CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – For the first time in school history, the Guelph Gryphons have earned the right to play for a national title in women's hockey.
Saturday afternoon in Charlottetown, P.E.I., the No. 3-seeded Guelph Gryphons exploded for five goals in the first period and cruised to an impressive 5-0 win over the No. 2-seeded Montreal Carabins. With the result, the Gryphons book a spot in Sunday's gold medal game (5pm ET) where they will face the No. 5-seeded McGill Martlets.
The Gryphons have started fast before. That's nothing new. But nobody could have seen this coming.
The Montreal Carabins, champions of the Quebec conference and owners of two recent national titles (2012-13 & 2015-16) entered Saturday's U SPORTS semi-final matchup not having allowed five goals in a single game all season long.
It took the Guelph Gryphons less than a period to reach that mark, with five different University of Guelph players finding the back of the net, leaving the Montreal Carabins shell-shocked in what was an explosive opening period of play for the OUA champions.
"We feel like we've been more prepared mentally at the start of games," said Gryphon head coach
Rachel Flanagan. "We talked about, during the second half of our season, the importance of scoring early and not letting teams hang around. Once we were able to get a lead on Montreal today, we just talked about keeping the pressure on throughout. They are such a skilled team, we knew what kind of damage they are capable of doing when they are able to slow down the game and create space, so we just kept it on for all 60 minutes."
The Gryphons, who scored :36 seconds into their U SPORTS Quarter-final win over Manitoba two days earlier, once again were flying right out of the gates, this time scoring :34 seconds into the game thanks to a goal from fourth-year defender
Mallory Young. The Human Kinetics major from Caistor Centre, Ontario gave the Gryphons an early 1-0 lead when her point shot found its way through traffic and in for Young's 2nd goal of the 2018-19 season.
At the 6:15 mark of the opening period, fourth-year forward
Claire Merrick would continue her incredible playoff run, scoring her team-leading 8th goal of the postseason, and first at nationals, to put the Gryphons up 2-0. Less than two minutes later, it would be fourth-year forward
Ashlee Lawrence scoring to push the lead to 3-0. The barrage would continue with
Molly Crossman scoring her first playoff goal at 11:31, followed by rookie
Madison Melo's tally at 17:42 which capped the scoring in Guelph's 5-0 win.
"Honestly, I'm a little speechless…I'm just so proud of this team," said team captain
Kaitlin Lowy. "We've worked all year for this. We knew we were peaking at the right time, and by no means were we surprised that we came out with a big effort today. We take a lot of pride in our depth. There's not one star on this team. We're made up of 24 individuals who bring it every day and make each other better and that's why we're good all through the lineup."
While the offensive fireworks early on were the story early on, it would be Gryphons fifth-year goalie
Valerie Lamenta who would ultimately take home well-deserved player of the game honours in the end.
The mechanical engineering major turned away all 31 shots sent her way for the shutout and played a huge role in helping the Gryphons advance to their first ever U SPORTS gold medal game. Lamenta, a Montreal native who was passed over by several Quebec-based schools before arriving in Guelph, put together perhaps the greatest performance of her already decorated U of G career. The two-time All-Canadian made several highlight-reel saves throughout the game, ensuring the momentum stayed on the Guelph side throughout the game. For Lamenta, Saturday's clean sheet marked her 4th shutout of the playoffs (in seven games played). Three seasons ago as a sophomore, Lamenta became the first University of Guelph women's hockey player to be named the national player of the year. And now, she has added yet another first, with Guelph now guaranteed to take home a medal from the national championship tournament for the first time in program history.
"It popped into my head for a quick second," said Lamenta, when asked if Saturday's victory was made even sweeter by the fact that it came against one of her hometown universities. "I knew a lot of these girls and have been playing against them for a while, so it was special to be able to face them at nationals. This has been a great ride for all of the players on this team, but we know that the job is not done yet. That's the mentality of everyone in that locker room."
Lamenta and the Gryphons will now prepare to face another Montreal-based school, with the RSEQ runner-up McGill Martlets booking a spot in the gold medal game with a 1-0 win over the Alberta Pandas. Sunday's U SPORTS gold medal game is set for 5pm ET and can be seen live online (pay-per-view) at usports.live.
ABOUT THE U SPORTS WOMEN'S HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP:
The first national champion in Canadian university women's hockey was crowned 21 seasons ago when the Concordia Stingers won the inaugural national championship tournament during the 1997-98 season.
34 universities across the country compete in U SPORTS women's hockey, with nine different schools to date having etched their names on The Golden Path Trophy.
Women's Hockey National Titles by School:
Alberta Pandas: 8 (2016-17, 2009-10, 2006-07, 2005-06, 2003-04, 2002-03, 2001-02, 1999-00)
McGill Martlets: 4 (2013-14, 2010-11, 2008-09, 2007-08)
Concordia Stingers: 2 (1997-98, 1998-99)
Montreal Carabins: 2 (2015-16, 2012-13)
Manitoba Bisons: 1 (2017-18)
Western Mustangs: 1 (2014-15)
Calgary Dinos: 1 (2011-12)
Laurier Golden Hawks: 1 (2004-05)
Toronto Varsity Blues: 1 (2000-01)
