Gryphons stave off elimination with 3-2 win over Warriors; force decisive Game 3 Sunday

Guelph, ON - Thursday night at the Gryphons Centre the University of Guelph men's hockey team kept their season alive with a 3-2 win over the Waterloo Warriors.  With the result, the OUA West division quarter-final best-of-three series is now tied 1-1.  Game 3 is scheduled for Sunday, February 15th at Waterloo's Columbia Icefield Arena. 

From start to finish, Game 2 was a physical affair. Both teams were throwing the body early to establish their physical presence.   Nicholas Trecapelli (Guelph, ON) would take the puck behind his net, regrouping the Gryphons for a breakout attack on the Warriors.  Trecapelli rushed the puck into the Warriors zone, played a quick give-and-go with Carlos Amestoy (Toronto, ON) and then would toe-drag around a defender and fire home a shot glove side to put the Gryphons up 1-0, nine minutes into the game. Moments later Riley Sonnenberg would get a breakaway chance during 4-on-4 play that would be saved by Andrew D'Agostini (Scarborough, ON) keeping the Gryphons ahead. With three minutes left Seth Swenson (Parker, CO) would tip in a shot from the slot by Teal Burns (Victoria, BC) during a power play, extending the Gryphons lead 2-0, which they would take into the dressing room.

The second period would not disappoint for the spectators. Early in the period, a turnover behind the Gryphons' net would give the Warriors an opportunity to score when the puck came out into the slot for a Warrior forward. D'Agostini would come out and challenge the shooter and make a huge save. Moments later, though, the shutout bid would be over as Colin Behenna (Waterloo, ON) would cut the lead in half, scoring for the Warriors to make the game 2-1, Behenna's third goal of the series. With a delayed penalty coming, D'Agostini would run into a Warrior play while coming to the bench for an extra attacker, causing a scrum that would result in three 10-minute misconducts. As the original penalty expired, Carlos Amestoy would bring the lead back to two with a great backhand shot, off the post and in. While the Warriors were on the power play, the Gryphons would have the best chance to score as a no goal call was made when the puck went into the net, while the net was off place. The teams would end the second period with the Gryphons leading the must win game 3-1. 

The Gryphons would not let up in the third period, as they would continue to keep the puck in the Waterloo zone. Trecapelli would get multiple chances in front of the net, peppering Waterloo's starting goal Mike Morrison (Hamilton, ON). With eleven minutes left, D'Agonstini would come up big when Mike Moffat (Waterloo, ON) would get the puck at the top of the slot and go high. D'Agostini would be able to get his glove up in traffic and snag the puck out of the air to keep the lead at 3-1. With 4 minutes remaining, Andrew Smith (Kitchener, ON) would score for the Waterloo Warriors, making it a one-goal game. With one minute remaining the Warriors pull their goalie for the extra attacker. The Gryphons defence would come up huge in front of D'Agostini, limiting the Waterloo chances and allowing the Gryphons to hold on to the 3-2 victory.
 
The puck will drop for Game 3 on Sunday at 6:30pm at the University of Waterloo.

Source: Guelph Gryphons