GUELPH, Ont. -  On Saturday night at the Gryphon Centre the Gryphons men's hockey team shut down the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in the second and third periods to capture a 4-2 win and their first victory of the 2023-24 season.

The visiting Golden Hawks got on the board early, scoring just over three minutes into the game after Laurier forward Evan Benwell beat goaltender Tanner Wickware with a spin move, taking the early lead. Rookie forward Jonah De Simone was able to tie the game up just over five minutes later thanks to a great pass from Nolan DeGurse. With the two teams providing even scoring chances in the opening period it was a Gryphon penalty gave the Golden Hawks a chance to retake the lead. Callum Chisolm of the Golden Hawks batted down a loose puck in front of the Guelph net and was able to find the back of the net, giving the visiting team the lead heading into the first intermission. 

Eight minutes into the second frame it was fourth-year centre Luke Kutkevicius who made a beautiful back-handed pass to an open Jacob Winterton coming down into the slot, to tie the game for the second time of the night. A Laurier penalty that followed shortly after the game-tying goal allowed the Gryphons to maintain the pressure. The momentum led to a breakaway opportunity for rookie Nolan Forster who capitalized on the scoring chance, beating Laurier goaltender Christian Propp with a glove-side wrist shot to give the Gryphons their first lead of the game. The goal also marked the first career OUA score for the Cambridge native who joined the Gryphons from the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL this past offseason. 

THe third period saw the Gryphons maintain their relentless attack on the Golden Hawks, being disrupted only once but the home team was bale to pick up their first penalty kill of the night. Despite outshooting Laurier 12-5 in the final period goaltender Tanner Wickware came up with a pair of massive saves to keep the Gryphons in front. The third-year goalie stopped 30 of 32 shots faced in his third start of the season continuing his strong start to the 2023-24 campaign. With time running out and an empty Laurier net Jonah De Simone picked up his second of the night with an empty net score to solidify the Gryphons first win of the season.

The Gryphons (1-2-0) will take the rest of the weekend off before spending the week preparing for the RMC Paladins who come to Guelph next Friday (Oct. 20).