Guelph, ON - Last season's magical playoff run by the Guelph Gryphons Men's Hockey team was one that will not soon be forgotten by those around U of G. On Saturday night (Oct. 17), Gryphon fans and players alike will get one last opportunity to re-live it all. Prior to the puck drop on Saturday night's matchup with the Waterloo Warriors, the Gryphons will unveil their 2014-15 OUA Championship banner from the rafters of the Gryphon Centre Arena. Pregame ceremonies will take place shortly after 7pm with puck drop versus the Warriors set for shortly after 7:30pm. Fans will also have the opportunity to get their picture taken with the Queen's Cup throughout the game, which can be seen live online at OUA.tv. Saturday night's game with Waterloo will also be broadcast on Rogers TV Cable 20 with a tape delayed air time of 2pm on Sunday (Oct. 18).

Last season, the Gryphons captured their first OUA title in nearly 20 seasons (first since 1997) after taking down four straight higher ranked opponents in the OUA playoffs (Waterloo, U of T, Windsor & UQTR). In the process, the team booked a spot at the CIS Championships (University Cup) in Halifax where they earned a Bronze medal. The majority of the group that went on that run are back for this season with aspirations of once again making a deep run into the postseason come February and March. But for now, the focus shifts to notching that first win of the season. What better way to do that than with your local rivals in town for your 2015-16 home opener.

The Gryphons have gotten off to slow start this season (0-2-0) after suffering losses to the No. 6-ranked Windsor Lancers and Ryerson Rams. Despite the two losses, the Gryphons have seen some positive signs with second year goalie Andrew D'Agostini (Scarborough, ON) seemingly picking up from where he left off after what was a stellar rookie season. D'Agostini, who was named the Top Goalie at the CIS Championships in March, was solid in Thursday night's loss to Ryerson, turning away 31 of the 33 shots sent his way. He also made a big save on the penalty shot early on in the opening period. In front of D'Agostini, the Gryphons are led by fourth year defencemen Nick Trecapelli (Guelph, ON). The local product was named team captain for the 2015-16 season and is off to a nice start to his season with 2 points (2 assists) in as many games. Up front, the Gryphons have lost last year's leading scorer Nick Huard, but have added several promising newcomers, one of whom found the scoresheet on Thursday night versus the Rams as Dylan Gilbert scored the first goal of his OUA career.

The last time the Gryphons and Warriors met was in the OUA West Quarter-finals back in February of 2015. The best-of-three series was a hard-fought, at times chippy, affair that went the distance, with the Gryphons stealing Game 3 on the road with a convincing 4-1 victory. Shockingly, that playoff series had marked the first postseason meeting between these two schools since the 1992-93 season. In five overall meetings last season (including playoffs), the Gryphons held the slim edge by winning three out of their five head-to-head meetings. So far this season, the Warriors are 1-1-0 after an OT win over Brock in their season opener followed by a 8-1 loss to the Windsor Lancers in their second game. By the time the Warriors roll into the Gryphon Centre on Saturday night, it will be their second game in as many nights as they will spend their Friday night battling the U of T Varsity Blues. This season, the Warrios return a trio of 2014 OUA West Division All-Stars in fifth year senior forward Chris Chappell (Pickering, ON) who weighs in at 6-4, 220. Fourth year forward Colin Behenna is back, as is fifth year defenceman Joe Underwood, who was named an 2014 OUA West Division Second Team All-Star with Behenna.

Saturday night's matchup promises to be an action-packed affair with the Gryphons eager to notch their first win of the young season. Students get in free and tickets for the game are available online.