Collective team effort downs York Lions 3-1
Before being ousted by the Queens Gaels in the OUA semifinals in 2014, the Gryphons put together a dominant 21-3-0 regular season, ranked as the second-best team in the country.
For the 2014-15 season, the Gryphons began the year sixth in the overall Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) standings, undoubtedly as one of the top contenders for the provincial and national championships.
The Gryphons maintained those expectations as they defeated the York Lions 3-1 in the season opener in Guelph on Oct. 11. The Lions opened the scoring with a goal from Tonisha Maisonneuve at the 7:28 mark of the first period, however that would be it for the visiting squad. The Gryphons would respond less than two minutes later with the tying marker from Averi Nooren on the powerplay.
The middle frame featured another powerplay goal from the Gryphons as former OUA rookie of the year (2012-13) and 2013-14 second team OUA All-Star, Christine Grant, found the back of the net to put the home team ahead by one.
The third period had some of the Gryphons’ rookie talent on display, as first-year Mackenzie Wong from Surrey, British Columbia would go top-shelf on a break-in all alone to solidify the 3-1 lead at the 14:24 mark for Guelph.
Fourth-year goaltender and Oshawa, Ontario native, Stephanie Nehring, closed out the game between the pipes to give the Gryphons their first win of the 2014-15 season. Maintaining her reputation as one of the top goaltenders in the country, Nehring stopped 31 of 32 shots. The Gryphons goaltender deservingly received second-team OUA All-Star honours in 2013-14 after leading the league with a 1.15 goals-against-average including eight shutouts.
The Gryphons put 28 shots on York goaltender Megan Lee, who turned away 25 of them.
Fourth-year centre and 2013-14 second team All-Canadian, Jessica Pinkerton, notched an assist on the game. Pinkerton had 16 goals in 22 games last season, a total that put the Oshawa native in a tie for the OUA lead.
Defencemen Jessica Pelligrino, the lone second-year on the blue line for the Gryphons, also recorded an assist in the win.
As of Oct. 13, the Gryphons stand in sixth of the OUA standings.
Looking ahead, Guelph has two games on the road versus the Ryerson Rams and the Toronto Varsity Blues, before returning home to face off against the Brock Badgers on Oct. 25.