GUELPH, Ont. – Each of their teams will by vying for an OUA championship on the ice this week. And the Gryphon women's and men's hockey teams got to that point thanks in part to the exceptional play provided by a couple of clutch postseason performers.
Valerie Lamenta (Women's Hockey) and
Mikkel Aagaard (Men's Hockey) have earned Gryphon MUSCLE MLK Athlete of the Week honours for the period ending Sunday, March 4, 2019.
Val Lamenta (Women's Hockey)
Lamenta is no stranger to playing her best hockey on the big stage. The fifth-year Mechanical Engineering native from Montreal, QC has been in between the pipes for Guelph's back-to-back McCaw Cup victories (2016 & 2017) and she will get the chance to cap her incredible career with a third appearance after backstopping her team to a sweep of the Ryerson Rams in the OUA semi-final best-of-three.
Lamenta entered the series with Ryerson having not conceded in a goal in two opening-round games against Brock and it took everything the Rams had to get a couple by the former U SPORTS Player of the Year in Game 1. She stood tall when necessary and denied several point-blank chances and breakaways en route to a gritty 30-save win in a 4-2 Gryphon victory. In the series decider, Lamenta didn't give the potent Rams a sniff, posting a 28-save shutout. Guelph became only the second team this season to blank Ryerson in a game but more importantly, the Gryphons booked a spot as host of the McCaw Cup next Saturday afternoon (March 9) on home ice. Lamenta led the OUA with anemic numbers during the OUA regular season, posting a 1.24 goals against average and a .952 save percentage. In four consecutive playoff wins, those numbers have gotten even better, as she leads all goalies allowing half a goal per game, while registering a near-perfect .980 save percentage with the three shutouts.
"I've been so impressed with Val's leadership and poise," said Gryphon head coach
Rachel Flanagan. "Good goalies make the saves they are supposed to make. Great goalies make impossible saves when the team needs them. She's been great."
Mikkel Aagaard (Men's Hockey)
Aagaard is a relative newcomer to Guelph but he has already had a massive impact on the Gryphons men's hockey team in a short time. The native of Fredrikshavn, Denmark joined the program in the second half of the season with a pedigree that includes being a member of the Danish national junior team, while also playing with the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League.
It would now appear that Aagaard is enjoying his OUA hockey. The talented forward had a week he will always remember, scoring five goals and adding an assist as the Gryphons advanced to the Queen's Cup with a dramatic win over the Western Mustangs in the OUA West final best-of-three series. Aagaard picked up his first points of the series with a power-play goal and an assist in the Mustangs' 4-3 comeback win Thursday night in London.
He was also among the catalysts offensively as Guelph evened the series with a dominant 6-1 on home ice Saturday night, scoring the all-important opening goal before adding his team's fifth of the night just 10 seconds after Connor Bramwell had made it 4-0. But Aagaard had his best performance in the series finale, a double-overtime thriller that will go down as one of the best OUA playoff hockey games in recent memory. He scored what looked to be the winner early in the third period when he got to the middle of the ice and put one past Western goaltender Luke Peresinni for a 3-2 lead. But the Mustangs would notch a dramatic equalizer with 1:40 left in regulation to send the game to overtime. With 5:16 remaining in the second extra period, Aagaard struck again, pouncing on a loose puck in the slot and wiring it past Peresinni for the goal that would send the Gryphons back to the Queen's Cup and book a spot at the University Cup in Winnipeg later this month. He leads all OUA players with eight goals and 16 points in the postseason.
"Mikkel is such a skilled player but he also possesses a tremendous work ethic and really leads by example every day in practice," said Guelph head coach
Shawn Camp. "As we've seen throughout the playoffs, he's the kind of rare player who thrives when the pressure is really on."
2018-19 GRYPHON ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
| Period Ending: |
MALE: |
FEMALE: |
| March 4 |
Mikkel Aagaard (MHKY) |
Valerie Lamenta (WHKY) |
| Feb. 25 |
Alexander Chaves (WRSTL) |
Shyvonne Roxborough (T&F) |
| Feb. 19 |
Todd Winder (MHKY) |
Burke Bechard (WBB) |
| Feb. 11 |
Sam Kuntz (SWIM) |
Jenna Westaway (T&F) |
| Feb. 4 |
Matthew MacNeill (T&F) |
Natassya Lu (WRSTL) |
| Jan. 28 |
Justin Lemcke (MHKY) |
Karli Shell (WHKY) |
| Jan. 21 |
Jakson Paterson (MVB) |
Modupe Okeowo (WBB) |
| Jan. 14 |
Philip Osei (T&F) |
Emma Nero (T&F) |
| Jan. 7 |
Malcolm Glanville (MBB) |
Sydney Davison (WHKY) |
| Dec. 3 |
Philip Osei (T&F) |
Kaitlin Lowy (WHKY) |
| Nov. 26 |
Evan Cormier (MHKY) |
Veronica Dietrich (SWIM) |
| Nov. 19 |
Banky Alade (MBB) |
Michaela Hellinga (WVB) |
| Nov. 12 |
Connor Black (XC) |
Danielle Jossinet (XC) |
| Nov. 5 |
MacKenzie Kea (MRGBY) |
Emilie Nicholl (WRGBY) |
| Oct. 28 |
Jean-Paul Cimankinda (FB) |
Carly Zanatta (ROWING) |
| Oct. 21 |
Connor Mitchell (BASEBALL) |
Talia Hoffman (WRGBY) |
| Oct. 15 |
Mark Patton (XC) |
Haylie Burton (SWIM) |
| Oct. 7 |
Marcello Wainwright (MRGBY) |
Erin Murray (WLAX) |
| Sept. 30 |
Job Reinhart (FB) |
Katherine MacMillan (FH) |
| Sept. 24 |
Mark Patton (XC) |
Sarah Dunning (GOLF) |
| Sept. 16 |
Josiah Dixon (GOLF) |
Emmanuela Jada (WRGBY) |
| Sept. 9 |
Jace Kotsopoulos (MSCR) |
Libby Brenneman (WSCR) |
| Sept. 3 |
Jace Kotsopoulos (MSCR) |
Victoria Hinchliffe (WSCR) |
| Aug. 26 |
Jalen Noronha (MSCR) |
Jenna Holtz (WSCR) |
* green signifies OUA Athlete of the Week
* red signifies U SPORTS Athlete of the Week
