TORONTO, Ont. – An overtime goal from
Matthew Watson capped off a third period comeback and gave the Western Mustangs a 4-3 win over the U SPORTS No. 10 Ryerson Rams on Saturday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
The win is the third straight for the Mustangs, bringing the purple and white record to 7-9-2 with ten games remaining. Western continues to occupy the eighth and final playoff spot in the OUA West, and also snaps the Rams four-game winning streak.
Watson was one of three goal scorers for the Mustangs, with Ray Heuther scoring the team's first goal of the game, while
Stephen Desrocher tied the game with a pair of goals in the third period.
Ryerson relied on rookie David Miller, John Carpino, and Alex Basso to generate goals, while Steven Harland picked up two assists in the loss.
Luke Peresinni picked up his second straight victory in the Mustangs net, turning aside 37 shots, while Taylor Dupuis made 32 saves for the Rams.
The game opened with Western firing right out of the gate and dominating in the first minutes, and keeping the Rams off balance. The Mustangs were consistently outskating their Ryerson counterparts while playing an aggressive defence that allowed little time for the Rams to set anything up once moving into the Western end.
Since November 3 the Rams have been able to put up at least one goal in the first frame of every regulation contest, but the traditionally high-scoring team struggled against Peresinni and the thriving Mustang defensive corps. Ryerson's offence was in part hindered by the absence of Matt Mistele, the second leading scorer in the OUA. The former Sarnia Sting forward left the ice mid-way through the first period with an injury and did not return for the remainder of the game.
With their lead scorer on the bench, Miller stepped up and scored the first goal of the game eight minutes into the second period after capitalizing on a pass threaded through from Steven Harland.
Western responded just under five minutes later with a goal of their own from Heuther, and the game settled back into the back-and-forth battle that dominated in the first period. The neutral zone saw limited action, as frequent turnovers and interceptions kept the action concentrated in offensive zones.
The teams remained locked in the tight battle until a last minute shot from Carpino. The puck hit the crossbar and crossed the goal line with only 0.5 seconds left on the clock to close out the second period.
The third period was arguably the most tightly contested, with both teams upping the energy.
Basso sent the puck past Peresinni just two minutes in to extend Ryerson's lead to 3-1, but Western would soon even out the score.
In his second OUA contest after joining the purple and white roster over the Winter break, Desrocher proved himself to be one of the most valuable members of the rookie class with a pair of goals only three minutes apart. His would be the final goals of regulation, with the game moving into 3-on-3 overtime to determine a winner.
The five-minute period began with the Rams enjoying a one-man advantage as the Mustangs waited out the end of a penalty from the previous period. Despite opening with the disadvantage and a flurry of shots sent towards Peresinni, the game remained tied until Watson scored the game winner with just over two minutes remaining in the extra frame to secure a 4-3 win for the purple and white.
Western returns to home ice for their next contest on January 12, when they'll host the Waterloo Warriors for a rematch of the January 5 game that saw a commanding 5-1 Mustangs victory. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m., and fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv
