GUELPH, Ont. - Starting the 2020 portion of their OUA regular season, the Guelph Gryphons knew they were going to have a tough task in front of them. However, despite playing host to the No. 3- nationally ranked Toronto Varsity Blues, the Gryphons were not fazed at all Sunday night at the Gryphon Centre going on to record a 3-0 victory.

Playing structurally sound on defence and taking advantage of their opportunities at the other end, the Gryphons managed to frustrate the Varsity Blues and come away with a big regulation win.

Throughout the first half of the opening period, both teams exchanged opportunities but neither side was able to find the back of the net. However, shortly after the midway point, Gabriele Underwood took a perfect feed from Cyan Roepcke in the Toronto slot and she made no mistake firing the puck top-shelf giving the Gryphons a 1-0 lead. Although out-shot 15-9 in the period, Guelph was able to keep most of Toronto's opportunities to the outside and hold the 1-0 advantage after twenty minutes of play.

Once the second frame rolled around, it was more of the same from the two sides. Guelph continued to crash down on the Varsity Blue's chances, while again converting on their own opportunities. On their first power-play of the game, it was Underwood once again crashing the crease and jamming the puck into the back of the Toronto goal to give Guelph a 2-0 lead.

Continuing to keep the Blues off of the board in the third period, Guelph remained strongly focused on their defensive responsibilities. Although the visitors were able to create a few panic moments in front of the Gryphon's goal, at the end of the day the home side was able to bear down and clear their zone. In a last ditch effort, the Varsity Blues elected to pull their goalie, but it did not work. Receiving a neutral-zone pass, Stephanie Gava found the back off the net from centre ice to seal a 3-0 Gryphon's victory.

In her first game of 2020, Aurore Beaulieu started it off with a bang making 26 saves en route to the shut-out.

"Defensively we really got a strong effort from our back-end with our forwards also helping out," said Gryphon's head coach Rachel Flanagan. "We knew that Toronto wins a ton of their games by putting pucks on the net and whacking at them. So we knew we had to clear the front of the net as much as possible today and I was very happy with the girl's commitment to doing that."

The Gryphons will now look for a second straight win to start the new year on Saturday when they host the Queen's Gaels. Puck drop is set for 2:00.