GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons have become a regular fixture in the OUA men's hockey playoffs. Since head coach Shawn Camp took over the program in the 2007/08 season, the team has made 11 straight trips to the postseason, including a memorable run to the Queen's Cup and a U SPORTS bronze medal in the winter of 2015.
  As the Gryphons prepare for yet another playoff battle with the Windsor Lancers (the best-of-three series starts Thursday, 7:30 pm at the Gryphon Centre Arena), the players and staff are well aware of what it took to keep that streak alive. Guelph suffered through a challenging, injury-plagued season in which the team won just two of its first 11 games.
 
But when these rivals hit the ice Thursday night, the rejuvenated Gryphons will be ready to build on an impressive run in the second half of the OUA season.
 

"Obviously, it wasn't the start to the season that any of us wanted," said fifth-year captain Scott Simmonds, one of 10 seniors playing in the final OUA postseason of their careers. "We lost a lot of tight games in the first half. Coming back from the break we have made the commitment to the small details and we feel we are getting better each day heading into the playoffs. I have full confidence in the players in the room, and we as a group have confidence that we can achieve our goal together."
 
Guelph led the conference in regular season scoring last year with 122 goals but key injuries, especially to veterans, put a dent in the team's ability to showcase that talent in 2018/19. The chances were still coming, evidenced by the Gryphons' OUA-best 1,082 shots on goal (38.6 per game). The team stayed patient, eventually got their players back, and the results inevitably improved.
 
"The good news was that despite our injuries, we had good depth and as a result, we were continuing to create scoring chances," said Camp. "We just weren't finishing.
 
"We changed our game a little bit. We put more emphasis on how we played defensively and that worked really well for us."
 
The Gryphons built chemistry as the season went on. The outgoing players, who were celebrated at Senior Night last Saturday, include defencemen Mark Raycroft and Reilly O'Connor, forwards Tryg Strand, Stephen Hiff, Michael Stevens, Andres Kopstals, Seth Swenson, and Simmonds, the captain for the past three seasons. That group was complemented by a mix of young returning players like reigning OUA West Rookie of the Year Todd Winder, as well as a new crop of talented first-year players Connor Bramwell, Jesse Saban, Stephen Templeton, Justin Lemcke, and Ryan Valentini, who has been one of the offensive sparks with five goals and eight assists in 12 games.
 
Second-year Gryphon goaltender Andrew Masters has really settled in between the pipes after the starter in the first half, Evan Cormier, signed a pro contract. Masters won six of his last eight starts, including shutouts in Guelph's last two games of the regular season when the team was trying to lock up a postseason berth and home ice.
 
The younger players have been ready to sacrifice for those vets playing in their last OUA playoffs.
 
"The chemistry has been terrific," said Camp. "That's part of our young guys learning the culture and how we roll day to day. They've really bought in to what we're doing. The leadership we have is outstanding, they lead the right way, they provide the very best example for everyone to follow. When your skilled veterans are your hardest workers, it makes it easy to follow the lead. We appreciate every day how they lead the group and how they carry themselves.
 
"We feel as a group, we're really just finding our stride coming into the playoffs. We're starting to play the way we thought we would earlier in the season."

 
That chemistry will be key if the Gryphons hope to advance. Guelph and Windsor know each other well, having met in the postseason five times in the last seven years alone. That includes last season when the Gryphons had to go the distance before winning the best two-of-three series with a convincing 6-1 victory in game three of the OUA Western quarter-finals. And after splitting games in the 2018/19 preseason, Guelph shut down the Lancers twice in the regular season, first in a 1-0 win on Nov. 24 in Windsor and again last Saturday on Senior Night, which the Gryphons took 5-0.
 
The Lancers' offence is led by forwards Kyle Hope (11-17-28), Alex Friesen (7-17-24), and Ethan Skinner (6-15-21), while Jonathan Reinhart has carried the load in net, going 11-14, with a 2.89 goals against average and .916 save percentage.
 
"Historically, we've had really big battles with them, especially in the playoffs," said Camp. "They compete so hard as a group and their coach wouldn't have it any other way.
 
"It doesn't matter where each of us finish in the regular season, when we match up in the playoffs, they're tight games and it's really physical. They have balance on their forward lines and they're big guys, who are hard to play against. They create big problems for teams like us who have to work hard for whatever they get."
 
"We know Windsor works hard and that they never give up," said Simmonds. "We will need to be prepared to compete and willing to play the simple game that makes us most successful."
 
The captain has been to the postseason every year of his distinguished career. And in what will be his last crack at the OUA playoffs, the excitement level hasn't subsided.
 
"I know how intense a best-of-three series is," said Simmonds. "Every minute of the game matters and using momentum to your advantage is crucial.
 
"There is nothing better in the game of hockey than playoff time."
 

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