GUELPH, Ont. – We are set to drop the puck on a new season of Gryphons women's hockey. The 2025-26 OUA women's hockey regular season is set to begin on Wednesday night (Oct. 8, 2025) when the Gryphons host the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks at 7:30pm. Wednesday night's season opener from Gryphon Centre Arena not only marks the official start to a new season, it also serves as the
2nd annual edition of the women's hockey 'Aggies Night' game, presented by Syngenta Canada Inc.
The 26-game regular season schedule format remains unchanged from last season, with each team playing each other home-and-away. The 14 teams in the province are split into two divisions of 7 teams, with the Gryphons competing out of the OUA West division. The playoff format also remains unchanged, as the No. 4 and No. 5-seeds within each division will matchup in a single-elimination play-in game to determine the final playoff spot in each division. Following the play-in game, the OUA quarterfinals will turn into a best-of-three series as both divisions will see a pair of matchups between the No. 1 seed & the play-in winner and the No. 2 & No. 3 seeds. The OUA semifinal round is also a best-of-three series with the winners crossing over and playing a team in the opposite division to determine the participants in the single-game McCaw Cup championship final, set to take place on Saturday, March 14, 2026, hosted by the team with the best regular season record.
The national championship tournament will take place in Elmira at the Woolwich Memorial Centre (March 19-22, 2025) for a second consecutive year, with the University of Waterloo Warriors serving as the hosts of the 2026 U SPORTS Women's Hockey Championships.
"We're excited to build on the foundation we were able to create with such a young group last season," says Gryphons head coach
Katie Mora, who heads into her 3rd season at the helm of the U of G women's hockey program. "Good habits and attention to detail will be key factors heading into a competitive season."
Forwards
With another year under them, the Gryphon forward group is poised to take the next step.
Maeve Sutherland-Case (Hamilton, ON) is back for her fourth season with team as she blossomed into one of the top goal scorers in the OUA last season. The animal biology major was tied for 4th in the conference last season scoring a team-high 12 goals.
Jadyn Calder had an outstanding second half to her 2024-25 season where she emerged as one of the team's top offensive threats. The Baden, ON native led the team with 14 points last season and was second on the team with 6 goals scored.
Coming off a strong playoff performance,
Katherine Heard (Arva, ON) is back with the team for her fifth year as she scored 5 goals and recorded 8 points last season. Following a successful rookie season, local product
Myriam Parnell returns as she looks to take the next step. The neuroscience major scored 5 goals last season and was tied for fourth on the team with 9 points.
Sarah Callaghan (Hammonds Plains, NS) is also back for her second season, coming off a really good first season where she scored 3 goals and recorded 7 points. The forward group sees grad transfer Katy McKenna join the team this upcoming season. The Bolton, ON native arrives to the U of G from the Toronto Varsity Blues where she spent the last four seasons. McKenna is studying her masters in rural planning and development and tallied 7 assists last season.
Defence
There will be plenty of experience on the Gryphon blueline that returns from last season's team that conceded the fewest goals in the OUA a year ago.
Reese Coffey leads the way heading into her third season with the team. The Thunder Bay, ON native last season was tied for the team lead with 9 points among the Gryphon defence. Maddie Min (London, ON) will look to build off her strong rookie season as she heads into her second year on the Gryphon blueline. The bio-medical science major played in 21 games and finished with three assists. Both
Brielle Caruso (Sault Ste. Marie, ON) and
Teghan MacRae (Cookstown, ON) return to blueline for their fifth year as they bring lots of experience and stability to the defence. The Gryphon defence will be bolstered by the addition of
Arielle MacDonald. The New Credit, ON native comes to Guelph as a grad transfer from Laurier where she was one of the top point-getters in the conference. MacDonald, studying her masters in business administration, was 4th in the conference last season with 18 points and 3rd with 14 assists.
Goalies
The strength of the Gryphons will come in net, led by the dynamic 1-2 punch of
Martina Fedel and
Sophie Helfenstein. Fedel, the fifth-year animal biology major, led the league among qualified goalies with an 1.16 goals against average and a .957 save percentage while winning 10 of her 13 starts to go along with her 4 shutouts. The Trento, Italy native in 2023 was named a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian and was just the second player in program history to be named OUA Goaltender of the Year. Third-year goalie
Sophie Helfenstein returns after an impressive second half of the season, leading her side to the top seed in the OUA West. The Ajax native was second in the OUA behind her teammate among qualified goalies with a 1.46 GAA and a .946 save percentage as she won 9 of her 12 starts with two shutouts.
The Gryphons women's hockey team will officially drop the puck on a new season in their home opener on Women's Aggies Night from the Gryphon Centre on Wednesday, October 8 when they host the Laurier Golden Hawks with puck drop scheduled for 7:30pm. It is the first of two home games this week to start off the 2025-26 season, with the Gryphons also hosting the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks on Friday night (Oct. 10).
