GUELPH, Ont. - Fourth-year forward and Gryphon women's hockey captain Hannah Tait netted her first career hattrick on Saturday afternoon as the Gryphons took down the Nipissing Lakers 6-1 on home ice. Tait found her first goal on a Gryphon powerplay late in the first period before scoring 1:12 into the second and once again on the advantage in the third. The Exeter, Ontario native also picked up an assist on Tiana Faccio's goal late in the second to complete a 4 point outing. Veteran forwards Tori Verbeek and Maya Graham also scored in the contest, each finding the back of the net for the first time of the season. The Gryphons improve to 2-0-1 on the year and sit second in the OUA's West Divison with 6 points through three games, trailing only the Waterloo Warriors. 

Standout goaltender Martina Fedel had another outstanding performance, turning aside 30 of the 31 Nipissing shots she faced. Fedel now has a 0.93 goals against average and .966 save percentage through three starts. 

After finding themselves down a goal early in the first period, the Gryphons tied the game with 1:21 remaining before exploding for 4 goals in the second. The team would then add one more for good measure late in the third to secure their second win of the 2023-24 season over the 2022-23 OUA runner-ups. The Gryphons were dominant in nearly every phase of the game, outshooting the Lakers 32-31 in addition to going 2/4 on the powerplay and 2/2 on the penalty kill. 

The team will now head on the road next weekend for a pair of games, first against the TMU Bold on Saturday (Oct. 28) before heading to Waterloo to take on the Warriors Sunday (Oct. 29).