GUELPH, ON – It could have been déjà vu for the Guelph Gryphons men's hockey team against the Windsor Lancers on Saturday night at the Gryphon Centre.
 
A third-period collapse had sunk them in their first meeting with the Lancers earlier this season in Windsor. And now it was in danger of happening again, with the Lancers scoring on each of their first two shots in the final frame to pull to within a goal of Guelph.
 
But the Gryphs slammed the door shut and added two late insurance markers, earning a 6-3 victory that helped them leapfrog Windsor into third place in the OUA West Division standings. They now have a 13-8-0 record while the Lancers fall to 10-8-3.
 
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't have that in the back of my mind," netminder Andrew D'Agostini said of that earlier game in Windsor, where the Lancers scored four times in the third period to win 5-1.
 
On Saturday, Windsor trailed 4-1 entering the third but scored twice in the first two minutes to make the score 4-3. The Gryphs called a time-out to regroup, and managed to fend off the threat.
 
"We felt a little bit too comfortable, but we didn't play on our heels and we kept at it. We stayed as disciplined as we could," D'Agostini said. "Our goal was to just keep getting pucks on net and be responsible in our end. Credit to Lenny Fabbri for putting it away."
 
It was Fabbri's goal with 3:37 left in the third that gave Guelph some much-needed breathing room. Dylan Gilbert iced the contest by scoring into an empty net in the final minute.
 
Head coach Shawn Camp noted that the Gryphs had also been victimized in the third period of their two most recent games, losses to Waterloo last weekend and to Western in the Frosty Mug on Thursday.
 
"This is a good confidence builder for our young team," Camp said of Saturday's triumph. "We're really pleased that we had the lead, and that when we met some adversity, we handled it the right way."
 
Gilbert scored twice for Guelph. Single markers went to Robert Lepine, Scott Simmonds, Kyle Neuber and Fabbri. Carlos Amestoy picked up three assists. Gilbert's first goal, midway through the second period, extended his point streak to five games.
 
Windsor's scorers were Justice Dundas, Blake Blondeel and Ryan Green.
 
The Lancers outshot the Gryphs 41-27, including by a 14-6 margin in the third period as they pressed for the equalizer. D'Agostini had a good look at most of the pucks he saw, and was grateful to his defencemen for clearing the shooting lanes in front of him as well as they did. He added he was thrilled at how the team fought to snap its two-game losing streak.
 
"We looked at ourselves in the mirror. We had to try to figure out our identity, what we want to be known as," said the second-year netminder from Scarborough, ON. "We were a hard-working bunch the first half of the year, and we didn't want to let that get away from us because we saw what our hard work did for us last year."
 
They'll need that work ethic as they hit the road for four games, starting next Friday in Montreal against McGill, the No. 2-ranked team in the CIS. The following night, they'll visit Toronto.
 
"We seem to be a pretty good road team," Camp said. "When we get away together and hang out together, we have a lot of fun together. We're a very close-knit team. So we're looking forward to it. That will hopefully make us better for a chance at the playoffs."
 
Guelph won't play again at the Gryphon Centre until February 2 against Laurier.