Underdog story continues for Guelph
Two things happened for the Guelph Gryphons men’s hockey team on Feb. 27.
In a 5-4 victory over the defending Ontario University Athletics (OUA) champion, and top-seeded, Windsor Lancers, the Gryphons completed the West Final series sweep. With that, Guelph advanced to the provincial championships (the 104th Queen’s Cup) and automatically earned one of the OUA’s three spots to compete for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championship in Halifax.
With a 5-4 victory over the top-seeded Windsor Lancers, the Guelph Gryphons have advanced to both the OUA Championship (March 7) and the CIS Championship (March 12 to 15) in Halifax.
To open the West Finals series, the Gryphons took Game One in Windsor, downing the Lancers 3-1 on Feb. 25. Third-year defenceman Nicholas Trecapelli, who is also a Guelph native, got the red, black, and gold on the board first with a power play marker, all while recording his fifth point in seven playoff games.
Michael Hasson would double-up the Gryphons’ lead in the middle frame, before the Lancers registered their first and only goal of the contest. Later in the period, Carlos Amestoy netted his fifth goal of the playoffs to solidify the 3-1 victory for Guelph, and a 1-0 series lead for the first time of the 2015 Playoffs.
First-year netminder Andrew D’Agostini was, yet again, the anchor of the Gryphons, turning aside 35 shots in the win.
Game Two, played in Guelph on Feb. 27, held a different route to victory for the Gryphons, however, with the defending OUA champions fighting to stay alive in the best-of-three series.
The match-up included nine goals and four lead changes, with the Gryphons coming out on top in a 5-4 win. The Lancers started the high-scoring-affair a mere 1:20 into the contest, only to have the home squad respond 50 seconds afterwards with a marker from Kyle Neuber. Robert De Fulviis struck next, pouncing on a rebound in front of the Windsor goal for a 2-1 Gryphons lead – a lead that would vanish before the end of the first with Daulton Siwak, of the Lancers, would knotting things up at two-a-piece.
Dylan Denomme and Spencer Pommelis would regain, and extend, the lead for Windsor in the middle frame, making it a 4-2 game in the second.
Prior to the end of the period, De Fulviis pulled the Gryphons within one, scoring his second of the game, as a shot deflected in off a Windsor defenseman.
Down a goal, the Gryphons’ Nick Huard would go to work on the power play, netting his fourth of the postseason to make it a 4-4 contest six minutes into the third. The Gryphons veteran didn’t stop there, notching his second of the game 5:30 minutes later to give Guelph the lead once again.
Hanging on to a 5-4 score, the Gryphons, and a full Gryphon Centre, celebrated the win’s national significance.
Before putting any attention on nationals, however, the Gryphons will look to the Queen’s Cup (the OUA championship), scheduled for March 7 in Guelph. The last time the Gryphons won the Queen’s Cup was in 1997.
Guelph’s opponent for the Queen’s Cup match-up is the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Patriotes, who swept and eliminated the McGill Redmen to advance.
UQTR closed out the 2014-15 campaign with a third-ranking in the OUA’s East Division, compiling a 19-4-3 record. The Patriotes, on home ice, also defeated the Gryphons 6-2 on Nov. 21.
Win or lose, the Gryphons will continue their magical season, bringing it straight to Halifax to compete for the CIS Championships for the first time since 2002. The national championships are being held in Halifax, hosted by St. Francis Xavier University on March 12 to 15.
Keeping the focus on the OUA title first, however, the Gryphons will surely push to arrive in Halifax as champions, putting the focus on their tilt with UQTR on March 7. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 p.m.