GUELPH, Ont. – In front of a Frosty Mug record-tying crowd of 4,942 fans at The Sleeman Centre, the Guelph Gryphons men's hockey team used a three-goal, 2nd period while skating to a 3-1 victory over the Brock Badgers in the Gryphons annual showcase event in downtown Guelph. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 12-7-2 on the season, and now sit in 4th-place in the OUA West Division standings, just two points behind 1st-place TMU. With the loss, the Brock Badgers fall to 9-9-3 on the season (7th in OUA West).
   
An electric atmosphere at The Sleeman Centre was given plenty to cheer about during a game-changing 2nd period from the Gryphons. After Brock took a 1-0 lead early in the opening period of play, it would be all Guelph in the 2nd, with Gryphon captain, Nathan Allensen, opening the scoring for Guelph at the 8:04 mark of the 2nd period. For Allensen, a fourth-year defenceman on the Gryphon blueline, it marked his 8th goal of the season, and his 19th point of the season (8 goals, 11 assists), putting him just one point back of being the highest-scoring blueliner in the OUA. For the former Barrie Colt, it also marked yet another tally against the Badgers this season, with Allensen now having 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) in three regular season games versus Brock this season, including having scored the overtime winner during the team's head-to-head matchup at Brock back on January 10.
 
Just over two minutes after Allensen tied the game at 1-1, the Gryphons would take the lead on Nolan Dann's team-leading 11th goal of the season. Dann, a second-year forward from Cambridge, has put together a sensational 2025-26 season, with his goal on Thursday night moving him into a tie alongside TMU's William Portokalis for the OUA's leading scorer, with Dann now having 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 19 games played. The Gryphons memorable 2nd-period would be capped off by a highlight-reel goal from fifth-year forward, Jack Wismer, who fought off two Brock Badgers before placing a backhand in to the top corner past Badgers goalie Will Hambley. Wismer's 10th goal of the season, and his third in his last four games, put the Gryphons up 3-1, a lead which would hold up for the rest of the evening. Gryphons rookie goalie, Olivier Ciarlo (Laval, QC) impressed in net for the hosts, with Ciarlo turning away 28 of the 29 shots sent his way on the night.
   
With the win, the Gryphons improve to 10-5-1 all-time in the Frosty Mug. The Gryphons (12-7-2) will now prepare for another pivotal game on Saturday night (Jan. 24) as they host the 2nd-place Lakehead Thunderwolves (13-6-1) on campus at the Gryphon Centre Arena. Puck drop on Saturday night is set for 7:30pm, with tickets available online at gryphons.ca/tickets, with the game also streamed live online at www.oua.tv.
 

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