Source: Elisa Mitton, Windsor Sports Information Coordinator / Photo credit Dennis Pajot
DETROIT, MI.- In front of the bright lights at Comerica Park at the Hockeytown Winter Festival, the Windsor Lancers lost their first-ever OUA outdoor game, falling to the rival Western Mustangs 5-2 on Monday evening.
Despite outshooting their opponent 41-32, Windsor (11-5-0) had their two-game win streak snapped at the hands of the Mustangs (10-5), who avenged a 5-1 defeat to the Lancers on November 29 in London, Ont.
The Mustangs opened the scoring at 5:29 on Steven Reese's fifth of the season to take a 1-0 lead. Kenny Bradford nearly answered moments later after he recovered a Western turnover following an open ice hit, but his low shot was turned aside by Josh Unice. Spencer Pommells looked to have the tying marker on the next shift, shoving the puck underneath Unice and across the goal line. However, the net came off its moorings seconds before, and the referee was quick to call off the marker.
Pommells frustration showed as the Grande Prairie, Alta. native bowled over a Mustangs player in the neutral zone with a hard, clean body-check before taking a slashing penalty just past the midway point of the opening frame. After the Lancers killed off the penalty, Noah Schwarz banged home the puck from the side of the net to double up the Mustang advantage.
Windsor earned its first power-play of the game, but it was Western who came up with two more scoring chances while short-handed, springing Parker Van Buskirk into action with a couple of big saves to keep his team within striking distance.
The deficit quickly spread to three as Clarke notched his team-leading 11th of the year just 35 seconds into the middle stanza. The Lancers pushed back throughout the second, earning a power-play opportunity at the 12:36 mark. After they were unable to convert on special teams, Eric Noel got the Lancers on the board with under five minutes left in the second with his fourth goal on the year.
The Mustangs had an excellent opportunity to re-take a three-goal lead in the opening moments of the third, but could not find the goal on a 3-on-1 break. However, the visitors would break through again a few minutes later, as a good first pad save by Van Buskirk produced a rebound that Adam Stoykewich put away at the 6:37 mark.
Windsor capitalized on their fourth power-play of the game with under five minutes left in regulation on a goal from MacAulay MacDonnell, his seventh in 2013-14, but an empty netter by the Mustangs put the contest on ice in the final minute of play.
The Lancers return to conference play on January 4 when they host the Ryerson Rams at the WFCU Centre. Puck-drop is set for 7:30 p.m.