Guelph, ON - The fans who came to watch the Gryphon Men's Lacrosse team take on the Brock Badgers were treated to another classic between these two long-time rivals Friday night at the Gryphon Soccer Complex. The Gryphons defended their home field with a 12-9 win; giving the team a 7-4 record on the season. The win all but locks the Gryphons into third place in the west division and home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

After losing the opening face-off but causing a turnover and winning the loose ball, the Gryphons had the first possession of the game. A minute and a half into the quarter, Todd Greer opened the scoring for Guelph. The Gryphons dominated loose balls early and maintained possession for the first 10 minutes of the quarter. The team however, was unable to finish and expand on their lead.
 
It wasn't until the 10:49 mark the Brock had their first possession. The Gryphon defense however was solid, keeping Brock outside and limiting their good shooting opportunities. Mike Lalani, in the pipes for the Gryphons, was stellar early and throughout the game.
 
Late in the quarter, the Gryphons took their only penalty of the game. The man down unit was up to the task, pressuring Brock's power play and forcing a weak shot that Lalani handled easily. Just when it looked like Guelph would clear the ball and kill the penalty, Lalani tossed an errant pass to a Brock midfielder who took the pass unabated to the Guelph net and tied the game. On the following face-off, Brock would fast break the Gryphons and take a 2-1 lead with just over a minute remaining.
 
Brock opened up a 3-1 lead early in the second quarter and it looked like Guelph might be in trouble. But the Gryphons did not fold and responded with 4 unanswered goals in the quarter. Brock was able to find the net one more time in the second, cutting the Gryphon lead to 5-4 at the half.
 
In this see-saw battle, Brock would score a couple early in the third to gain back a one goal lead. Again, the Gryphon defense tightened up and Lalani continued his solid performance. Motivated by the defense, Guelph's offense responded and went on another 4 goal run; three to end the quarter giving Guelph 8-6 lead going into the final frame.
Five minutes into the 4^th, Brendan Vogan dodged from the top and drew a slide which left Gryphon attackman Mike Cavanagh open in the middle. Vogan found Cavanagh with a quick pass and Cavanagh turned and riffled it top shelf.  
 
Brock responded to keep the game two goals apart but again, the Gryphons responded again, scoring twice to take a 4 goal lead late in the game. While Brock would try to mount a comeback, scoring twice with less the 2 minutes left, the Gryphons were able to regain possession of the ball and score an empty-netter with 10 seconds left.
 
"It was a good win; an all-around effort for us tonight", said Head Coach Sam Kosakowski following the game. "We beat a good team and proved to ourselves that we can play 4 quarters of good lacrosse".
Kosakowski was keen on the performance of his defense and applauded the patience and finish of the offense.
 
Mike Cavanagh led all scorers with 5 goals and an assist. Todd Greer netted the hat trick for the Gryphons and rookie Zack Luis had a pair. Brett Ulbikas and Blaze McCullough each had one while Liam Corbett and Brendan Vogan contributed an assist apiece.
 
On the defensive side, Justin Martin held Brock attackman and league scoring leader Brandon Slade to one assist and goaltender Mike Lalani stopped an unheard of 20 of 29 shots on the night.
The Gryphons will wrap up their regular season on Sunday afternoon at 2pm when they host the Nipissing Lakers. Guelph will look to avenge an earlier 14-10 loss to the Lakers.