GUELPH, Ont. –  There will be a day in the future when Kaitlin Lowy and Valerie Lamenta are Guelph Gryphons women's hockey alumnae returning to the rink where they became collegiate stars. At the moment, they both play on the 2018/19 roster, which is good news for the surging Gryphons. Lowy scored twice and Lamenta registered a 32-save shutout helping Guelph to a gratifying 2-0 win over the Western Mustangs in front of a large group of former players for Hockey Day in Gryphonville.

Lowy was the best player on the ice all game and the Gryphon captain gave the crowd a huge boost when she buried a shot from the left circle through traffic and in behind Western netminder Carmen Lasis with 6:38 remaining in the second period. The fourth-year Toronto, ON native showed her hunger on the second goal, pouncing on a big rebound in the low slot and blasting it behind the helpless Western goalie for a 2-0 lead just one minute into the third period.

That was all the offence required with OUA's goals against average leader in between the pipes. Lamenta has been among the elite at her position in U SPORTS so far this season and the former national Player of the Year continued her form with a few incredible saves that had to leave the Mustangs frustrated. The Montreal, QC native entered the night with an OUA-best 1.01 gaa and she trimmed that with another inspirational performance to preserve the team's fourth straight win and fifth in six outings this season.

Before the game, 22 former Gryphon players spanning a few decades were recognized at ice level. Among those in attendance were recent captain and two-time McCaw Cup winner Katherine Bailey, as well as Krista DuChene, who finished third at the Boston Marathon last spring. Beth Farley, a Gryphon from 1984-88 and regular at Guelph women's games, dropped the puck for the ceremonial faceoff between the captains.

Guelph met Western for the first time since a dramatic OUA semi-final in which the Mustangs eliminated the two-time defending McCaw Cup champions 3-2 in double overtime.

It was a cautious start between the two rivals but the pace picked up throughout a scoreless opening period. Western had the best chance in the final 30 seconds when a Mustang toe-dragged around a Guelph defender to create space in the slot but her wrister was coolly gloved by Lamenta, who has routinely been making saves like that lately.

She would have another near the middle of the second, getting the glove on a one-timer from the low slot, just moments after Lasis had used her glove to stop Kristen Jay on a point-blank chance.
 
Gryphon Take
"We had a good game plan going into today and the girls really stuck to it. We did some selective playing against certain lines. They have a line that's outstanding and we knew we had to shut them down. The girls did a really good job of that. We've got some pretty tired players who played a lot. Defensively, it was a pretty good effort."

"Val has been outstanding. Last year, we struggled to have her really steal a game for us and she has had to do that this year. Val has given us confidence when we needed it and made timely saves. She's just really focused this year and that was her goal coming in. Val was disappointed with her season last year and the way it finished."

"Kaitlin's been trying to play on the edge. She found a bit speed this summer that she was maybe missing last year and it's really paying off. When she has time and space, she doesn't miss very often."

"We talked about the alumnae before the game. It's built into our philosophy of adding to the legacy but also honouring the people who came before us. We talk about that all the time. A lot of these girls laid the foundation for where this program is at and the resources that our players have. There is so much more skill than ever before. The game is evolving and it's neat for our alumnae to see. A lot of them are here with their kids so there's this next generation of Gryphon fans who understand that their moms played at this university." – head coach and former Gryphon captain Rachel Flanagan
 
The Record
Guelph is 5-1-1-0.
 
Next up
Laurentian, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2 pm @ Gryphon Centre Arena