Nov 25, 2016 | Bruce Schlitt | 237 views
Novice Selects Victorious in Tournament Opener
The Guelph Gryphons Novice Selects headed to Fergus on Friday afternoon for their first game in the Fusion Fall Frenzy tournament. The Gryphons hung on for a 4-3 victory over the Halton Hills Thunder in the first tournament experience for most of the players.
The Gryphons came out with a flying start and drew first blood just 2:26 into the game when Nathan Bowman converted on a pass from Chace Roffel to give the Gryphs a 1-0 lead. With 1:47 left in the first, Milan Wilson drove a shot on goal that was turned aside, George Dutrizac grabbed the rebound for a quick wrister that deflected off the goalies mask and lay open in the crease where Brayden Tomei stood alone and calmly backhanded it in for a 2-0 Guelph lead. Halton Hills quickly recovered and with 39 seconds left, the Thunder's Rowan Livingstone sniped a wrist shot to cut the lead in half and the score stood 2-1 after one period of play.
The tide continued to turn in Halton Hills' favour at the start of the second period. After controlling the play, with 6:20 left in the second, Livingstone snapped in his second of the game to tie the score at two apiece. The Thunder kept the pressure on, forcing Guelph to take a penalty. But while shorthanded, Vid Peteranac forced a turnover deep in the Halton Hill's own zone and directed a hard wrist shot on net. The Thunder goalie was able to make the save but Joseph Piccone gobbled up the rebound and blasted a drive to the back of the Thunder net to restore the Gryphon lead at 3-2. The score remained 3-2 in favour of Guelph at the end of two periods.
As the third period commenced, Halton Hills jumped on a loose puck and raced down the ice and with 7:41 left in the game, the Thunder's Kees Buijsrogge tied up the game once again. A couple of moments later, the Thunder again raced down for another scoring opportunity but a big save by the Gryphs Max Heroux kept the game tied. Then with just 3:40 left, a hustling Nicholas Tyas scooped up the puck behind the Thunder net, stepped out and quickly snapped home the game winning goal. The Thunder kept up the pressure but the Gryphs were able to hold them off to preserve the victory.
Jackson Byard of the Gryphons was named Frenzy Player of the Game as a reward for his strong work patrolling the Gryphon blueline. Strong defensive performances were also turned in by Chace Roffel and Peter Schlitt.
The Gryphons return to action at the Fusion Fall Frenzy on Saturday afternoon when they tangle with the Oakville Red Devils. Game time is 3:00 pm at the Elora Arena.