GUELPH, Ont. - Saturday afternoon (Jan. 20) at the Gryphon Centre, the Guelph Gryphons women's hockey team took down the Western Mustnags 2-1 in their annual 'Alumni Day' game. Brielle Caruso scored the game winner with 6:29 remaining in the the third period to extend the U SPORTS No. 3-ranked Gryphons win streak to 10 games and pick up the team's 18th win of the season, tying their win total from last season. The Gryphons now hold a 19-point advantage of the Waterloo Warriors and the rest of the OUA West with a record of 18-1-2, the second best in the nation behind only the undefeated Concordia Stingers. 

The Gryphons, who were playing in front of 16 members of the 2018-19 National Championship-winning team, began the first period with immediate pressure on the Mustangs. Their strong start would be rewarded with a pair of powerplay opportunities, but Mustang goaltender Brooke Vaccari would hold the Gryphons off the board and send game to a scoreless first intermission. Early in the second the Gryphons would finally break the Western shutout when U of G captain Hannah Tait found Jaime Magoffin alone on the doorstep for her 5th of campaign. Tori Verbeek picked up the secondary assist on the goal, bringing the Gryphon top line's point total to 55 through 21 games. 

Despite a Mustang equalizer late in the second the Gryphons kept the pressure on, outshooting the visiting team 11-9 in the second. The second period proved to be the busiest for Gryphon goaltender Martina Fedel, who faced just 2 shots in the first and one in the third. The third-year Trento, Italy native would finish the game with 11 saves on 12 shots and earn her 13th win in 2023-24. Fedel is experiencing another sensational season between the pipes for the Gryphons, ranking 3rd in the conference in wins and leading in the OUA in both save percentage (.950) and goals against average (1.04). 

In a tightly-contested third period it was blue-liner Brielle Caruso who picked a perfect time to score her first goal of the season. Freshman forward Katelyn Dance sent a cross-ice pass through traffic directly to the stick of Caruso. The Gryphons would play a near-perfect defensive game for the remaining 6:29 to secure the win in front of the University of Guelph women's hockey alumni. 

The Gryphons (18-1-2) will return to action Wednesday (Jan. 24) when they host the Laurier Godlen Hawks in another showdown between OUA West teams. The No. 3-ranked team in the nation will then head to North Bay for an all-important game against the OUA East-leading Nipissing Lakers. Tickets for the Gryphosn Wednesday night game against the Golden Hawks are available online at gryphons.ca/tickets.