GUELPH, Ont. – Throughout the 2017-18 OUA men's hockey regular season, the Gryphons were the class of their division. Saturday night in a must-win Game 3 matchup in their OUA West Quarter-final series with Windsor, that class was once again display. The Gryphons exploded for four goals in the opening period and cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Lancers to win the best-of-three series 2-1. The top-seeded Gryphons advance to the OUA West Semi-finals where they will face the No. 5-seeded Brock Badgers.
 
"We knew coming off of Saturday night's game that we would have to do a better job of moving our feet," said Gryphons head coach Shawn Camp. "We were able to get a good jump early and the guys kept pushing for all three periods."
 
No player in the OUA was better in the opening round of playoffs than U of G rookie forward Todd Winder. The Uxbridge native accounted for two of the Gryphons' four goals in the first period on Sunday night, giving him five goals in three playoff games. Veteran defenceman Mark Raycroft and team captain Scott Simmonds also found the back of the net in what was a dominant opening 20 minutes by the No. 6-nationally ranked Gryphons. Windsor's backup goalie Matt Badour was forced into action after Lancers' starter Jonathan Reinhart suffered an eye injury in Game 1 of the series. While Badour was sharp on Saturday night, he had no answer for the high-powered Gryphon offence in Game 3. The Gryphons outshot the Lancers 19-9 in the opening period.
 
The U of G lead would grow to 6-0 in the 2nd period with goals from Andres Kopstals and Cody Thompson. Kopstals finished off some outstanding passing, with Josh McFadden and Tryg Strand leading a 3-on-2 rush that ended with some tic-tac-toe passing by the Gryphs. Midway through the 2nd, the Gryphons would take advantage of a five minute power play opportunity with Thompson tapping home a nice feed from Josh McFadden. Josh McFadden, a Guelph native and former member of the AHL's San Antonio Rampage, finished the night with 4 assists. Gryphons rookie goalie Andrew Masters turned away 28 of the 29 shots sent his way for the win.
 
The Gryphons will now turn their attention to the Brock Badgers for their OUA West Semi-final series. During the regular season, the Gryphons won three of their four head-to-head matchups with the Badgers. Game 1 of the series is set for Thursday, Feb. 22 at 7:30pm at the Gryphon Centre.