Guelph Gryphons suffer shootout loss to Laurier Golden Hawks at 10th annual Frosty Mug
Written by Rachel Weitz, Sierra Mullane, and Anya Deacon
On Thursday, Jan. 24, the Guelph Gryphons hosted the 10th annual Frosty Mug game against their divisional rival, the Laurier Golden Hawks. The two teams are neck-and-neck in the OUA Western Conference standings, and Frosty Mug brought with it the opportunity for Guelph to move into fourth place and push Laurier down to sixth. One could feel the urgency in the air.
The Sleeman Centre was completely sold out for the event. This marquee matchup attracted the third largest attendance for any regular season game in OUA history with 4,850 Gryphons fans and the odd purple shirt, including alumni and their families, children who played hockey for the Junior Gryphons, and thousands of rowdy students.
Kids raced up and down the aisles cheering on their Gryphon idols, some even ripping off their shirts to get on the jumbotron. The older audience members participated in the wave, enjoyed Sleeman beers and hot dogs, and chanted some rather obscene sayings in support of their team.
The sea of red, black, and gold was ready for battle. The game started off at breakneck pace, each team trading scoring chances back and forth, coupled with huge open-ice hits and spectacular saves. The fans hollered with each hit, each shot, and each save for both sides. Laurier eventually struck first with less than 40 seconds left in the opening period, but did not manage to silence the home crowd. Gryphons supporters erupted in boos.
Between periods, Guelph captain Scott Simmonds told The Ontarion his team’s plain and simple strategy: “outwork Laurier.” Simmonds and his teammates couldn’t help but notice the crowd either, mentioning they, too, were part of building momentum in this important game. “We gotta use the crowd. Obviously it’s a great one and we’re enjoying it. [There are] 40 minutes left, there’s lots of time so we just gotta get the next goal.”
Only four minutes of play passed in the second period before the Golden Hawks scored again. The fans were not happy, but this time instead of booing, chants of “Go Gryphs Go!” began. After going down 2-0, the fans rallied behind the Gryphons as they fought back. With just over five minutes left in the second period, senior Nick Boyer got the first goal for U of G and sent a shockwave through the arena. Thousands of fans jumped out of their seats and cheered proudly for their team.
With three minutes to go in the final frame, centre Michael Stevens tied the game at two goals apiece.
Overtime was a whirlwind of high-probability scoring chances, but goalies Andrew Masters of the Gryphons and Tyler Fassl of the Golden Hawks stood tall, providing a brick wall in net for their teams. Nothing was getting past them.
For the first time in Frosty Mug history, the teams took part in a shootout. Guelph was riddled with unlucky attempts. A broken stick. Fumbling the puck. This is what ultimately led to their downfall, as Laurier only needed one shootout goal to win the game.
The Guelph Gryphons now sit at sixth place in the OUA Western Conference men’s hockey standings, just one point back of the fifth place Golden Hawks.
While the outcome of Frosty Mug was undesirable for Gryphons fans, there was not a single person leaving the Sleeman Centre without a smile on their face. Highlights of the night included pucks being caught by fans, a dancing competition, and a marriage proposal, all caught on the jumbotron. Despite an unfortunate shootout loss, the Gryphons played a hard-fought game for 65 minutes, and gave their fans something to be proud of until Frosty Mug 2020.
