TORONTO, ON – Saturday night at Varsity Arena in Toronto, the Gryphons men's hockey team lost 2-1 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. With the loss, the Gryphons fall to 12-10-0 on the season while the Varsity Blues improve to 9-12-2. The Gryphons currently sit in a tie for fourth place in the OUA West Division with six games remaining on the regular season schedule. The top eight teams in the OUA West Division qualify for the playoffs.
 
After suffering a loss Friday night to the No. 3-ranked McGill Redmen, the Gryphons stayed overnight in Montreal before hopping on a bus Saturday morning at 9am to head to Toronto for a date with the Blues. The Gryphon bus pulled into U of T around 5:15pm Saturday with puck drop set for 7:30pm. Not only were the Gryphons dealing with some fatigue from a long day of travel, they were also missing several key players from their lineup. Captain Nick Trecapelli, the team's leading scorer Rob De Fulviis and veteran winger Brett Appio all sat out with injuries. Not only were the Gryphons short on bodies, they were also short on luck.
 
With U of T leading 1-0 in the opening period, the Gryphons generated several great scoring chances during a power play opportunity. With the man advantage just about to expire, Gryphon forward Dylan Gilbert fired a shot that hit the post and deflected out of the U of T zone and right into the path of a Varsity Blues player who was stepping out of the penalty box. Third year Varsity Blues forward Connor Cleverley went straight from the sin bin to the scoresheet as his unassisted goal gave the home team a 2-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes of play.
 
Although the Gryphons outshot the Blues 25-23 on the night, the first Guelph goal of the night wouldn't come until late in the third period when Cody Thompson found the back of the net for his second goal in as many nights and his fourth point in his last three games. Unfortunately that was as close as the Gryphons would get as U of T held on for the 2-1 victory.
 
The Gryphons, who have lost four of their last five, will look to get back on track on Wednesday (January 27) when they head to St. Catharines to face the Brock Badgers (6-12-5). That game will be followed by a Thursday night (January 28) trip to Toronto to face Ryerson. The Gryphons will then round out their regular season schedule with four straight home games spanning from February 2-11.