Western Holds Off Guelph’s Late Rally To Remain Undefeated

The Western Mustangs held off a late Guelph rally for a 9–8 victory to remain undefeated. Troy MacDonald opened the scoring shorthanded before Christopher Da Silva added another, with Sam Savery answering late to leave Western ahead 2–1 after one. The Mustangs built a 6–2 lead in the second, helped by a pair from Hayden McIsaac, before Ethan Brown and Savery brought Guelph within two. MacDonald completed his hat trick with five seconds remaining to give Western a 7–4 halftime lead.

MacDonald added his fourth in the third before Ethan Lee scored on the power play to make it 8–5 heading to the fourth. Lee’s second and a Robert Baxter goal brought the Gryphons within one, but Zach Abu-Ali answered with 3:28 remaining to give Western some breathing room. Baxter scored again with forty-four seconds left, but the Mustangs held on. MacDonald led Western with four goals, while Hayden McIsaac added a pair. Savery’s hat trick and two goals each from Lee and Baxter paced Guelph.

Final score: Western 9, Guelph 8.