GUELPH, Ont. – They call the piece of hardware by a single name – Judy. And every member of the Guelph Gryphons women's hockey team wants it to stay where they feel it rightfully belongs. That's not because the OUA's top-seeded Gryphons are an overconfident bunch who feel entitled to a trophy. Guelph's players have simply had added motivation to be OUA champions the past few years after learning the story of Judy McCaw, a member of the University of Guelph community who tragically passed away decades ago.
 
It's her name on the famous McCaw Cup – and the Gryphons hope it will be in their hands for the third time in four years when they host the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday afternoon at Gryphon Centre Arena.
 

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McCaw Cup (OUA Women's Hockey Championship Game)
Guelph Gryphons vs Toronto Varsity Blues

Date:  Saturday, March 9
Time:  2pm
Location:  Gryphon Centre Arena (University of Guelph)
Broadcast:  oua.tv
 

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"For our most senior players, the background behind the trophy resonates a lot with them," said head coach Rachel Flanagan.
 
Flanagan, who was just named OUA Coach of the Year for the fifth time in her career, knows that Guelph's big-game experience in recent seasons could be a factor when her team faces the Varsity Blues.

There is a razor-sharp focus on winning the OUA banner and hoisting Judy this season.
 
"Being able to have had those important moments in games is helpful," said Flanagan, referring to the back-to-back victories in 2016 and 2017 when Guelph beat Western and Nipissing respectively. "Our leadership group is outstanding and they've had those experiences.
 
"This year is a little different. You want to go into nationals on a winning note. We've had teams in the past where getting to nationals was the biggest moment and we spent so much time thinking about how excited we were to get there that we forgot about how important this game was."
 
That's not the case for this team and its veteran core of stars. It will be the last OUA game for program pillars like captain Kaitlin Lowy and goaltender Valerie Lamenta, the former U SPORTS Player of the Year. And after a somewhat early exit from the 2018 postseason when they were eliminated by Western in the conference semi-finals, the hunger has never been more evident for the Gryphons.
 
Meagan Lee is one of those players on both McCaw Cup winners. The fifth-year defenceman from Markham, ON was limited to 13 games this season after having surgery for a torn hamstring she suffered in the last year's playoffs. Lee won't be able to suit up Saturday but she is equally invested in the goal to win a third title.
 
"Given our success in the past, most of us know what it's like to win and everyone is excited that we have another opportunity," said the Human Kinetics student. "Last season we didn't get the result we wanted but this year it has really motivated our team and has proven what it takes to get here and how competitive the league is. The seniors on this team have been extremely grateful to have attended the McCaw Cup and nationals all but one year." 
 
The Varsity Blues will pose the biggest test for a Gryphon team that has dominated in the playoffs so far. Guelph is 4-0 with Lamenta posting an absurd 0.50 goals against average and a .980 save percentage en route to shutouts in three of four starts. The captain Lowy has been her usual influential self, leading all OUA players with six postseason points. But one of the revelations has been talented forward Claire Merrick. The fourth-year Gryphon usually sets the table for her teammates but in the postseason, she has tied Lowy in points and leads the conference with five goals, two of which were game-winners in two OUA semi-final meetings with the Ryerson Rams. 
 
Toronto finished third in the OUA with a 13-6-2-3 record in the regular season, with one of those wins coming at the Gryphon Centre back on Feb. 16. The Varsity Blues had to go the distance against both Nipissing and Western to earn their berth in the championship game, getting a third-period goal for a 2-1 victory to eliminate the Mustangs. Forwards Kassie Roache and Jessica Robichaud are right behind Merrick in the playoff goal-scoring race with three apiece. Flanagan has instructed her team to be extra aware of Toronto's strong power play, which succeeds in simple fashion by getting pucks to the net and burying rebounds.
 
"We'll have to lift sticks and clear pucks in front," the coach said, noting that she was pleased Guelph's own power play has awoken.
 
Flanagan is confident in her players, be it veterans like Miranda Lantz and Laura Crowdis, or young contributors in rookies Madison Melo and Lauren Ianni. The Gryphons are collectively smart and like any team who makes it to this point in the season, hard working.
 
"They've been able to take information that we haven't talked about all year or practiced and implement it in the game plan so that we can be effective against the teams we're coming up against," the coach said.

"Every team we've seen has been just a little bit different than league play. You can tell that they're all well-coached. There have been some things that we've asked the girls to do to try and prevent the other team from shutting us down but also provide us with success.
 
"And they've been able to do that."
 
The Gryphons are well aware of the opportunity in front of them, especially those seniors who will perform on the Gryphon Centre ice for the final time.
 
"To bring Judy back and win a national championship in our final season would perfectly cap off the great careers that we've had with this program," said Lee. "Over the past five years, I have been fortunate enough to play with some incredible players and coaches. 
 
"This program has given us all the opportunity to grow as people and players and I will be forever thankful for that."
 

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Gryphon Team Statistics
 
Gryphon Individual Statistics
 
Toronto Team Statistics
 
Toronto Individual Statistics
 
OUA Playoff Leaders  
 

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