GUELPH, Ont. - It was nearly a year ago to the day, the Guelph Gryphons improbable run through the OUA playoffs came to a halt in Kingston in the 108th Queen's Cup. Fast forward three hundred sixty-plus days and the No. 4-nationally ranked Gryphons are right back in the same spot, this time looking to take it one step further.
109th Queen's Cup (OUA Men's Hockey Championship Game)
Date: Saturday, March 7, 2020
Time: 7pm
Location: Gryphon Centre Arena (University of Guelph)
Teams: Guelph Gryphons vs Ottawa Gee-Gees
Broadcast: OUA.tv
Queen's Cup Ticket Prices:
Adult/Senior: $15
Youth (ages 7-17): $10
University of Guelph students: $10
Children ages 6-and-under: FREE
*** Queen's Cup tickets are also available in-person at Gryph's Locker, located inside the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre ***
Having secured more points during the course of the regular season than Ottawa, Guelph will have the advantage of playing on home ice, in front of the Gryphon faithful Saturday night when they take on the No. 3-nationally ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees. Although both teams finished 3rd in their respective divisions, the Gryphons ended the regular season with 39 points, while Ottawa finished just one point back, with 38 points. A sold out crowd is expected at the Gryphon Centre on Saturday night for the showcase game in Ontario University men's hockey.
"The returning guys, specifically, remember the disappointment of not winning the Queen's Cup last year," said Gryphons head coach Shawn Camp. "Although everyone was thrilled that we were able to go to nationals, it still feels like there is some unfinished business among the players."
Coming off a thrilling two-games-to-one series win over the Western Mustangs in the OUA West Final, the Gryphons continued to battle through any and all adversity that was thrown their way. Already down the leading scorer in the OUA for nearly all of the post-season, the Gryphons have had the injury bug bite recently as well, as key pieces Ryan Valentini, Luke Kutkevicius and Matthew Timms were all unavailable for the winner-take-all Game 3 against the Mustangs. Guelph, using the 'next man up' mentality, had multiple players step up in the 4-3 victory.
With standout rookie
Giordano Finoro taking the reigns on the top line, along with timely goals from the likes of
Matt Kenney,
Stephen Templeton,
Marc Stevens and
Andrew Dodson to name a few, each and every Gryphon has upped their game in a major way. The Gryphons also made a switch in goal leading up to game three as
Andrew Masters made his first start since the end of January and came up with a solid performance in the win.
During the 2019-20 season, the Gryphons and Gee-Gees squared off once. Going all the way back to October 19, Guelph paid a visit to Ottawa on the second night of a back-to-back road trip after battling Carleton one day prior. In the end, Ottawa put together a third period comeback and wound up winning the game 5-4 in overtime.
The Gryphons will come in to Saturday's final knowing that they will have their hands full with the skill and experience that the Gee-Gees bring to the table. Boasting a top-line that features Kevin Domingue, Cody Drover and Brendan Jacome, who are all fourth-year players and have combined for 89 points in the regular season, and already 25 points in the postseason, Coach Camp knows that his squad will not be able to afford any lapses come game time.
"They are a very experienced and veteran team that learned from their playoff loss last year," he said. 
"You can see how prepared they were for the grind of the playoffs this season."
"They have four balanced lines, along with big, mobile defencemen, and their goaltending has been solid. Their roster does not have any weak holes."
Looking to win their seventh OUA title in program history, and first since the 2014-15 season, the Gryphons could not be happier about playing this game in their own barn, which just so happened to serve as the location for their championship in 2015. A game that was also played on March 7.
"Being at home is like having an extra player on the ice," said Camp. "The noise, the atmosphere, the enthusiasm and that fact that we get to enjoy this with our community and students on campus is such a wonderful experience for everybody."
Regardless of the result on Saturday, both Guelph and Ottawa will be heading to Halifax for the U SPORTS Men's Hockey Championship next week. They will also be joined by the winner of the OUA's bronze medal game between the Concordia Stingers and Western Mustangs.
Saturday's 109th playing of the Queen's Cup is scheduled to get underway at 7:00 from the Gryphon Centre and can be seen live on OUA.tv .
"It is an opportunity we do not take for granted and we'll be ready to go Saturday night," said Camp.
Past Guelph Gryphons OUA Titles
2014-15
1996-97*
1993-94
1979-80
1978-79
1975-76
* National champions *
