GUELPH, Ont. – For the second time in the span of just seven days, student-athletes across the province received good news, as Ontario University Athletics (OUA) released schedules for three more sports for the upcoming 2021-22 intercollegiate season. Men's and women's hockey, men's and women's basketball and men's and women's volleyball were the latest sports to receive confirmation on their 2021-22 schedules, with the league office making the announcement public on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. All three sports will get their 2021-22 seasons underway beginning in early November. This latest announcement from the OUA comes just
seven days after their release of fall sport schedules. No decision has been made at this point as to whether or not fans will be permitted to be in attendance for Gryphon home games during the upcoming season, but the University of Guelph Department of Athletics will continue to monitor the situation closely and follow public health guidelines as the province continues to progress through its reopening plan.
Men's Hockey 2021-22 Schedule
Women's Hockey 2021-22 Schedule
Men's Basketball 2021-22 Schedule
Women's Basketball 2021-22 Schedule
Men's Volleyball 2021-22 Schedule
Women's Volleyball 2021-22 Schedule
Men's Hockey
The Gryphons men's hockey team will officially begin their long-awaited OUA title defence on Thursday, November 4, 2021 when they host the Laurier Golden Hawks in the opening game of their 2021-22 season.
Gryphons men's hockey head coach, Shawn Camp, has led the Gryphons to a pair of OUA titles (2014-15 & 2019-20)
The last time the Gryphons were on home ice was on March 7, 2020, where a soldout crowd at the Gryphon Centre watched the home team win a triple-overtime thriller over the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the 109th Queen's Cup. The victory marked the seventh conference title in program history, and the Gryphons will now look to begin a run at back-to-back titles while adjusting to a modified season schedule and playoff formatting. The Gryphons will play a total of 20 regular season games (down from their usual load of 28 regular season games). The OUA men's hockey playoffs will also have a new format for 2021-22, with the road to the Queen's Cup featuring three rounds of single-game elimination games (as opposed to best-of-three series like in years past).
"We are very excited with the return of OUA hockey this season," says Shawn Camp, who returns for his 15th season as head coach of the Gryphons men's hockey team. "We cannot wait for the games to begin and have the opportunity to defend our Queen's Cup championship in what will be an extremely competitive conference."
Women's Hockey
Since the 2015-16 season, the Gryphons women's hockey team has consistent established themselves as one of the top programs in the country, with three OUA titles as well as the program's first national title (2018-19) all coming within the past five seasons.
With Rachel Flanagan behind the bench, the U of G women's hockey team has compiled an impressive record of 250 wins-79 losses-21 ties through her first 13 seasons in charge
The Gryphons will now look to add to their rich history when they drop the puck on their 2021-22 season on November 3, 2021 in a home matchup with the Laurier Golden Hawks. The reduced schedule for this season will see the Gryphons women's hockey team play in 20 regular season games (down from 24 games in 2019-20), with the regular season wrapping up in early March. The OUA women's hockey playoffs will also have a new format for 2021-22, with the road to the McCaw Cup featuring three rounds of single-game elimination games (as opposed to years past, where the road to the OUA final saw teams have to advance past two rounds of best-of-three series).
"The announcement of OUA winter sport schedules is very exciting for our student-athletes," says Rachel Flanagan, now in her 15th season behind the bench for the U of G women's hockey team. "We have been meeting regularly to better understand where we are at as a group and now that we have a schedule we can start working on a specific plan. The new schedule structure presents different competitive challenges but also provides an interesting opportunity to get creative about how we approach the season. We know our student--athletes have been training hard but I expect this announcement will give them some context to help build out their training plan to coincide with the proposed start date."
Women's Basketball
The Gryphons women's basketball team will return to the court in early November, opening their 2021-22 regular season schedule with a home-and-home matchup versus the Windsor Lancers.
2021-22 will mark the 5th season with the Gryphons women's basketball program for Associate Head Coach, Megan Reid (photo courtesy, Guelph Today)
After opening the season Wednesday, November 3 in Windsor, the Gryphs return home for a Saturday afternoon tip (2pm) at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre on November 6. A reduced women's basketball schedule for 2021-22 means the Gryphons will play six fewer games than 2019-20 (16 regular season games, down from 22 regular season games in 2019-20). The OUA women's basketball season wraps up in mid-February, with the playoffs running from Feb. 23 to March 5.
"From the beginning of the outbreak, our women's basketball players have been focused and preparing for a season, using the mantra 'Don't count the time, make the time count,'" says associate head coach, Megan Reid. "To say that they are excited about an upcoming season is an understatement. We are past the time of nitpicking a schedule and are solely focused on being prepared to battle the team(s) that step on the court with us, each and every opportunity we get. Our job as coaches is to help our student-athletes be mentally, physically and emotionally prepared for this monumental task. We are humbled by the incredible focus, resilience and determination our players have shown and we will do everything that we can to facilitate the return to the sport that we all love—safely, intentionally and with purpose."
Men's Basketball
The Gryphons men's basketball will look to make a third consecutive trip to the playoffs when they tip off their 2021-22 season in early November. The Gryphons season opener is set for Wednesday, November 3, 2021 in Windsor in the first half of a home-and-home with the Lancers to get the 2021-22 season underway.
Now in his 25th season in charge, Chris O'Rourke enters the 2021-22 season as the longest tenured head coach in all of U SPORTS men's basketball
The home opener at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Center will take place on Saturday, November 6 at 4pm, the first of eight regular season home games for the Gryphs. The 16-game regular season schedule for OUA men's basketball in 2021-22 is a decrease of six games from the previous season in 2021-22. The new season also comes with adjustments in the divisional setup within the OUA, with the conference shifting from a four-division setup, to a
two-division split for 2021-22.
"We are all thrilled to have a schedule after such an unprecedented time," says Chris O'Rourke, who enters his 25th season in charge of the Gryphons men's basketball program. "Going back to the East-West (divisional setup) is exciting, as that is the way it was back when I played and started coaching, which led to some great rivalries. The next few months will be about slowly building back to getting ready for the season."
Women's Volleyball
The last time the Guelph Gryphons women's volleyball team was on the court was in March of 2020, when the team's season culminated with a victory in the bronze medal match at the OUA Final Four. After having a season wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gryphons women's volleyball team will now set their sights on a return to the court to try to once again establish themselves among the elite women's volleyball programs in the conference.
In 2019-20, Paul Funk led the Gryphons women's volleyball team to an OUA bronze medal, marking the team's first OUA medal since the 2010-11 season
The 2021-22 season for the Gryphons gets underway on November 6 at Brock, the first of three straight road games for the Gryphons to start the new season. The home opener is set for Sunday, November 28 with a 1pm gametime versus the Badgers. The reduced 2021-22 schedule sees the Gryphons play five fewer regular season games than in the past, with the team playing a total of 14 regular season games (down from 19 games during the 2019-20 season).
"Sixteen months ago, our squad ended their season with a bronze medal at the OUA Final 4, so our student-athletes are incredibly excited and eager to get back to the business of trying to improve on that finish," says Paul Funk, who returns for his 17th season as head coach of the U of G women's volleyball program. "The reduced 14 game schedule will create tremendous competition within the OUA West Division with each match having significant impacts on the overall standings. The student-athletes have had daunting challenges in trying to maintain their skills and physical preparation during the pandemic, so the next 3-to-4 months will mean a change in focus and efforts which they will enthusiastically attack."
Men's Volleyball
The Guelph Gryphons men's volleyball team will have good memories of the last time they played on their homecourt.
Gryphons men's volleyball head coach, Cal Wigston, has helped lead the Gryphons to the OUA Final Four twice in the past four seasons
On February 29, 2020, the Gryphons punched their ticket to the OUA Final Four with an impressive straight-sets win over the Ryerson Rams in an OUA quarter-final matchup. With the 2021-22 men's volleyball schedule now set, the Gryphons will open their season on the road on November 6 at Brock, before returning to the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre for a Friday night matchup versus perennial OUA power, McMaster, on November 12.
The Gryphons men's volleyball team will play three fewer games than they did in 2019-20, with the OUA announcing a 14-game regular season schedule. The regular season schedule wraps up in late February, with the month of March reserved for the OUA playoffs and U SPORTS men's volleyball championships.
"It's time! We are ready and excited to get going," says Cal Wigston, who is entering his 16th season as head coach of the U of G men's volleyball program. "I'm proud of the commitment that our student-athletes have made over the last 18 months to stay ready for this moment. We look forward to getting back in the gym."
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OUA Announces Basketball Schedules for 2021-22 Season
OUA Announces Hockey Schedules for 2021-22 Season
OUA Announces Volleyball Schedules for 2021-22 Season
