Gryphons fall 3-1 to Saint Mary's, finish 4th at CIS Championships

CALGARY, AB – One of the most successful seasons in school history ended with a loss on Sunday for the Gryphons women's hockey team who fell 3-1 to the Saint Mary's Huskies in the bronze medal game of the 2016 CIS Women's Hockey Championships. With the result, the Gryphons equal their highest ever finish at the national level after having also finished fourth in 1998. For Saint Mary's, the bronze marked the first medal in their program's history at the CIS level.
 
With Canada Olympic Park serving as the backdrop for the site of the 2016 CIS Women's Hockey Championships, one could not help but to get caught up in the importance podium finishes. If there is anything that we have learned from organizations like Own The Podium, it is that success is best measured in medal counts. During the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada Olympic Park served as the primary venue for ski jumping, bobsleigh and luge. This past weekend, the top women's hockey teams from across the country gathered in the shadow of Canada Olympic Park as the tournament was held in the neighbouring facilities of the Markin MacPhail Centre. The Gryphons arrived in Calgary as the top ranked team in the country and the top seeded team in the tournament. The goal was to own the podium and come home with a gold. Those plans were interrupted by UBC in a shootout. The focus then shifted to bringing home a bronze. The AUS champion Saint Mary's Huskies interrupted those plans as well. Did the Gryphons own the podium this week at the CIS Championships? No. Can they look back on the 2015-16 season as a success? For head coach Rachel Flanagan, it is a resounding yes.
 
"We borrowed a quote from John Wooden this week and told our kids that 'success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.' We laid it on the line the last two games and although the results weren't what we wanted, every one of those players can look in the mirror and know that we did everything we could."
 
"We talk a lot about what kind of legacy we're going to leave. This team, and this group of seniors especially, can be proud of the legacy they're leaving behind."
 
Coming off an emotionally and physically exhausting semi-final matchup with UBC about 17 hours earlier, the Gryphons found themselves facing an 8:45am puck drop in the bronze medal game. Less than two minutes into the game, the Gryphons also found themselves trailing after Huskies third year forward Nicole Blanche (Dunville, NF) fired a shot past Valerie Lamenta high blocker side to give Saint Mary's an early 1-0 lead. That lead would hold up for the next 50 minutes of action.
 
With under four minutes remaining in the final period of play, Saint Mary's extended their lead to 2-0 on a breakaway goal from Huskies forward Caitlyn Manning (Cambridge, ON) who went backhand to beat Lamenta and give the Huskies some insurance. Just over a minute after Saint Mary's had pushed their lead to 2-0, the Gryphons would answer with a goal of their own from senior forward Christine Grant (Mississauga, ON). After chipping the puck past a pinching Huskies defenceman, Grant was sent in on a partial breakaway and roofed a shot high glove side past Saint Mary's goalie Rebecca Clark to once again make it a one-goal game with 3:25 still to go in regulation.
 
After calling timeout with 1:30 to go, the Gryphons would pull the goalie in favour of the extra skater. The move would backfire as the Huskies were able to seal the victory with an empty net goal with just :24 seconds remaining. After conceding a goal early on, the Gryphons got better as the game wore on and were able to sustain great pressure throughout the final two periods of play. Finding a way past Saint Mary's goalie Rebecca Clark proved to be a difficult task as the Keswick, Ontario native turned away 28 of the 29 shots the Gryphons sent her way en route to being named the Huskies Player of the Game. Leigh Shilton took home the same honour for the Gryphons. Shilton, a fifth year defenceman from Belleville, was one of six Gryphon seniors who was playing in their final game in the red, black and gold. Other graduating players include Jessica Pinkerton, Stephanie Nehring, Christine Grant, Marcie Landman and Averi Nooren.

Although the Gryphons entered the CIS Championships as tournament favourites, head coach Rachel Flanagan was also quick to point out the level of parody that has been established from coast-to-coast in CIS women's hockey, "It's disappointing for our girls that they couldn't come away with a win today. We gave our best effort. We knew we were in for a tough game against a tough team. But the parody in our league across the country now is unbelievable."