March 5, 2016

Gryphons win 2-1 in OT over Laurier to book spot in McCaw Cup

WATERLOO, ON – The Guelph Gryphons women's hockey team is one win away from their first OUA title since 1998. To get to this point, all they had to do was take down an established rival who just so happen to own 10 OUA titles themselves since 2002.

Laurier

Guelph

Final

Laurier

Guelph

WATERLOO, ON – The Guelph Gryphons women's hockey team is one win away from their first OUA title since 1998. To get to this point, all they had to do was take down an established rival who just so happen to own 10 OUA titles themselves since 2002.

Friday night in Waterloo, the Gryphons won 2-1 in OT against the Laurier Golden Hawks. With the victory, the Gryphons win the best-of-three OUA Semifinal series 2-0 and advance to the one-game, winner-take-all OUA Championship game (the McCaw Cup), which they will host on Saturday, March 12. With the win on Friday night, the Gryphons also booked their spot in the 2016 CIS Championships which will take place in Calgary March 17-20.

Game 2 of the OUA Semifinal series between Guelph and Laurier started the same way as Game 1; with Laurier grabbing the first goal of the game. Laurier's Jessie Hurrell circled the net and set up fifth year Blair Connelly in the doorstep for a one-timer that gave Gryphons goalie Valerie Lamenta no chance as the Hawks took a 1-0 lead to the second period. While the second period would fail to produce any goals, it nevertheless produced plenty of fireworks including a scrum between the two teams in which Laurier goalie Amanda Smith even went out of her way to get involved. When the dust settled, both teams were assessed off-setting penalties. Emotions were pouring out of the game. The goals were not.

Still trailing 1-0 in the third period, the Gryphons must have been feeling a bit of déjà vu. The Gryphons were returning to the Waterloo Recreation Complex for the first time since mid-October, when they lost 3-0 to Laurier in what was the only time this season the Gryphons have been shutout. After peppering Laurier's goalie with shot after shot, the Gryphons would finally break through with 7:54 remaining in the third period. The message from the Gryphons coaching staff the previous intermission was to make sure as many shots were getting through to the net as possible. The message certainly got through to second year defenceman Katherine Bailey who showed great composure to gather herself before unleashing a perfectly placed shot past Smith low blocker side to tie the game at 1-1. For Bailey, it was her second goal of the playoffs. The Gryphons finally had their breakthrough. After outshooting Laurier 40-23 in regulation, the Gryphons and Golden Hawks were off to OT.

Just over eight minutes into the extra frame, the Gryphons were able to take advantage of a 2-on-1 break when Karli Shell set up second year winger Kaitlin Lowy (Toronto, ON) for the series winner. Like Bailey, Lowy also gathered herself and carefully picking her spot and firing home the OT-winner low glove side past Smith. Lowy's second goal of the postseason sent the Gryphons off to the OUA Championship game for the second straight season.

In a game that, at times, saw emotions boil over, Gryphons head coach Rachel Flanagan noted the tremendous amount of character on both sides, "This was an intense, passionate series between two fast-pace teams. We have a lot of respect for that team and they showed great character and a lot of class at the end of this game.

"Having the opportunity to play an OUA Championship game on our home ice is a huge honour. The thought of hoisting the McCaw Cup in front of our own fans is exciting." As one of the top two teams in the OUA, the Gryphons also lockdown a spot in the CIS Championships in Calgary. Last year, the Gryphons took home a fifth place finish at nationals and are eager to improve on that placing this time around. For now, Calgary is an afterthought. On Saturday, March 12 the Gryphons will look to take home the school's first OUA title in women's hockey since 1998. Puck drop is set for 2pm with tickets available online.