GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons men's hockey team are no strangers to the OUA playoffs. And the Gryphons will be in the big dance again this year. Guelph was rock-solid in clinching a postseason berth, defeating the Toronto Varsity Blues 3-0 in the first ever Business Night Game at Gryphon Centre Arena.
The stakes were high for the two rivals, separated by just two points in the clogged OUA West standings. And with the pressure on, the Gryphons put together one of their better performances of the season, showcasing a blend of puck possession, skill, and physicality, especially through a dominant stretch in the last half of the second period.
Ceremonial face off on Business Night at the Gryphon Centre
Cody Thompson, captain
Scott Simmonds, and
Andres Kopstals scored for Guelph, which has made the OUA West playoffs for 12 consecutive years, a current streak longer than any in the division.
Andrew Masters made another start in net and stopped all 22 shots he faced for a timely shutout.
The hosts had to lean on their OUA-leading penalty-killing unit (89.9 per cent on the year) in the final 1:57 of the game after Guelph was called for cross-checking and faced a 6-on-4 with goaltender Alex Bishop pulled for an attacker. Masters wasn't too busy on the night but he did save a goal when he slapped his glove on the ice to smother a loose puck near the right post with just a minute remaining in regulation. He made another big save soon after and in the dying seconds, Kopstals put the game to bed with an empty-netter to extend his goal-scoring streak to three games.
In what was obviously a must-win situation, the Gryphons needed a bit of time to seize control but they did strike first with 5:55 left in the opening period.
Ryan Valentini worked hard to rush up the right wing before cutting into the middle of the ice and sliding a nice feed to Thompson, who made no mistake beating Bishop on the stick side for his 12
th goal of the season.
Guelph started fast after the intermission and the playoff hopes got a big boost when Simmonds scored at the 17:23 mark in a beautiful sequence.
Connor Bramwell passed it to
Todd Winder, who dropped it for the captain and Simmonds leaned into a shot from the left circle to double the lead.
There were chances to stretch the margin even more as Toronto took a string of uncharacteristically undisciplined penalties but Guelph could not put one behind Bishop despite creating many chances on the man advantage. The game got particularly chippy late in the second, though the Gryphons held their own, including newcomer
Mikkel Aagaard, who was happy to throw the body around as the intensity increased.
The Business Night theme was created to celebrate the Commerce students at the University, which includes several players on the team. It was a big crowd that ultimately provided a lot of energy for the motivated hosts.
Gryphon Take
"We obviously knew that that if we won tonight we were going to the playoffs. It was a really great defensive effort. That's the type of playoff hockey we need to play next week – and hopefully for a while."–
goaltender Andrew Masters to GryphVision's Scotty Fraser
"We played a playoff style game tonight. We managed the puck well, defended well, and we had timely saves when we needed it. And the penalty kill came through with a shorthanded goal to seal the deal. Now Saturday's game is absolutely critical as we have to chance to secure the home ice. The guys will be ready."
– head coach Shawn Camp
The Record
Guelph is 12-11-0-4
Next up
Windsor, Saturday, Feb. 9, 7:30 pm @ Gryphon Centre Arena
Senior Night
