Gryphons shock defending champion Lancers, will host Queen's Cup

It has truly been a remarkable run by the Gryphons men's hockey team.  And it is far from over.

On Friday night (Feb. 27) on home ice, the Gryphons won 5-4 over the Windsor Lancers to win the OUA West Final best-of-three series in two straight games.  With the win, the Gryphons advance to the OUA title game (the Queen's Cup), which they will host on Saturday, March 7th at 7:30pm.  The Gryphons also clinch a berth into the CIS Championships, to be hosted by St. Francis Xavier University March 12-15 in Halifax. 

Game 2 of the OUA West Finals was a wild, back-and-forth affair from start to finish that featured nine goals and four lead changes.  It only took one minute and 20 seconds for Windsor to open the scoring, as Mike Christou (Hamilton, ON) scored on the Lancers first shot to give the visitors a 1-0 lead early in the first period. The Gryphons wasted no time getting it back. Only 50 seconds later, Kyle Neuber (Sarnia, ON) would score his second of the post season to tie the game up 1-1.  Moments later there was a scramble in front of the Windsor net, when the puck dropped to Robert De Fulviis (Toronto, ON) who would shovel it into the yawning cage. Before the half way mark of the first period, a fourth goal was scored when Daulton Siwak (Olds, AB) chaced down a puck going for icing, and slapped it past Andrew D'Agostini(Scarborough, ON) to tie the game 2-2.  Take a breath.  The fun was just getting started. 
 
In the second period, the Gryphons and Lancers would turn up the physical play, throwing big hits to the crowd's delight. After killing a power play, the Gryphons defence would get caught sleeping when Dylan Denomme (Windsor, ON) was sent in on a break away. Denomme would make no mistake, snipping a snap shot high over the glove of D'Agostini to give the defending OUA champions a 3-2 lead. Five minutes later, the Lancers would double their lead with a scramble in front of the net. With multiple players in the blue paint, Spencer Pommelis (Grande Prairie, AB) would tuck the puck under D'Agostini to make it 4-2 in favour of the Lancers. Guelph would again go straight to work, looking to get back with in one. From a bad angle, De Fulviis would have his hard snap shot deflected off a Lancer defender, and it would go up and over Parker Van Buskirk (Rothesay, NB) to make the score 4-3. The goal would be De Fulviis' second of the game and third of the post season. The period would end with Windsor up 4-3 as the teams would enter the dressing rooms for intermission.
 
With the daunting possibility of a return to Windsor for Game 3, there was a sense of urgency in the Gryphons camp to end the series on home ice in Game 2.  To do so, the Gryphons would need to come up with a big third period, and to do that, they would turn to their All-Star and leading scorer.  Nick Huard (North Bay, ON) would tie the game at 4-4 six minutes into the period after firing a shot into the top corner on the power play for his fourth goal of the playoffs.  With five and a half minutes left, Huard  was at it again, this time firing the puck toward the net from a sharp angle.  His shot would catch Windsor goalie Parker Van Buskirk by surprise, and trickle through for the go-ahead goal.  With that, the Gryphons first berth into the OUA Championships in 13 years was within reach.  They just needed to hold on.  With 1:08 left in the game, and with a face off looming in the Guelph end, the Lancers would pull their goalie and take a time-out to draw up a play with the extra attacker. The Gryphons, as they have been doing since the calendar flipped to 2015, would respond with a great team effort, holding firm on defence and sending the Gryphon Centre into hysterics with a 5-4 victory.

Gryphons third year centre Michael Hasson (Ariss, ON) finished the night with three assists.  Huard (2 goals), De Fulviis (2 goals), Reilly O'Connor (2 assists) and Nick Trecapelli (2 assists) all finished with multi-point nights for the Gryphs.  Andrew D'Agostini made 28 saves for the win.

The Gryphons will now wait to see who their opponent is in the 104th Queen's Cup.  UQTR leads McGill 1-0 in the OUA East Final series with Game 2 scheduled for Saturday night in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.  Regardless of who wins that series, the Gryphons will play host to the Queen's Cup on Saturday, March 7th at 7:30pm at the Gryphon Centre. For tickets to the Queen's Cup, visit gryphons.ca/boxoffice

Source: Guelph Gryphons