Ringette team looks to future after most successful season in team history
The University of Guelph Gryphons ringette team made history this weekend in Niagara Falls, winning the championship title in the inaugural season of the University Ringette League (URL). With a league record of 17-1-1 and a total season record of 22-2-4, the Gryphons dominated the competition all year.
The Gryphons entered the Niagara Falls tournament as the team to beat, with the most points in the URL going into the final competition. Due to injuries and midterm conflicts, the first game found the Gryphons with only 7 skaters. Despite such a short bench and lots of double-shifting, Guelph easily handled an aggressive Brock team, winning 12-5. Game two found Guelph still short of players, with only nine skaters against their toughest opponents, the Nipissing Lakers. Although Nipissing had a full bench, and managed to tie the game 4-4 in the last seven seconds, the game belonged to the Gryphons, whose conditioning work in practice paid off against a very strong Nipissing squad.
Guelph finally had a full line-up for their next two games, and easily beat Laurentian (8-1) and Brock (5-1), earning the chance to play Nipissing for the title of the first ever URL Champion. Although it was a tough game, Guelph once again showed off their superior conditioning and talent and handed their opponents a 5-2 loss.
This year, the Gryphons ringette team had the most successful season in team history. In addition to winning the URL, they also won gold at the University Challenge Cup (UCC), went to the finals in all five of the tournaments that they attended, and came home with four gold medals. The only silver came in the first tournament of the year in a hard-fought overtime loss to Western.
Following this year’s success, the Gryphons will be playing in the top tier at the UCC next year for the first time in team history. Guelph will also be competing in the newly formed “A” division of the URL, facing teams such as Western, Ottawa and Carleton.
This new division was created when top teams expressed their desire for more competition and the formation of an official Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Varsity League. This desire comes from the fact that university ringette players face the same challenges as a varsity player of any other sport, but without the recognition or school support. The players attend practice every week, spend time in the gym, and attend multiple tournaments and exhibition games. However, the ringette team faces barriers that varsity teams do not, such as difficulty acquiring sufficient ice time, and transportation to tournaments and games.
Gaining recognition as a varsity team – first by the University of Guelph, then by the OUA – would help the ringette team to improve upon their success this season. However, heading into next year’s UCC, which will take place at the University of Calgary, the Gryphons ringette team intends to compete hard, with or without varsity status.