GUELPH, Ont. - Although on paper the Toronto Varsity Blues and the Guelph Gryphons entered their OUA quarter-final series as the one and eight seeds respectively, the two teams were far from that on the ice. Playing an extremely competitive and hard fought two game series, the Gryphon's season unfortunately came to an end Saturday afternoon at the Gryphon Centre following a 2-1 loss in overtime in game two. After dropping the series opener 3-2 in overtime as well back on Wednesday night, the Gryphons entered game two in a must win situation and just came up short by the smallest of margins.
Taking advantage of the tremendous goaltending they received from Aurore Beaulieu, as well as their grittiness and determination, Guelph was able to give nearly everything that the No. 3-nationally ranked team was able to handle. Despite the series only going two games, the Gryphons and Varsity Blues ultimately wound up playing for a total of 149 minutes and 54 seconds.
With their backs against the wall entering game two, the Gryphons found themselves having to rely on their penalty kill to come through for them in a big way early on. Being called for three penalties in the first 13:56 of the match, the Gryphons gritted their teeth and battled through the difficult sequence. With the game still scoreless, the home team was able to use the penalty kills as momentum in the offensive end. Taking over much of the five on five play for the remainder of the period, Guelph began to create multiple chances but the score stayed 0-0 through twenty minutes.
As the middle frame got underway, opportunities remained aplenty for both sides. However, exactly five minutes in to the period it was the visitors finding their way on to the scoreboard. A threat for the entire game, it was Natasha Athanasakos ripping a shot just over Beaulieu's shoulder and under the crossbar to make it 1-0. Although the Gryphons continued to fight back during the period, they had no luck solving Varsity Blue's goalie Erica Fryer.
Entering the third period with their season entirely on the line, the Gryphons stuck with what they had done so well all season, compete. Chasing after each and every puck, hustling on the fore-check and back-check, while grinding down the OUA's top ranked team, Guelph made a clear statement that they were not going down without leaving everything they had on the ice. As a result of that work ethic, the Gryphons were able to find the equalizer. With time starting to become a factor, Guelph used a strong fore-check to tie the game. Fighting for a puck below the net, Rylee Davison got on it before throwing it out front. After deflecting off the skate of Toronto defenceman Cristine Chao, the puck slid underneath Fryer and in to the back of the net. From there both teams continued to force the issue, but neither side was able to break the deadlock.
With the buzzer sounding on the third period, Guelph and Toronto were bound for overtime for a second straight game.
Despite coming close to winning the game on a few different opportunities, the Gryphons were left watching the Varsity Blues celebrate a series win after Laura Ellis fired a perfect shot over top of Beaulieu 12:52 into the extra frame.
On the stat sheet, the visitors went on to out-shoot the Gryphons 39-27. On special teams, Guelph went 0 for 2 with their power-play, but their penalty kill was a perfect 5 for 5 against Toronto's power-play unit.
With their win, Toronto will now advance to the OUA semi-finals where they will meet the winner of the Ryerson Rams and Brock Badgers series. The Rams currently lead the series 1-0 with game two to be played Saturday night.
