GUELPH, Ont. - The Gryphon women's hockey team will begin a three-game series with perennial rival, Queen's Gaels for the OUA semifinals this week. Guelph will host the first game of the series at the Gryphon Centre on Wednesday (Feb. 20) at 7:30 p.m.
The game will be webcast LIVE
here.
Guelph will be looking to avenge their 2010-11 loss to the Gaels in the OUA Championships. The series included the longest collegiate hockey game in history that was won by Queen's 2-1.
The Gryphons defeated the UOIT Ridgebacks in two straight games of their quarterfinal series (4-0, 3-2-OT) to extend their win streak to 16 including regular season and post-season play. The Gaels, who finished third in the OUA after the regular season, defeated the Windsor Lancers 2-1 (6-1 L, 3-2 W, 7-1 W) in their quarterfinal series.
During the regular season, these two teams went 1-1 in head to head play. The Gryphons dropped a 5-4 final on Oct. 20 and bounced back for a 7-2 rout in their second matchup on Jan. 26.
The Gaels sport a lot of offensive firepower led by forwards Morgan McHaffie and Taryn Pilon. McHaffie, a Guelph, Ont. native finished the regular season with 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists), good for third in the OUA scoring. Pilon is second on the team in scoring with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) which ties her for 7
th in the OUA scoring at the end of the regular season. Queen's leads the CIS in shots with 931. The Gaels also possess one of the top power play units in the country and leads all CIS teams with 30 power play goals.
Look for the Gryphons to match their firepower with an equally explosive offensive unit led by OUA leading scorers
Amanda Parkins (Kitchener, Ont.) and
Jessica Pinkerton (Oshawa, Ont). Second year, Jessica Pinkerton scored both game winning goals in the Gryphons quarterfinal series against UOIT and an assist for a three-point start to the playoffs. Look for second year goaltender
Stephanie Nehring (Oshawa, Ont.) to step-up and challenge the Gaels attack.
Guelph will host game one at the Gryphon Centre on Wednesday (Feb. 20) at 7:30 p.m. The series will then move to Kingston for a game on Friday (Feb. 22) at 7:30p.m. If a third game is required the Gryphons will return to the Gryphon Centre on Sunday (Feb. 24) at 2:00 p.m.
