The York University men's hockey team faced a tough 5-3 loss against the Western Mustangs on Friday evening at Canlan Ice Sports.
 
In the previous Lions vs. Mustangs matchup just six days ago, the Mustangs topped the Lions 2-1 scoring the game winner in the final minute of play. With one point separating the two teams in the OUA West standings, the Mustangs earned a big win to maintain their third-place spot.
 
The Lions picked up an early lead scoring just 30 seconds into the game when Daniel Nikandrov fed a leading pass to Scott Feser who scored a breakaway goal. Just ten seconds later, the Mustangs tied the game with a goal by Ethan Szypula. Western's Kyle Pettit and Spenser Cobbold showed off some strong chemistry as Cobbold assisted Pettit in three consecutive goals to take a 4-1 lead by the end of the first period.
 
The Lions entered the second period looking to come back from a three-goal deficit. At 2:29, Feser tipped the puck to Peter De Coppi who beat the glove of Western's goalie to cut the lead in half. Building on the momentum of the early goal, the Lions got on the scoreboard again at 8:20 with a goal by Nik Coric assisted by Feser and Alex Mowbray. The second period ended with a 4-3 lead for the Mustangs.
 
Despite the Lions having multiple chances in the final period, the Mustangs scored one last goal on an empty net to finish the game with a 5-3 win.
 
The Lions will be playing in the subway series matchup tomorrow, Jan. 19 against the Ryerson Rams. The Toronto rivals are scheduled to play at 2:15pm.