GUELPH, Ont. – The puck is set to be dropped for a new season of OUA men's hockey, with the Guelph Gryphons men's hockey team hosting the TMU Bold from the Gryphon Centre Arena on Friday (Oct. 9). After reaching the OUA quarterfinals a season ago, the Gryphons will look to make it a second consecutive season with a playoff appearance.
The 2026-27 OUA's men's hockey schedule will be the last integration of the 19-team league with UQTR, Concordia and McGill moving to the re-established men's hockey league in the RSEQ for the 2027-28 season. In 2026-27, each team will play a 28-game regular season schedule with no division crossover between the OUA East and West divisions. The Gryphons will compete in the 10-team OUA West Division with 28 games against opponents within the OUA West. The OUA playoffs will see the top six teams from each division qualify 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 115th Queen's Cup to be played on Saturday, March 20, 2027. The 2027 U SPORTS University Cup Men's Hockey Championship will take place from March 25-28 from Trois-Rivières, Quebec, hosted by the reigning national champions from UQTR.
"Our players and our staff are excited for the season to get going. We have solid depth at all three positions, and with
Nolan Dann (forward), Nate Allensen (defence) and
Olivier Ciarlo (goalie) returning, we know that we have some of the top players in the league at each position," says Gryphons head coach,
Josh Dixon, who enters his fourth season in charge of the University of Guelph men's hockey program. "We also have a large group of players who are entering their second, third and fourth years with our program and we anticipate they will make a big impact this season."
Forwards
The Gryphons forward group is led by third-year forward
Nolan Dann. Dann in the 2025-26 put together one of the greatest single-seasons in program history, leading the OUA with 40 points in 25 games played in the regular season. The arts major from Cambridge, ON was 4th in the conference with 26 assists and was tied for the team lead with 14 goals scored. Dann earned was named U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian, marking the first time in 20 years in which a Guelph Gryphons men's hockey player had been named a First Team All-Canadian. Dann was also named OUA West MVP during his outstanding sophomore campaign, making him just the fifth player in program history to be named OUA MVP.
Dylan Hudon returns to Guelph for his third season with the team. The accounting major from Rockwood took a major leap as the team's 2nd-leading scorer with 29 points and 20 assists.
Julien Gervais enters his third season with the team after compiling 13 points last season and had the fifth most assists on the team with 10. The arts major from Windsor will slot in on the top line with Dann and Hudon. The forward group returns a trio of experienced players with
Nolan Degurse,
Griffin Wilson and
Giordano Biondi all back for their fifth season with the team while pursuing their Masters at the University of Guelph.
Nolan Forster and
Julian Vander Voet are also back for their fourth year with the team. The forward group will be bolstered by five new additions to the team for the 2026-27 season.
Luke Johnston and
Damen Boose arrive at U of G from the U SPORTS ranks with Johnston arriving from Dalhousie and Bosse transferring in from McGill.
Marcus Lougheed joins the group from the Prince George Spruce Kings of the BCHL,
Ethan Quick from the Caledonia Corvairs of the GOJHL and
Sean Doherty from the Niagara Ice Dogs from the OHL.
Defence
The Gryphon blueline is bolstered by the return of their team captain
Nathan Allensen. The fifth-year defenceman had a breakout 2025-26 season, establishing himself as one of the premier blueliners in the conference. The management major played in all 28 games for the team last year where he finished with the second-most points among blueliners in the OUA with 28 points, scored the third-most goals with 8 and was tied with second-most helpers among defenceman with 20 assists. Allensen's impressive season saw him named the OUA Defenceman of the Year, marking only the second time in program history in which a Gryphon defenceman was named OUA Defenceman of the Year. Allensen was also named an OUA First Team All-Star for the first time in his four seasons with the Gryphons..
Dillon Stiles and
Ryan O'Dell return for their second season in Guelph after playing a key role in their rookie seasons for the team. Also back are third-year defencemen
Jack Clancy and
Ethan Casper, while newcomers
Andrew Wycisk and
Matthew Jenken both join the Gryphon defence for the upcoming season. Wycisk comes from the Trenton Golden Hawks of the OJHL and is expected to make an immediate impact on the power play unit and Jenken arrives to Guelph from the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL.
Goalies
Olivier Ciarlo returns to Guelph for his second season with the team as the team's starting goalie. Ciarlo in his rookie season with the team started in 21 regular season games, winning 10 games with a 3.19 GAA and a save percentage of .903. For the arts major from Laval, QC, it was the postseason where he shined for the Gryphons. Ciarlo had a pair of road wins in the opening round of the playoffs against Laurier last season including earning his first career OUA shutout, turning aside all 30 shots, to send his team to the OUA quarterfinals in their 4-0 Game 3 victory to season the 2-1 series win.
Jack Osmond returns for his second season with the team and
Iain Wintle joins the goalie room for his first season after spending time in the QMJHL with the Gatineau Olympiques.
The Gryphons men's hockey team will officially open their 2026-27 OUA season with a pair of home games from the Gryphon Centre Arena when they host the TMU Bold in their home and season opener on Friday night (Oct. 9) before the Lakehead Thunderwolves come into town on Saturday night (Oct. 10). All Gryphons men's hockey games throughout the 2026-27 season can be seen live, online at
oua.tv. With tickets for Gryphon home games currently available online at
gryphons.ca/tickets.
