GUELPH, Ont. - Coming off of a win Thursday night, and now getting to return to Guelph for their home opener, the Gryphons had plenty of momentum heading into their Saturday night date with the York Lions. Led by their captain Mikkel Aagaard, the Gryphons took full advantage of that momentum in a 3-1 win over York. Guelph used a consistent attack, scoring one goal in each period en route to a second straight regular season win.
To get things rolling for the home side, it was a hometown kid finding the back of the net. On their first power-play of the game, Guelph product Giordano Finoro deflected home a perfect feed from Ryan Valentini to put the Gryphons up 1-0. Justin Lemcke also picked up an assist on the late first period goal.
In the second period, the captain found his stride for the Gryphons, scoring his first of two goals on the night. Just over a minute into the middle frame, Aagaard got the puck past Lion's goalie Cody Ceci to double the Guelph advantage. Both Todd Winder and Ryan Da Silva tallied assists on the Aagaard goal.
Leading 2-0 in the third period, the Lions managed to get on the board and pull within one. With a little over five minutes left to go in the third, York was able to capitalize on a power-play opportunity getting the puck past Gryphon's goalie Andrew Masters for the first time in the game. Despite the lead being cut in half, there were no concerns from the Gryphon's captain. It was only 1:28 after the Lions goal, when Winder got the puck to Aagaard in the neutral zone, and he broke in by himself and danced around Ceci before tucking the puck home to restore the two goal lead.
From there, the Gryphons were able to run the Lions out of time, securing Guelph their second win of the season. In the victory, Masters made 26 saves on 27 shots. The Gryphons finished the game 1 for 4 on the power-play, while York went 1 for 8 with the man-advantage. Guelph outshot the Lions 40-27.
The Gryphons will now go for a third straight win on Wednesday when they play host to the Ryerson Rams, who they defeated 5-2 on Thursday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30pm from the Gryphon Centre.
