2014-15 in review for Men’s & Women’s hockey
Men’s Guelph Gryphons hockey team
“Thanks for having us here despite our regular season record.”
Guelph Gryphons head coach Shawn Camp may have summed up the 2014-15 season perfectly at the “Meet the Teams” media conference to kick off the University Cup in Halifax on March 11.
Nobody thought the Gryphons men’s hockey team would be Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Champions, let alone competing at Nationals. This was especially true as the team headed into the Christmas break with a mere three wins through 16 games in the first half of the season, a stretch that put them in a last-place standing in the OUA’s West Division.
Nevertheless, 2015 happened, and the Gryphons began to write one of the greatest underdog stories witnessed in program history, only later to be coined the OUA and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) “Cinderella Story.”
On Jan. 3, the Gryphons dominated the Ryerson Rams in an 8-1 victory, only to fall 5-2 to the Carleton Ravens on Jan. 9 next. However, something was different. A loss that very well could have put them right back on track for another three wins through the second half of the campaign, the Gryphons persevered, rebounding the very next night on Jan. 10 with a significant 11-1 win over the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) – the win that arguably changed it all.
Following the victory, the Gryphons would go on to win four straight, defeating the Brock Badgers, the York Lions, and the Laurier Golden Hawks next – all with results proving this squad could find the back of the net, something that was perceived to be a problem in eight of the one-goal decision regulation losses suffered in the first half of the season.
Concluding the season with three straight victories – a stretch that began with a 6-5 double-overtime win over the Lakehead Thunderbirds, the Gryphons would push their way into the postseason. Seth Swenson would pocket the game winning goal 2:10 into the fifth period versus the Thunderbirds, foreshadowing the never-say-die attitude the Gryphons carried straight through to their bronze medal finish at the University Cup on March 15.
Compiling a perfect reputation in elimination games prior to Nationals, the Gryphons defeated the Waterloo Warriors, the Toronto Varsity Blues, and swept the defending champion: The Windsor Lancers. Then, on March 7, the Gryphons would earn the OUA title for the first time in 18 years, downing the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) 4-0 in a game that proved, if they hadn’t already, that this team was the real deal.
Climbing their way to a third-place finish nationally at the University Cup, Coach Camp wouldn’t focus on the popular “Started from the bottom” theme, even though it may have been fitting. Instead, Camp defined the magic of the 2014-15 season with “trust and adversity.”
This Gryphons squad learned the meaning of what loss truly meant prior to the start of the season when first-year Cole Hamblin succumbed to cancer less than two months after being diagnosed. Another member of the team in Richard Kohler, the father of defenceman Tom Kohler, would also pass later in the year, also succumbing to his battle with cancer.
With that, the Gryphons never strayed from what they could accomplish together. Accomplish they did, earning that bronze medal undoubtedly in memory of two Gryphons who were with them every step of their remarkable path.
Women’s Guelph Gryphons hockey team
The Guelph Gryphons women’s hockey team boasted an incredibly dominating season with an 18-3-3 record for second overall in Ontario University Sport (OUA). It would be a postseason mixed with heartbreak and redeemed pride for the Gryphons, however, as they appeared in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Championship tournament for the first time in 15 years.
There was no doubt in what this team could accomplish and the character possessed to force their way into the OUA Championship in London against the Western Mustangs (20-1-3), the only team to conclude the season with a better record.
During the regular season campaign, two of Guelph’s three regulation losses came at the hands of Western in 4-1 (Nov. 22) and 3-1 (Feb. 7) results.
Prior to heading to London to battle for the Judy McCaw Memorial Cup, though, the Gryphons’ fight was on full display throughout the first two rounds of the 2015 Playoffs.
In the OUA Quarter-finals, the Gryphons swept the seventh-ranked Ryerson Rams. Completing the 2-0 sweep wouldn’t be easy, however, as both games would result in a 2-1 decision, with Game One requiring one period of overtime, and Game Two needing two overtime periods. Next, the black, red, and gold would take on the fourth-ranked Toronto Varsity Blues. Guelph would win take the series 2-1, but not without yet another overtime battle in Game One with a 3-2 result decided in the second overtime period.
With the 2-0 victory in Game Three over the Varsity Blues, the Gryphons advanced to the OUA Championship on March 7, looking to win the title for the first time in 17 years.
In what would be a battle of the top goaltenders in the OUA with Gryphon Stephanie Nehring and Mustang Kelly Campbell, Guelph would suffer a heartbreaking loss, falling 2-0 to Western and finishing second overall in the OUA.
The Gryphons quickly regrouped, leaving little time for self-pity as they looked to their first Nationals appearance in 15 years – a huge step for the program that has been an embodiment of strong consistency and progress over the past few seasons.
The tournament wouldn’t begin the way any would have liked, falling 4-3 in yet another heartbreaking loss to St. Francis Xavier (St. FX) in the Quarter-final – a game that the Gryphons were leading 3-0 at one point.
Nevertheless, illustrating their character once more, the Gryphons rebounded with two strong victories over the host Calgary Dinos (4-2) and Moncton (4-1) to finish fifth overall in the nation.
It may not have been the result the Gryphons had hoped for throughout their travels to second-best in the OUA, with the nothing but dominating 2014-15 campaign. However, with national experience, and fire left over from an OUA Championship that very well could have been theirs, one can certainly bet that these Gryphons won’t be focusing on the what-ifs. Rather, focus will be geared towards the historic milestones accomplished in 2014-15, all while looking to get back there once again, only with more to prove next season.