OUA Field Hockey Championship underway at Cassie Campbell Field in Brampton

The Guelph Gryphons and Toronto Varsity Blues have won every OUA field hockey championship since 2004, and the two powerhouses are once again the favourites heading into the championship this weekend in Brampton, Ont.

It was the Gryphons who reigned in 2013 and the team put together another solid campaign in 2014 going 10-2 in regular season play; both losses came to Toronto. The Gryphons lay claim to two all-stars and OUA's Rookie of the Year award winner. Forward Allison Chute (Greenfield Park, Que.) led the Gryphons in scoring with 11 goals, good for second in the league and OUA All-Star recognition. Erin Houle (Burlington, Ont.) remains one of the best midfielders in the province, and her three goals and strong playmaking and stick skills earned her a second consecutive all-star appearance. Rookie of the Year Olivia Lane (Guelph, Ont.) scored nine goals, and despite being a rookie, will be expected to play a huge role in the championship. Guelph receives a first-round bye in the tournament and faces the winner of Queens vs. Dalhousie on Saturday.

The Varsity Blues had their dreams of a three-peat shattered last year by Waterloo in the semi-finals and are on a mission not to suffer the same fate in 2014. Toronto finished a perfect 12-0 in regular season play and will need to remain perfect in the single-elimination championship to reclaim the throne. Toronto is led by OUA MVP Amanda Woodcroft (Waterloo, Ont.) who scored seven goals while providing outstanding two-way play. Blues defender Allison Lee (Mississauga, Ont.) led OUA in goals this season with 11 and was named to the all-star team. Up front, forward Alex Thicke (North Vancouver, B.C.) leads the way, finishing third in the league with nine goals and an all-star appearance. In net, Madeleine Cho (Vancouver, B.C.) finished with a league-leading 0.56 goals against average. The Blues allowed the fewest goals in the league (8), while scoring the most (55).

The first matchup of the tournament goes at 12 p.m. on Friday afternoon between the York Lions and Waterloo Warriors. Fresh off an appearance in the 2013 finals, Waterloo is hoping to recapture some of the success the school had early in the millennium when it won back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003. The Warriors went 4-5-3 this season and are led by all-star Stephanie Snyder (Waterloo, Ont.), who scored five of the team's eight goals this year.

York finished the year 3-7-2, but have one of the game's best defenders on its roster. After winning Rookie of the Year in 2013, Shanella Fernando (Markham, Ont.) continued her development into one of the league's premier players and earned herself an all-star appearance. The Lions may not be able to compete on a level with Guelph and Toronto yet, but getting a win over Waterloo and even more playoff experience would be extremely valuable to the program.

Perhaps the team that poses the biggest threat to field hockey's "Big 2" is the Queen's Gaels. Putting together a 6-5-1 season, good for third in the standings, Queen's played a close contest against Toronto, losing 4-2 on Oct. 18. The two goals tied for the most Toronto allowed in a single game all season. The Gaels lone all-star was fifth-year defender Fiona Downey (North Vancouver, B.C.).

Facing Queen's in the opening round is Dalhousie, the representative from Atlantic Canada. Dalhousie remains the only maritime school to win a CIS national championship in field hockey. As the winner of the Atlantic University Women's League (field hockey is not an official sport in the AUS conference) Dalhousie receives a berth in the OUA championships.

Queen's and Dalhousie are scheduled to start Friday at 2 p.m. with the winner facing Guelph in the semi-finals on Saturday. Toronto will face the winner of York and Waterloo, also on Saturday.

The bronze medal game takes place Sunday morning at 10 a.m. with the gold medal match scheduled to start at 12 p.m. All games will be played at Cassie Campbell field in Brampton.

For a complete list of games, click here.