off a passing play with Shaw. Jenkins doubled the Lancer lead seven minutes later as he found the back of the net off of a feed form McMullen. York responded with Johnston's goal just sixteen seconds later, and the first period would end with a 2-1 Lancer lead.

The teams settled into the game in the second period. Back-and-forth play did not yield any more goals, with the Lancers putting 19 shots on Smith and York responding with 12 of their own. Windsor kept their 2-1 lead after forty minutes.

Windsor broke the game open with three goals in the first ten minutes of the third period. Jones found a loose puck off of a Logan Linklater shot and buried the rebound just a minute into the frame. Shortly after, McMullen pounced on a loose puck and found himself on a breakaway. The fourth-year forward made no mistake to cash in his second of the game. Sal Collora put the icing on the cake with ten minutes to play, firing home a one-timer off of a feed from Alex Cunningham, sealing a 5-1 opening night win for the Lancers.

UP NEXT
The Lancers take the ice next weekend on Friday, October 10 to take on the Waterloo Warriors in Waterloo, Ont. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game can be streamed online via oua.tv.