The University of Windsor Lancers men's hockey team outlasted the Western Mustangs in a wild back-and-forth battle on Wednesday (Jan. 28) night in London, Ont., skating to an 8–7 overtime victory at Thompson Arena. Windsor showed resilience throughout, answering every push from Western before Aaron Shaw sealed the win just 15 seconds into overtime in one of the season's most dramatic contests.
STATS
Windsor finished with a slight edge in shots, outshooting Western 36–33. Max Donoso earned the win in goal for the Lancers, turning aside 26 shots in a full 60:15 of action. Western netminder Jack McNaughton took the loss with 28 saves. Special teams played a major role, as Windsor converted on four power-play opportunities and added a shorthanded goal, while Western struck four times with the man advantage. Colton Smith led the Lancers offensively with a hat trick, while Dylan Schives recorded a four-point night consisting of a goal and three assists.
GAME FLOW
Windsor opened the scoring midway through the first period as Colton Smith finished a setup from Ty Toews to make it 1–0. Western responded on the power play with a tally by Lawson Sherk, but Windsor reclaimed the lead late in the frame when Keegan McMullen buried a power-play marker from Matt McNamara and Aaron Shaw. Another Western power-play goal from Sherk in the final minute sent the teams to the intermission tied 2–2.
The second period saw the game explode offensively, with seven combined goals. Jacob Boucher gave Windsor the edge with a shorthanded tally early, but Western answered back with a power-play goal from Owen Saye. Smith restored Windsor's lead on the man advantage before the teams traded goals in a frantic two-minute stretch that saw Lawson Sherk and Brett Willits score for Western, while Smith completed his hat trick with another power-play goal. Owen Saye capped the period for the Mustangs, sending Western into the second intermission holding a narrow 6–5 advantage.
Windsor flipped the script in the third period, drawing even early as Dylan Schives scored unassisted before Alex Cunningham put the Lancers ahead with just under eight minutes remaining. Western refused to go away, tying the game once more with a shorthanded goal from Zac McCann to force overtime.
The extra frame didn't last long. Off the opening rush, Aaron Shaw finished took matters into his own hands and skated through the Western defence, finishing with a smooth backhander over the shoulder of McNaughton just 15 seconds in, lifting Windsor to an 8–7 overtime win.
UP NEXT
The Lancers will look to carry the momentum from the thrilling overtime victory forward as they prepare for their next matchup this Friday (Jan. 30) on home ice against the Guelph Gryphons. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available online at golancers.ca/tickets. The game can be streamed via oua.tv.
