GUELPH, Ont. – The puck is set to be dropped on new season of OUA men's hockey, with the Guelph Gryphons heading north to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday (Oct. 3, 2025) in their season-opening matchup from Fort Williams Gardens in Thunder Bay. The 2025-26 OUA's men's hockey schedule sees each team playing a 28-game regular season schedule with 19 teams across the conference split into two divisions, with the Gryphons competing in the 10-team OUA West Division. The one change from last season is there is no division crossover, meaning the Gryphons will play all 28 games against opponents within the OUA West Division. The OUA playoffs will see the top six teams from each division qualifying for the playoffs, with the top two seeds in each division earning a first round bye. The three-round playoff format will follow a best-two-out-of-three series before culminating with a single-game championship final to decide the winner of the 114th Queen's Cup to be played on Saturday, March 14, 2026. The two OUA teams meeting up in the Queen's Cup with earn a berth to the 2026 U SPORTS University Cup Men's Hockey Championship in Halifax, hosted by the Saint Mary's University Huskies.
"We really like the depth we have on our team heading into this season and we have big expectations for this group," says Gryphons head coach,
Josh Dixon, who enters his third season in charge of the University of Guelph men's hockey program. "We anticipate the OUA West Division being tight from the beginning of the season until the end, but it is time for us to perform see how far we can go."
The Gryphons will see some new faces on
Josh Dixon's coaching staff this upcoming season, including the addition of a Memorial Cup-winning associate coach in Jake Grimes joining the staff.
Josh Dixon also adds a pair of notable Gryphons men's hockey alum to the coaching staff in Ted Nichol (assistant coach) and Andrew Masters (goalie coach).
On the ice, the Gryphons will be led by team captain,
Nathan Allensen, who enters his fourth season on the Gryphon blueline and who will wear the 'C' for the Gryphons in 2025-26. A total of five Gryphons will wear the 'A' this season as assistant captains, with
Duncan Penman,
Ethan Doyle, Nolan DeGurse,
Griffin Wilson and
Dylan Hudon rounding out the Gryphons leadership group during the 2025-26 season.
Forwards
The Gryphons see the return of
Nolan Dann, the team's leading point getter from last season. Dann, heading into his second season with the team, had an outstanding rookie season a year ago, scoring 8 goals while leading the team with 20 points.
Anthony Tabak is back for his final season in Guelph as he heads into the season as the team's No. 1 centre. The marketing management major was a point-per-game player last season, racking up 14 points in his 14 games played to go along with his 6 goals scored. The team's leading goal scorer last season,
Nolan Degurse, is also back with the Gryphons. The Bright Groves, Ontario native scored 10 goals last season and was also a point-per-game player, tallying 18 points in his 18 games played. DeGurse, a fourth-year left winger, is coming off a strong preseason and is one of the team's assistant captains heading into the 2025-26 campaign. Fellow assistant captains
Griffin Wilson and
Ethan Doyle also return to a deep and experienced U of G forward group. Second-year centre
Dylan Hudon is back following a standout rookie campaign which saw him dress in all his team's 28 games last season while recording 11 points. The Gryphons will be bolstered by four incoming players in 2025-26, led by
Jacob Wismer. Wismer, a former OHL standout with the Flint Firebirds, arrives at U of G after having spent the last four seasons in U SPORTS hockey with the UBC Thunderbirds where he was part of two UBC teams that reached the University Cup (national championship tournament).
Justin Barker and
Cole Craft arrive in Guelph after transferring to U of G from the NCAA Division I ranks. Barker was with Stonehill College for two seasons while Craft spent the last three seasons at Lake Superior College. Incoming rookie forward
Kaeden Johnston (Peterborough, ON) comes to the U of G directly from the OHL ranks after spending last season with the Saginaw Spirit.
Defence
While the Gryphons blue line may be a relatively young group in 2025-26, leading the way on the back end will be a pair of proven defencemen in
Nathan Allensen and
Duncan Penman.
Nathan Allensen, a fourth-year defenceman from Waterloo, Ontario, has emerged as the team's top d-man. The former captain of the Barrie Colts will now wear the 'C' for the Gryphons in 2025-26, with Allensen coming off of a strong 2024-25 campaign in which he led all U of G defencemen with 3 power play goals to go along with 15 points last season from the blue line.
Duncan Penman (Oakville, ON) returns for his final season with the team and will wear an 'A' as one of the team's assistant captains in 2025-26. The former Mississauga Steelheads (OHL) standout provides a physical presence on the Gryphon blueline and gives head coach
Josh Dixon a reliable defensive presence in the U of G lineup night in, night out. Plenty of new faces join the Gryphon blueline in 2025-26, with the arrival of four new first-year defencemen.
Dillon Stiles brings plenty of size at 6-foot-8 after spending the previous season with the Collingwood Blues of the OJHL. Also joining the Gryphons from the OJHL, is
Ryan O'Dell who was the captain on the Niagara Falls Canucks.
Nolan Roberts (Souris, Manitoba) arrives at U of G after spending the last two seasons playing for the Melfort Mustangs of the SJHL.
Michael MacLean brings plenty of versatility to the team after playing for the Greater Sudbury Cubs of the NOJHL last season.
Ethan Casper and
Ian Ferguson both return to the Gryphon blue line for this season. Casper enters his second season with the team after playing in 25 of his team's 28 games, while Ferguson, the former Tri-City Americans (WHL), tallied 4 assists in his 17 games played last season.
Goalie
Cal Schell returns in goal for his second season with the Gryphons. The management major started most of his team's games last year and had a 6-6 record with a .903 save percentage. Plenty of excitement surrounds the arrival of Gryphons rookie goalie,
Olivier Ciarlo (Laval, QC), who arrives at U of G with plenty of starting experience within major junior. The Laval, Quebec native appeared in 127 QMJHL games over the course of three seasons with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and a season with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. Ciarlo was also recently with the Okotoks Oilers of the BCHL and spent time at the Nashville Predators NHL Development Camp. Edmonton native
Jack Osmond arrives to Guelph after playing for the Sioux Lookout Bombers in the SIJHL as his team's No. 1 goalie.
The Gryphons men's hockey team will officially open their 2025-26 OUA season with a pair of road games in Thunder Bay against the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday, Oct. 3 and Saturday, Oct. 4. The team will then return home for their 2025-26 home opener at the Gryphon Centre Arena, which is set for Thursday, October 9 versus the Waterloo Warriors. All Gryphons men's hockey games throughout the 2025-26 season can be seen live, online at www.oua.tv. With tickets for Gryphon home games currently available online at www.gryphons.ca/tickets.
