GUELPH, ON – First it was the defence that stood tall for the Guelph Gryphons men's hockey team on Saturday night against the Brock Badgers.
 
Then the offence came to play.
 
Robert Lepine and Marc Stevens scored 32 seconds apart in the last minute of the first period to break open a close game and propel the Gryphs past the Badgers 7-2 in OUA action at the Gryphon Centre.
 
The win put the Gryphs back on the winning path after suffering their first loss of the season one night earlier in Waterloo against the Laurier Golden Hawks.
 
"It was absolutely critical that we get back on track after last night," head coach Shawn Camp said after Saturday's win. "We just felt as a team that we didn't move our feet like we should last night, and as a result Laurier took the game to us. We were chasing the game all night.
 
"Tonight we came out with a more determined effort. We got off to a great start and that seemed to carry us through."
 
Marc Stevens opened the scoring at 5:45, and the Gryphs registered the first 11 shots of the game. Brock didn't record a shot until there were about six minutes left in the first period.
 
But it wasn't until after Lepine and Stevens scored at 19:18 and 19:50 that the home team felt it could breathe a little bit.
 
"It gave us some separation; until then, it was still very tight, and it could go either way. That was a big game-changer for us," Camp said. "Any time you can score late in the period like that, it gives you great momentum carrying over to the next period."
 
Brock got on the board early in the second period on a power-play goal by Sammy Banga, but Guelph's Cody Thompson quickly responded with a man-advantage marker of his own to restore the three-goal margin. Then Michael Stevens and Wyatt Trainer scored two more quick goals late in the period, and the Gryphs took a 6-1 lead into the dressing room.
 
Reilly O'Connor of the Gryphs and Matt MacLeod of the Badgers traded goals in the third period to round out the scoring. Tryg Strand, Scott Simmonds, Seth Swenson and Manny Gialedakis each chipped in with two assists for Guelph.
 
"It was a great rebound game by us, and it was nice to see everyone producing," said Marc Stevens, an OUA rookie from Turkey Point, ON who scored his first two goals as a Gryphon. He spent the past four seasons with the Guelph Storm of the OHL, and now joins his older brother Michael on the Gryphons.
 
"It was nice to get on the score sheet for sure, but most importantly it was nice to get the win coming off a loss last night. It shows the type of character we have on our team. After a rough game yesterday, we showed how quickly we can rebound, and how good we compete when we put our minds to it."
 
Keith Hamilton got the win in the Guelph nets, stopping 18 of 19 shots. Alex Brooks-Potts made 29 saves in a losing cause for Brock.
 
The Gryphs are now 3-1 in the OUA West Division, while the Badgers drop to 1-3. Next action for Guelph is Thursday, October 20 when York visits the Gryphon Centre.