Guelph, Ont. (October 3, 2014) – The Guelph Gryphons men's hockey team fell to the York Lions with a 2-1 overtime loss at their home opener in the Gryphon Centre on Friday night.
 
The first period started with plenty of back and forth action between the Gryphons and the Lions.  Michael Hasson (Ariss, Ont.) nearly found the back of the net towards the end of the first period after a quick pass across the crease.  The Gryphs would open the scoring with a goal from Jordan Mock (Dartmouth, NS) at 15:20 of the first period with Mark Raycroft (Woodstock, Ont.) and Nicklas Huard (North Bay, Ont.) on the assists. The Gryphons took that lead into the dressing room despite the York Lions out shooting the Gryphons 10-7 in the frame.
 
The Gryphons came out with more momentum in the second period, keeping the Lions out of the crease and away from Gryphon goaltender Andrew D'Agostini (Scarborough, Ont.). In his first regular season game as a Gryphon, D'Agostini lived up to expectations with a solid performance in net making 23 saves on the night.
 
The Gryphons would get a power play before the end of the period after York player Declan Gunovski (Newmarket, Ont.) was called for holding at 17:33. Nicklas Huard would get a couple of strong shots off in the power play, but the Gryphons wouldn't be able to get through the wall of York defenders. The Gryphons would outshoot the Lions in the second period with a total of 12-9, but would go into the third tied at 1-1.
 
The Lions were able to tighten up defensively early on in the third period making it hard for the Gryphons to set anything up in the offensive zone. The Gryphons got a great chance to break the tie in the third period, with Huard and Mock creating some great scoring opportunities but were unable to find the back of the net.
 
The Gryphons would pick up their momentum in the third period with a power play at 6:03 after Jay Meloff (Markham, Ont.) was called for cross checking. The Gryphons hammered York Lions goaltender Chris Perugini (King City, Ont.) with shots, unable to push the puck past him. With four minutes left in the third period, the Gryphons would out shoot the Lions with a total of 10-5, struggling to get the puck past to Perugini.
 
Late in the third period Trevor Morbeck (Jackson, WI) would draw an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty along with a hooking penalty, giving the York Lions a man advantage. With 1:47 left in the third period, York player Mark Cross (Strasbourg, Sask) would draw a tripping penalty, ending the Lions man advantage, making it a four-on-four game to end the third period. The third period would end at 1-1, bringing the Gryphons and the Lions into overtime.
 
It would be Dylan Smoskowitz (Richmond Hill, Ont.) who would score an unassisted goal on a breakaway 57 seconds into the extra frame.

A great crowd was on hand to support the Gryphons who now hit the road for Columbus, Ohio. The Gryphons will face the Ohio State Buckeyes Saturday (Oct. 4) at 4:30pm before returning to OUA regular season play Friday (Oct.10) against the Western Mustangs in London, Ontario with the puck set to drop at 7:00 p.m.