The defending national champions, the Guelph Gryphons women’s hockey team, hosted the first annual Fall Faceoff. The Gryphons faced the Western Mustangs at the Sleeman Centre in downtown Guelph on Oct. 24.
Gryphon player Gabriele Underwood scored the first goal of the night 11 minutes into the first period. Near the end of the first period the Mustangs got on the board with a goal by Kira Memet.
The first 10 minutes of the second period were hard-fought with no goals. The two teams then had an intense three minutes, with Western players Brooke Dicicco and Kyle Bertrand both scoring. Guelph hit back with a goal of their own less than a minute later. Mayla Mayer’s goal brought the score to 3-2 Western at the end of the second period.
The Mustangs went into the third period shooting, with Dicicco getting a goal 22 seconds into play. Western was able to hold off Guelph until 13 minutes in when Kristen Jay of the Gryphons scored a goal. Mustangs player Sydnee Baker score the final goal, securing a Western win.
The final score on Thursday was 5-3 Western, but the Gryphons would beat the Mustangs 4-1 on Saturday, Oct. 26, in London.
The third game of the Gryphon’s season brought out a large crowd with 250 sports fans in attendance.