GUELPH, ON - It was a night when emotions were high - on the ice and in the stands. The Frosty Mug tends to do that, especially when the opposition is wearing purple. The Guelph Gryphons men's hockey team were amped to perform in the university's unofficial annual winter homecoming and the event record crowd of 4,374 at the Sleeman Centre were equally invested. But they went home disappointed as Guelph battled but ultimately fell 3-2 to the rival Western Mustangs in the seventh edition of the Frosty Mug.

Guelph (11-8-0) came from behind twice to tie the game but they were undone in one of the most frustrating ways imaginable -- a shorthanded goal against late in the contest when they seemed in position to steal a win. The Gryphons desperately tried to equalize for a third time but they couldn't get a puck to the net in the dying seconds and the game ended like it began, with a big scrum in the Western end of the rink.

"It sucks," said alternate captain Rob De Fulviis, who scored and was the game's second star. "We have the 12 o'clock rule -- once it turns Friday, we forget about this one. Obviously, it was great playing in front of 4,000 students who you see every day. It's an awesome feeling but not walking away with the two points with how close the standings are, it sucks."

A chippy affair was decided during a dramatic third period that was a rollercoaster for all involved. Shaun Furlong briefly put the Mustangs up 2-1 2:21 into the third. Andrew D'Agostini saved the initial shot down low but the rebound bounced off of a Guelph player in front of the net and evaded the Guelph goaltender.

The Gryphons, empowered by an incredibly loud bunch of supporters, particularly during a third-period rendition of "Sweet Caroline," pushed for an equalizer and they got it at 11:39 when Dylan Gilbert pounced on a Western turnover and scored unassisted, beating Peter Delmas on the glove side.

"It was just an outstanding crowd," said Guelph head coach Shawn Camp. "They helped pick us up in the second period when we were behind and again in the third. It's a great atmosphere to be a part of when the fans are so loud and rowdy."
 
But the elation was short lived. Western (12-8-0) grabbed the lead for good at 13:08 when Stephen Sanza scored unassisted during a Guelph power play.

"That was a stinger there," said captain Nick Trecapelli. "It could have went either way. There were a lot of emotions in this game. It's always one we get excited for. Unfortunately, there was an unlucky bounce there at the end.

"That one definitely felt like a playoff game. I think each team took their bumps and bruises."

Both goaltenders had sensational nights between the pipes. D'Agostini was sharp stopping 31 of 34 shots he faced, his best save coming early in the second when he stretched out his left leg to deny a certain goal from Sanza.

Delmas, a second-round draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche (61st overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft) who played in both the AHL and ECHL, made 32 saves, several of them in acrobatic fashion to earn first-star honours. He was tested often but was particularly busy early in the second period, making a great blocker save on Gilbert and then denying Lenny Fabbri and Tryg Strand minutes later to keep Western up 1-0. Moments after D'Agostini made the save on Sanza, Delmas produced an identical pad stop on Michael Stevens, shocking both the Gryphons and the raucous Sleeman Centre crowd. And he outdid himself not long after that, flashing his glove to rob Mark Raycroft, who could only double over in disbelief after the missed chance.

"Delmas was excellent when he needed to be," said Camp. "We certainly created enough but whether we whiffed on a shot or didn't get all of, it was one of those nights. There were plenty of chances to win."

De Fulvis finally solved Delmas at 9:56 of the second period. De Fulvis, who was Guelph's most active player all night, broke in alone and showed both patience and skill, cooly sliding the puck through the Western goaltender's five-hole to tie the game 1-1, prompting the pro-Gryphon crowd to finally explode in deafening applause. The goal was his 6th of the season and team-leading 17th point. Robert Lepine and Carlos Amestoy assisted on the play.

It took all of 22 seconds after the opening face off for the two rivals to show their genuine dislike for the other. Delmas and De Fulvis got into it behind the Western net, prompting players from both teams to gather. The Mustangs came out of the scrum with a power play after De Fulvis was whistled for both slashing and roughing, while Delmas only got two minutes for roughing despite swinging his stick at the Gryphon forward and connecting. Before the hosts eventually killed the penalty, they got a prime scoring opportunity when Fabbri broke in for a shorthanded breakaway but was denied by Delmas.

"It's one of those games where everyone just wants to take a run at someone and finish the body," said De Fulviis. "It's a playoff mentality every time we play them. Camper, as soon as you commit to Guelph, he talks about the Western games twice and the Waterloo games. You know that there's a rivalry for sure."

Guelph wasn't so lucky on their next kill. By the midway point of the first period, the Gryphons had produced a few good chances in addition to Fabbri's breakaway and established a physical presence with big hits from Simmonds and De Fulviis. But Guelph took another penalty and on the ensuing power play, Rick Polesello found space low in the left circle and roofed a feed from Furlong high on D'Agostini's glove side at the 9:59 mark to put Western up 1-0. The goal was Polesello's first in the OUA.

Additional Notes:
- Thursday night's Frosty Mug crowd of 4,374 was the 5th largest attendance EVER for a CIS men's hockey conference game
- Guelph is 4-3-0 all time in the Frosty Mug
- Thursday night's game marked the beginning of a tough three-game stretch for the Gryphons. They host Windsor this Saturday, January 16 before heading to Montreal on January 22 to face McGill, ranked No. 2 in the country

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