Dec 02, 2023 | Bruce Schlitt | 174 views
Bunny's Hattie Paces BB's Win Over Rangers
Braeden Bunnaman struck for three goals as the Gryphon U16BB's outlasted the Oakville Rangers 5-3 on Saturday night.
The Gryphons ran a short bench with four regulars out of the lineup but Guelph's four defensemen Chace Roffel, Harrison Redford, Cian Duffy, and Ben Ivey turned in strong performances for the visiting squad.
Milan Wilson got the Gryphons on the board midway thru the first period as he snapped home his league leading 16th goal of the year to put Guelph up 1-0. Minutes later, Caleb Davison fed Bunnaman alone in front for his first of the night to put Guelph up 2-0 with 3:26 remaining in the first.
The Gryphons held on to their two goal lead five minutes into the second before Oakville scored on the powerplay to cut the Guelph lead to 2-1. However, less than a minute later, Ridge Thibodeau spotted Bunnaman alone in front and fed a perfect pass over to the Guelph centreman to make the score 3-1. Oakville answer back late in the period and the score stood 3-2 after two periods of play.
Bunnaman completed his hat trick 21 seconds into the third to increase the lead to 4-2. Midway thru the period, Oakville once again closed the lead to one goal as they refused to give up. However, with 5:43 remaining, Jackson Byard drove the Oakville zone and fed a perfect pass to a waiting Owen McNamee and the O-Dawg made no mistake to add a much needed insurance marker and give Guelph a 5-3 win.
Guelph netminder Cole McQueen picked up the win for the Gryphons (11-1-1).
Guelph returns to action on Tuesday December 5th as they host the Woolwich Wildcats.