Feb 11, 2024 | Duncan Bates | 136 views
U15 Gryphons Tie Waterloo with an Incredible Performance
Our U15 Gryphons played against the Waterloo Wolves on Saturday evening, and for the first time in 5 years, managed to secure a point against this team with the game ending in a 4-4 tie.
Guelph arrived at RIM Park Arena with an injury to their starting goalie, a bedridden second goalie and a skater (Deckers) dressing as a back-up. Intimidation and nerves ran through the room as we prepared to face a very strong Waterloo Team, but the boys used those nerves as fuel to find focus and a common objective to play a tight, controlled game with a ton of effort.
A tight first period saw close battles at both ends of the ice and a really effective dump and chase forecheck from the Gryphons, Waterloo managed to capitalize midway through the period and take a 1-0 lead but a 2 on 1 play with Bates and Wright resulted in a Wright goal off a rebound and a rousing applause from the bench, boosting morale and reinforcing the effort shown by the boys up until that point.
The second period started with a 1-1 tie but quickly turned into 2-1 lead for Guelph following a Lever tap in off a rebound following a power play. Vanderweord quickly stacked another one with a beautiful, unassisted, end to end rush, really putting a stake in the ground that Guelph came to play. Incredible save after incredible save from O'Hara continued to build upon the team's confidence and positional strength. Waterloo found penalty trouble with much of their effort coming up short against a motivated Gryphons team but were able to capitalize on a strong zone possession as the Gryphons collapsed too tightly and were unable to clear the zone. Heading into the change room at the second period intermission, up 3-2 and feeling strong, the boys were proving to themselves what they already knew, this was a beatable team.
A quick chat in the room, and reinforcement of strong systems play saw the boys head back out onto the ice to start the third feeling really strong. Lever managed to capitalize on a Guelph Power Play off a feed from Bailey to put the team ahead 4-2 and focus on a defensive shut-down game to close out the period. Unfortunately, the Gryphons found their way to the penalty box with the same frequency as the Wolves and found themselves short-handed for long stretches of the third allowing Waterloo to find the net twice to tie the game at 4. With a tie in their hands and the chance to eliminate a two game losing skid, the boys were not going to let this one slide by. The team shut down the Wolves and walked away with a point from a tie game, their first non-tournament tie this season, and most importantly, their first point against the Wolves in five years.
O'Hara had his best performance of the season, playing an incredible game in net and keeping the boys motivated. Haugh joined the ranks with a phenomenal game playing defence and shutting down Waterloo, frustrating their players, drawing penalties and consistently clearing the front of the net with intelligent, consistent plays.
Let's Goooo Gryphons!!!