GUELPH, Ont. –  It was a forgettable weekend for the Guelph Gryphons men's hockey team as two teams from the nation's capital saddled the No. 9 team in the country with a pair of frustrating losses. The latest was a 3-1 defeat to the No. 4 Ottawa Gee-Gees Saturday night at Gryphon Centre Arena.

Reilly O'Connor scored the lone goal for Guelph in what was physical and often chippy game. First-year goaltender Evan Cormier made another start in net and stopped 31 of the 34 shots he faced.

A night after falling 3-1 to the Carleton Ravens, the Gryphons took eight penalties, compared to one for the visitors, and never got out of the massive hole they dug for themselves. Guelph also ran into a hot goaltender as Ottawa's Anthony Brodeur proved difficult to beat, making 33 saves on 34 shots.

The Gryphons finally solved Brodeur at 6:32 of the third period while down 3-0. O'Connor, a fifth-year D-man from Penticton, BC, steamed into the Ottawa zone and unleashed a blast from just over the blueline that made its way through the Gee-Gees' netminder. Michael Stevens and Braydon Munn assisted on the play.

Aside from Cormier's work in net, that goal was the hosts' highlight of the game. For the second night in a row, the Gryphons fell behind early on home ice. They had difficulty establishing offensive rhythm because of early penalty trouble. Despite a couple of successful kills, the hosts found themselves down 1-0 when Eric Locke finished from the side of the net at 10:12 of the first period.

And just like Friday night's game with Carleton, Guelph would trail 2-0. Jean-Francois Plante doubled the Gee-Gees' lead when he finished off a 2-on-1 pass from Locke and beat Brodeur with a beautiful shot 3:44 into the second period.

Unfortunately, it only got worse for the hosts. The Gryphons continued to take undisciplined penalties and when Ottawa was gifted a 5-on-3 just past the midway point of the second period, the No. 4 team in the country made no mistake. Locke parked near the bottom of the right circle and buried a one-timer at 13:14 for his second of the game and a three-goal lead on the road.

Locke's second was the first power-play marker allowed by Guelph this season. 
 
The Record
Guelph is 2-3-2-0.