LONDON, Ont. - The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's hockey team couldn't overcome an early deficit, falling 6–2 to the Western Mustangs on Saturday afternoon at Thompson Arena.
Western capitalized early on the power play, opening the scoring just 1:46 into the game when defenceman Eric Van Impe converted with help from Zach Power and Christiano Aiello. The Mustangs doubled their lead at 8:07 on a goal from Lawson Sherk and carried a 2–0 advantage into the first intermission.
Rookie forward Luke Della Croce put Laurier on the board early in the second period, scoring his first career OUA goal at 3:14 off assists from Ethan Szabo and Max-Antoine Melancon to make it 3–1.
Western, however, responded with three straight goals from Sherk, Aiello and Power to take control of the game.
The Mustangs added another tally at 1:28 of the third period before Laurier's power play struck late. Rookie Ryan Schaap recorded his first OUA goal at 10:52, assisted by Joshua Kavanagh and Justin O'Donnell, cutting the deficit to 6–2.
Laurier went 2-for-4 with the man advantage, while Western capitalized on three of its six opportunities.
Game notes:
-Both Laurier goals came from first-year players, while Szabo finished with two assists.
-The Golden Hawks were assessed 20 minutes in penalties, while Western recorded 12.Â
Up next:
Laurier returns home Thursday, October 30, for its annual School Day Game. Puck drop is set for 11 a.m. at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex. Fans can follow live coverage on OUA.tv or on X at @WLUAthletics.
