The Gryphons "started on time" in this game against a very large and very fast Waterloo Wolves and lead by as much as 4 - 1 late in the 3rd, but would Guelph be able to go the distance and tame the wolf pack?
There was no question who the team on the ice was tonight as the Waterloo Wolves stepped on to the ice towering over the younger Gryphons and coming off of a 1-0 Loss in the finals of the Fusion Frenzy Tournament, Guelph expected quite the battle this evening.
But it was our Gryphons who started strong and set the tone in the 1st period. Quick line shifts, tight passing and Stellar goaltending by Sheridan to start (with some extra support by Jude's skinny red friends Goal post left and goal post right) the gryphons went blow for blow vs Waterloo.
Already unable to convert with the man advantage early in the 1st, Guelph went on the PP for the second time in the game when W.Loo took a too many men on the ice call. Before puck drop, the Wolves took a 2nd bench minor penalty when the Coach lost his cool with the distraction of the public skate music (next door) continuing to play in our rink.
However, and what is becoming a trend, even with the 2 man advantage, the Gryphons were unable to mount an attack and another turn over lead to a 5 on 3 short handed goal to put the Wolves up 0-1. What could have been a deflating occurrence seemed not to phase the Gryphs and while still on the PP, Bradshaw Fed Szabo who netted what I think was the Gryphons' 1st PP goal of the season to tie the game up at 1 to conclude the 1st period.
The Gryphons continued to grind away with the wolves into the 2nd supported by some fantastic saves by Sheridan. It was just a matter of time before we saw Griswold break away with Coulson on a 2 on 1 and Griswold netted the go ahead goal giving Guelph the 2-1 lead.
That seemed to spark the gryphons as Bradshaw and Griswold connect for another goal and a 3-1 lead, and this at the end of a VERY long shift for Griswold. Gryphons went on the PP for the 4th after Mitchell was taken out hard into the boards but continued to struggle on the man advantage.
Kurt relieved Sheridan and was tested in the 3rd period several times, none more so than a ridiculous glove save that robbed the wolves of a near sure thing to maintain the 3-1 mid way in the 3rd.
Wolves managed to close the gap to 3-2 on a soft screened shot that actually deflected off the Guelph Defender. But that goal just seemed to spark the offence again as Marshall scored off the rebound on a shot that Coulson made possible from deep in the Wolves zone.
With 4 minutes left and a 4-2 lead, it looked as if Guelph was going to tame this Wolf Pack, but the much larger Wolves kept attacking and pressuring Guelph who started to look tired which lead to 2 goals in 2 minutes and the Guelph lead vanish.
This proved too much for our hometown Gryphons who desperately needed some time to regroup with 1 minute left in the game. And while that time never did come, the Wolf pressure did and Waterloo managed to score the eventual game winner snatching the victory away from Guelph.
There's no doubt Guelph put in the effort and were the better team for 2 periods of play, and while the boys deserves a better fate, it was not to be on this day.
Guelph falls to 1-3 on the season and look for some retribution against the Kitchener Jr Rangers on Friday Dec 7 in Kitchener. Come out and cheer on your Gryphons!