February 17, 2010
GRYPHONS SET TO PLAY THREE-GAME SERIES WITH RIVAL GOLDEN HAWKS
GUELPH, Ont. - Unbeaten in its last five games, the Guelph Gryphon men's hockey team (14-10-4) will now play the Laurier Golden Hawks (17-7-4) in a best-of-three OUA West Division quarter-final match-up this week.
Laurier will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-three series. Guelph opens the series on the road against Laurier this Thursday (Feb. 18) at 7:30 p.m. in Waterloo at the Sunlife Financial Arena. Game two of the series will take place Saturday (Feb. 20) at 7:30 p.m. at the Gryphon Centre. Game three if necessary will be played back at Laurier on Sunday (Feb. 21) at 7:30 p.m.
Live video of the series will be provided by SSN Network for Guelph on Saturday by visiting www.ssncanada.ca and Laurier will be broadcasting www.laurierathletics.com/live/
Guelph, finished the season fifth in the OUA West while Laurier was fourth to earn the home ice advantage.
Laurier went 2-1 against Guelph this season. The Golden Hawks picked up their two victories at the beginning of the season including a 4-2 (Oct. 9) and 4-3-SO (Oct. 22) win. The Gryphons then defeated the Golden Hawks in the second half of the season with a 4-2 final in Waterloo on January 21.
The Gryphons enter the post season on a hot-streak pulling off a five game win-streak dating back to January 28. Since the Holiday break, the Gryphons are 8-1-2 and have outscored their opposition 50-28.
Leading Guelph offensively is first-year forward Thomas Kiriakou (Richmond Hill, Ont.) with 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) on the season. The Gryphons sniper is Kris Belan (Florence, Ont.) who leads the team in goals (16) and power-play goals (7). Meanwhile rookie defender Tim Priamo (Guelph, Ont.) is an all-round player that makes an immediate impact every time he's on the ice; he sits second on the team in assists with 16. Between the pipes for the Gryphons will be second-year Scott VanBommel (Norwich, Ont.) who posted a 9-4-4 record this season with an 2.55 goals against average and a .893 save percentage.
The Gryphons will face a very worthy opponent in the Golden Hawks. Laurier enters the series with a 5-3-3 record since the Holiday break and an overall record of 17-7-4. They are entering the contest after falling to the Western Mustangs on the weekend 3-2 in overtime.
"Laurier is an experienced playoff team," said Gryphon head coach Shawn Camp. "They are excellent on special teams because of their puck movement and a great skating team. We'll have to match their speed and limit their offensive opportunities."
Laurier sports a big offence with six players recording 20 or more points during the regular season. Of them, Paul Bradley sits eighth in OUA point leaders with a total of 42 (20 goals, 22 assists). Bradley has played well against the Gryphons this season tallying a total of three assists. The Gryphons will also have to watch out for Jean-Michel Rizk and Ryan Bellows who are second and third in Laurier scoring with 32 and 31 points on the season respectively.
Rookie Ryan Daniels and fifth-year Jeff MacDougald have split goaltending duties for the Golden Hawks and both have posted solid numbers. Daniels has 3.38 goals-against average and 0.914 save percentage, while MacDougald has a 3.39 GAA and .895 save percentage.
The Gryphons are making their second straight appearance in the post season. Last year the Gryphons fell to the Western Mustangs in game three of the West quarter-finals.
Series Schedule:
Game 1: Thursday, February 18 @ Laurier – 7:30pm (LIVE webcast on www.laurierathletics.com/live/)
Game 2: Saturday, February 20 @ Guelph – 7:30pm (LIVE webcast on www.ssncanada.ca)
*Game 3: Sunday, February 21 @ Laurier – 7:30pm (LIVE webcast on www.laurierathletics.com/live/)
*if necessary
Tickets
Tickets for game two at the University of Guelph can be purchased by phoning 519-82-GRYPH or at the gate box office opening one hour prior to puck drop.
Source: Guelph Gryphons
Laurier will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-three series. Guelph opens the series on the road against Laurier this Thursday (Feb. 18) at 7:30 p.m. in Waterloo at the Sunlife Financial Arena. Game two of the series will take place Saturday (Feb. 20) at 7:30 p.m. at the Gryphon Centre. Game three if necessary will be played back at Laurier on Sunday (Feb. 21) at 7:30 p.m.
Live video of the series will be provided by SSN Network for Guelph on Saturday by visiting www.ssncanada.ca and Laurier will be broadcasting www.laurierathletics.com/live/
Guelph, finished the season fifth in the OUA West while Laurier was fourth to earn the home ice advantage.
Laurier went 2-1 against Guelph this season. The Golden Hawks picked up their two victories at the beginning of the season including a 4-2 (Oct. 9) and 4-3-SO (Oct. 22) win. The Gryphons then defeated the Golden Hawks in the second half of the season with a 4-2 final in Waterloo on January 21.
The Gryphons enter the post season on a hot-streak pulling off a five game win-streak dating back to January 28. Since the Holiday break, the Gryphons are 8-1-2 and have outscored their opposition 50-28.
Leading Guelph offensively is first-year forward Thomas Kiriakou (Richmond Hill, Ont.) with 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) on the season. The Gryphons sniper is Kris Belan (Florence, Ont.) who leads the team in goals (16) and power-play goals (7). Meanwhile rookie defender Tim Priamo (Guelph, Ont.) is an all-round player that makes an immediate impact every time he's on the ice; he sits second on the team in assists with 16. Between the pipes for the Gryphons will be second-year Scott VanBommel (Norwich, Ont.) who posted a 9-4-4 record this season with an 2.55 goals against average and a .893 save percentage.
The Gryphons will face a very worthy opponent in the Golden Hawks. Laurier enters the series with a 5-3-3 record since the Holiday break and an overall record of 17-7-4. They are entering the contest after falling to the Western Mustangs on the weekend 3-2 in overtime.
"Laurier is an experienced playoff team," said Gryphon head coach Shawn Camp. "They are excellent on special teams because of their puck movement and a great skating team. We'll have to match their speed and limit their offensive opportunities."
Laurier sports a big offence with six players recording 20 or more points during the regular season. Of them, Paul Bradley sits eighth in OUA point leaders with a total of 42 (20 goals, 22 assists). Bradley has played well against the Gryphons this season tallying a total of three assists. The Gryphons will also have to watch out for Jean-Michel Rizk and Ryan Bellows who are second and third in Laurier scoring with 32 and 31 points on the season respectively.
Rookie Ryan Daniels and fifth-year Jeff MacDougald have split goaltending duties for the Golden Hawks and both have posted solid numbers. Daniels has 3.38 goals-against average and 0.914 save percentage, while MacDougald has a 3.39 GAA and .895 save percentage.
The Gryphons are making their second straight appearance in the post season. Last year the Gryphons fell to the Western Mustangs in game three of the West quarter-finals.
Series Schedule:
Game 1: Thursday, February 18 @ Laurier – 7:30pm (LIVE webcast on www.laurierathletics.com/live/)
Game 2: Saturday, February 20 @ Guelph – 7:30pm (LIVE webcast on www.ssncanada.ca)
*Game 3: Sunday, February 21 @ Laurier – 7:30pm (LIVE webcast on www.laurierathletics.com/live/)
*if necessary
Tickets
Tickets for game two at the University of Guelph can be purchased by phoning 519-82-GRYPH or at the gate box office opening one hour prior to puck drop.
Source: Guelph Gryphons
