Back-up goaltender Mitch Maraschiello made the most of his start on Friday (Jan. 23) as he held the Western Mustangs off the scoreboard in a 1-0 win for the York University Lions men's hockey team at Canlan Ice Sports.
 
The Lions came into the game 17 points behind the Mustangs in the OUA West standings and were facing a Western team that had the division's best defence and second-best offence. But the Lions turned the tables and played a strong defensive game, earning the victory and holding the Mustangs scoreless.
 
The win would not have been achieved without Maraschiello's (Buffalo, N.Y.) spectacular goaltending, as he made 30 saves en route to his first career shutout.
 
The first period was extremely fast-paced with the both sides fighting the entire 20 minutes of play. The Mustangs were the first to get a taste of the back of the net at 8:13 when Stefan Salituro fell into Maraschiello, knocking him over and scoring a disallowed goal due to goaltender interference.
 
After that near mishap, the Lions came down the other end and Colton Vannucci (Calgary) and Michael Santini (Woodbridge, Ont.) rushed the net at 12:40, then sent the puck back to Trevor Petersen (Thornhill, Ont.), who smacked it home to put the Lions in the lead 1-0 by the end of the period.
 
The Mustangs put 14 shots on Maraschiello – three of them resulting in a broken stick – but Maraschiello never backed down.
 
Things started to cool down in the second period as there were no goals scored. Both goalies did a phenomenal job in the second defending their net as the Mustangs launched six shots at Maraschiello and the Lions fired 11 shots at Greg Dodds.
 
In the third, the Mustangs brought the heat and pressure with fast passing and one touch shooting, constantly keeping the play in the Lions' end of the rink. The Mustangs fired 10 shots at Maraschiello and had pulled their goalie for the extra attacker, but they still couldn't find the back of the net.
 
The Lions remain in a tie for sixth place in the OUA West standings with a record of 9-11-2, while the Mustangs are now in a tie for first place, although Windsor holds two games in hand.
 
The next game for the Lions is on Saturday (Jan. 24) against the Toronto Varsity Blues in Toronto. Puck drop is set for 7:30pm.