GUELPH, Ont. – The Gryphons women's hockey team began their quest for the McCaw Cup on Wednesday night (Feb. 25) in Game 1 of their OUA quarterfinal series versus the Waterloo Warriors, with the Gryphons holding off a late rally from Waterloo to come through with a 4-3 win at the Gryphon Centre. Gryphons goalie, Sophie Helfenstein, made the biggest save of the game with :05 seconds left in regulation, as she stopped Waterloo forward Tatum James on a breakaway to preserve the 4-3 win and give Guelph a 1-0 series lead in this best-of-three.
 
This highly-touted OUA quarterfinal series featured a matchup between two nationally-ranked teams, with Waterloo coming in at No. 5 and Guelph at No. 6 in the final U SPORTS Top 10 polls of the season. However, home ice advantage in the series belongs to Guelph, with the Gryphons earning the No. 2-seed in the OUA West Division with a regular season record of 19-4-3 (57 points) while the Warriors finished with 49 points and a 17-8-1 regular season record to earn the No. 3-seed in this 2-verus-3 matchup.
 
The Gryphons 2026 playoffs would get off to a strong start, with Guelph scoring on the power play at the midway point of the opening period as Katy McKenna was the first to the puck after an initial shot hit the post, with McKenna's goal giving the Gryphons an early 1-0 lead. Maeve Sutherland-Case made it 2-0 for the hosts a couple of minutes later when she was able to collect her own rebound and score. The Warriors would get back into the game early in the 2nd period as Emma Thornton got a deflection on the point shot to trim the deficit in half. Waterloo would build momentum as the period went along until the captain came calling. Katherine Heard snuck in behind the Warrior defence on the breakaway and beat Waterloo goalie Kara Mark five-hole to give her side the 3-1 lead at the 16:10 mark of the 2nd. Guelph would add to their lead :32 seconds later when Maeve Sutherland-Case walked in from the blue line and scored her second of the game on the power play to make it 4-1. The Warriors would not go away however, with Waterloo scoring twice in a span of 1:15 as Tia Lascelle scored on the power play before Nikki McDonald added another to quickly trim the deficit down to a goal at the 11:30 mark of the 3rd period. Waterloo would continue to apply plenty of pressure on the Guelph net but the Gryphon defence held their own to maintain their 4-3 lead. Sophie Helfenstein made 21 saves in the Guelph net tonight but her 21st and final save of the game would be her biggest. With :05 seconds left in regulation, Tatum James was able to get behind the Gryphon defence on a breakaway but Helfenstein was able to close the five-hole to deny James the tying goal and preserve the 4-3 win in Game 1 for the Gryphons.
 
The Gryphons will head to the University of Waterloo on Friday night (Feb. 27) with a chance to close out the series. Puck drop for Game 2 from Columbia Icefield is set for 7pm, with the game broadcast live online at oua.tv. Game 3, if necessary, would return to the Gryphon Centre in Guelph on Sunday, March 1 at 2:30pm.