For all the excitement the first matchup between the North Shore Winterhawks and Whitehorse Northern Cross Mustangs lacked, the second game more than made up for it.

Sunday night's contest between the two midget squads featured a 53-save goaltending performance, a penalty shot and overtime. Much to the delight of the crowd at Takhini Arena, there was also a win for the hometown Mustangs.

It doesn't get much sweeter than that, especially after a disappointing 9-2 final on Saturday, when the Mustangs made it look a little too easy against a tired Winterhawks team, which had just stepped off the plane earlier that day.

The Winterhawks also arrived with a depleted lineup just eight skaters made the trip north and borrowed four Whitehorse players for the three-game series. Shane McHugh, Thomas Moore, Donald Russell and David Ricard suited up for both games on the weekend and will start again for the third matchup tonight.

'We're hearing those four have been doing a good job in house league, so it's a good opportunity for them to show us what they've got for Arctic Winter Games (AWG),' said Mike Young, co-coach of the Mustangs and a coach for AWG. 'They're here to show us and everyone else what they've got, and they've certainly been doing that.'

For the first 10 minutes of Sunday's game, it seemed like the Mustangs might run away with it once again, as they went up 2-0 on goals by Evan Campbell and Robbie Stuckey. But Matt Muirhead replied for the Winterhawks and it was 2-1 heading into the second.

Whitehorse was up by two after two, as Drew Pettitt also found the back of the net. But with a Mustang's player in the box at the beginning of the third period, Muirhead would notch his second goal of the game to bring North Shore within one.

Sagar Bassi was then hauled down as he headed to the net, allowing the Winterhawks forward to take a penalty shot. Though Mustangs goaltender Mitch Heynen got a piece of it, it wasn't enough, as Bassi made it a tie game.

'I was just going in, put it on my backhand, and then I saw the goalie go down, so I put it up high, top corner,' explained Bassi. 'It felt good.'

After being heavily out-shot through the first half of the game, the tying goal gave the Winterhawks some much needed momentum, and Heynen was forced to make a couple of huge saves in the dying minutes of regulation to get the Mustangs to overtime.

It didn't take long to decide the game in OT, as Mustangs captain Nick Mauro threw a big hit to get the ball rolling.

Pettitt picked up the loose puck and passed it 'tape to tape' for Taylor Love.

'I had a lot of time because the defencemen were out of position,' said Love. 'I just blew by them and the goalie was off to one side, so I faked the shot, pulled it by him and put it in on my backhand.'

Just like that, the Mustangs had their second straight win of the weekend and remained undefeated on home ice this season.

'Our systems were good, we were breaking out well,' said Young. 'We were passing better than we have been in a while.'

While their five-on-five play is consistently strong, the coaching staff for the Mustangs has been working on special teams a lot in practice, specifically the power play. On Sunday, Whitehorse was one-for-six with the man advantage, which is an improvement, said co-coach Joe Martin.

'Still, our power play has got to improve. That's one thing we're taking a lot of time to address.'

The Mustangs also gave up several odd-man rushes, but Heynen, who is the number two goalie on the roster behind Ian Perrier, was usually there to save the defence.

'He was huge,' said Martin. 'For the last 30 seconds of regulation ... the one guy had a perfect one-timer and Mitch came right out and cut down the angle. He made a big save.'

'When you compare (Heynen's) skill level from last year to this year, he's easily the rookie of the year,' added Young.

As much as Heynan impressed his teammates and coaching staff, North Shore's Sean McGuigan was the big game story, facing 57 shots.

'I mean, we had 60 shots on goal,' Love emphasized. 'Their goalie definitely stood on his head.'

'We ran into an amazing goalie,' agreed Young. 'He's hot.'

Winterhawks head coach Paul Grech said his entire team showed a lot more heart and determination in the second game, pointing out half of them had never played together before this past weekend.

'It was a tough loss in overtime, but I thought we came together and played well. It goes to show you how far teamwork can go. We deserved to win that game.

'Regardless, the boys feel great about themselves now and we're looking forward to (tonight). The boys are chomping at the bit. They'll come out flying.'

'I thought we had them there in the final couple of minutes,' agreed Bassi. 'It's OK, we'll get em tomorrow. The key will be to stop their offence. We need to play defence first and the offence will come later.'

But with all four lines for the Mustangs looking solid, that's easier said than done.

'Everyone's playing really well,' said Martin. 'The four lines all have some chemistry between them. The Ted, Kane (Dawe) and Evan line, I'm thoroughly impressed with them. They're cycling the puck and causing penalties.'

And Love expects key players such as Mauro and Pettitt to be in the thick of things once again for the final game.

'Drew is always good and Ted (Stephens) is a really good all around player. Nick (Mauro) has really stepped it up. He had some big hits, which created a lot of offence for us. And Kaleb Dawe, he's a real good stay at home defenceman. I don't think I've ever seen that kid fumble the puck or make a mistake.'

Tonight's game starts at 7 p.m. at Takhini Arena. Admission is by donation.

NOTES: With Sunday's win, the Mustangs are now 14-1-0 this season, with their only loss coming against Juan de Fuca at the Abbotsford tournament last month ... Whitehorse will rest forward Brad Holm, who is still feeling the effects from a shot he blocked in a game last week, for the final contest tonight ... Mustangs defenceman Jeff Gartshore will also be on the sidelines ... those two scratches mean JJ Stuckey will draw in ... the Winterhawks will be going dog sledding at Meadow Lakes prior to tonight's tilt.