GUELPH, Ont. - Coming off of a tough loss the previous night in London, in which they felt they deserved a better result, the Guelph Gryphons left nothing to chance Friday night at the Gryphon Centre, scoring early and often in a 7-1 victory over the Windsor Lancers.
Ahead of the Lancers by five points for third place in the OUA West division heading in to the contest, the Gryphons were able to separate themselves quickly from Windsor on the scoreboard and in turn separate themselves even further in the standings.
As the game began, it did not take long for the home team to get on the board. Before the Gryphon's faithful really had much of a chance to get seated, Guelph was able to find the back of net. Just a mere 29 seconds into the opening period, Mikkel Aagaard won a face off directly to the stick of Ted Nichol who then wired a quick shot off the post and in to put the Gryphons on the board. Still buzzing from the excitement of the first goal, the Gryphon's fans were then treated to a goal of the year candidate shortly after. Dancing around a Windsor defenceman, before faking out the Lancer's goalie, Zachary Poirier slid the puck into the opposition's net to give Guelph a 2-0 advantage. Up by a pair of goals, the home team was not done there. With just under two minutes to play in the first, Zach McFadden led the Gryphons in on a 2-on-1. The defenceman then fed Connor Bramwell a perfect pass and he made no mistake, as the Gryphs took a 3-0 lead into the break.
Following an initial push back from the Lancers to begin period number two, the Gryphons were able to respond swiftly and really take control of the game. Not even two minutes into the period, the Gryphs were able to deflate the Windsor push back with a Marc Stevens goal putting Guelph up by four. For much of the period, the score remained that same way, but before the middle twenty minutes expired, the Gryphon's captain would add to the total. Sliding a puck out front, Mikkel Aagaard found himself on the fortunate end of an own-goal for Windsor. The tally extended the advantage to 5-0 Guelph after forty minutes of play.
Looking to play a clean third period and secure a big bounce back victory, the Gryphons were able to add to their lead twice in the final frame. First, it was Giordano Finoro as the puck bounced to him and he fired a shot in to the Windsor goal just prior to the net coming off its pegs. Then short-handed the Gryphons made it 7-0 as Poirier struck for the second time in the contest. The Lancers would go on to find the back of the net in the final minutes to round out the scoring.
In goal for Guelph, Brendan Cregan turned aside 25 of the 26 Windsor shots, with many of them being of the highlight variety.
For the Gryphs, they will now turn their attention to their regular season finale. On February 7, Guelph will play host to the West leading Toronto Varsity Blues in one final contest before the playoffs. Puck drop is set for 7:30 from the Gryphon Centre.
