TORONTO, Ont. – For the fourth time in the last five years, the Guelph Gryphons will take centre stage in the championship game for OUA women's hockey.
Friday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, the Gryphons earned a spot in the McCaw Cup with a 1-0 win over the Ryerson Rams in Game 2 of their OUA semi-final series. Fourth-year forward
Claire Merrick scored :21 seconds into the 2nd period to account for the game's only goal, while fifth-year goalie
Valerie Lamenta turned away all 28 shots sent her way for her third shutout in four postseason games.
The Gryphons, who improve to 4-0 in the playoffs with sweeps of both Brock and Ryerson, now await the winner of the OUA's other semi-final series between Western and Toronto. Regardless of who comes out of that series, the Gryphons know that they will be playing host to the McCaw Cup, with puck drop at the Gryphon Centre set for 2pm on Saturday, March 9.
Claire Merrick and Valerie Lamenta have been the two best players on the Guelph Gryphons this postseason. Friday night was no exception.
After a scoreless opening period of play, the Gryphons found a breakthrough thanks to their top line. A
Kaitlin Lowy shot was stopped, but the rebound fell right to her linemate Claire Merrick, who made no mistake, firing home a shot into the top corner to put the visiting Gryphons ahead 1-0.
For Merrick, a Landscape Architecture major from Oakville, it marked her OUA-leading 5th goal of the OUA playoffs (4 games played) and would prove to be more than enough offence for the Gryphons All-Canadian goalie.
Val Lamenta, a former national player of the year with the Gryphons in 2015-16, was in fine form, making 28 saves on the night, helping Guelph become just the second OUA team all season to shutout the Ryerson Rams.
The Gryphon special teams played a big role in Friday night's win. Merrick's goal came during one of Guelph's six power play opportunities, and the Gryphons also excelled on the penalty kill, successfully killing off all three Ryerson power play chances. The biggest of those penalty kills came in the latter stages of the 3rd period. With 6:33 remaining in regulation and Guelph holding on to a slim 1-0 lead, the Rams went to the power play after a tripping call on Molly Crossman.
As they did throughout the night, the Gryphons dug down defensively and showcased tremendous grit and desperation to block shots, clear pucks and make timely saves to protect their one-goal lead.
Friday night's win not only booked the Gryphons a spot in the McCaw Cup, it also clinched a berth to nationals (March 14-17 at UPEI).
GRYPHON TAKE
"Ryerson made it extremely difficult on us tonight. They made it tough to get out of our end, scoring chances were pretty even between both teams. It was a physical, hard-fought game and we're proud of our players for putting together a strong team effort. Val was once again really, really good for us and offensively we were able to do just enough."
~ Gryphon head coach Rachel Flanagan
THE SERIES
Game 1: Guelph won 4-2 (Feb. 27 in Guelph)
Game 2: Guelph won 1-0 (March 1 at Ryerson)
UP NEXT
McCaw Cup (OUA Championship game) – Saturday, March 9 (2pm – Gryphon Centre Arena). Opponent TBD
* Western and Toronto are tied 1-1, with Game 3 set for Saturday afternoon (March 2) at 2:30pm *
