GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons women's hockey team picked up their 7^th win of the 2022-23 season on Thursday night (Dec. 1) in a 3-2 win over the Western Mustangs at the Gryphon Centre. The Gryphons came into Thursday night looking to bounce back from an overtime loss against the Windsor Lancers. The Gryphon played a strong game, leading for all but 6:38, and survived a late game push from the Mustangs to improve to 7-2-4.
 
The Gryphons were looking to make it two wins against the Mustangs in 2022 after previously defeating them 4-0 back on November 3^rd. The opening period would see the Gryphons immediately start the game on the attack and putting pressure on the Mustang defence early. Their effort would pay off with 5:07 remaining in the opening period. It would be Gryphon forward Maya Graham who would open the scoring after finding the rebound off an Alexie Olivier shot to give the home team a 1-0 lead. The opening goal would be Graham's 3^rd goal in just two games after scoring twice against the Windsor Lancers this past Saturday. The Gryphon lead would not last long however, with the Mustangs tying the game just 3:40 later. A western penalty at 19:18 would give the Gryphs the chance to take back their lead heading into the first intermission. With 15 seconds remaining in the period Meaghan Chittick would find the back of the net after her point shot was deflected past the Western goaltender by a defender.
 
The second period would see the Gryphons put their defence on display. Being outshot and having to kill of a penalty the Gryphons would see 40 minutes come to an end with the same score they entered the period with, Gryphs up 2-1. The final frame would see the Gryphons have an early opportunity to extend their lead on the powerplay, but a strong Mustang penalty kill would see the match remain 2-1. After some back-and-forth the Mustangs would have their best opportunity of the night as a Gryphon penalty with 3:36 remaining would send Western to the powerplay. The Mustangs would pull the goaltender during the powerplay for two extra attackers but just 2 seconds after killing off the penalty Meaghan Chittick would net her second goal of the game on the empty net. A Mustang goal with 50 seconds left followed by some good Gryphon defence would see the final whistle sound with the Gryphons up 3-2.
 
Although the Gryphon were outshot by the Mustangs 20-16, goaltender Kathryn Raymond would make some big saves throughout the course of the game to help the Gryphons to the win.
 
The Gryphons will look to make it two wins in a row on Saturday (Dec. 3) when they return to the Gryphon Centre to host the Nipissing Lakers. Puck drop is set for 2:30pm with tickets available at gryphons.ca/tickets. Fan unable to attend the match can watch the game live, online at www.oua.tv.