Gryphons and Lakers face off this afternoon for the McCaw Cup, presented by CCM

BURLINGTON, Ont. – The quest for the McCaw Cup, presented by CCM, will come to a conclusion this Saturday as the defending champions and No. 2 nationally ranked Guelph Gryphons host the No. 8 Nipissing Lakers in a battle for OUA women's hockey supremacy.

Tickets for the event are now available here.  If you can't make it to the Gryphon Centre Arena this weekend, fans can catch all the action streaming live on OUA.tv.  Fans can also watch the game live locally on Rogers TV in the Guelph, Waterloo, Stratford and Brantford regions or on TVCogeco North Bay.

The Gryphons are more than familiar with playing in big games as this will be their third straight OUA finals appearance as they look to maintain ownership of the Judy McCaw Memorial Cup for a second consecutive year. 

However, for a young Lakers team making their McCaw Cup debut in just their fourth season, they'll need to keep their emotions (and maybe some nerves) in check if they hope to head back North with the hardware.

Coming off a program best 14-3-4-3 regular season, the Lakers prevailed in the quarter-finals over their northern rivals, the Laurentian Voyageurs in three games.  From there, Nipissing made quick work of the Varsity Blues, completing a two-game sweep of their series to advance to Saturday's final.

The path back to the McCaw Cup was similar for the Gryphons who finished atop the OUA standings for a second straight year following a 16-4-3-1 regular season record.  After a two-game sweep of the Windsor Lancers to open the postseason, the Gryphons needed all three games to sneak past the pesky Waterloo Warriors.

For the Gryphons, it begins in net with goaltender Valerie Lamenta (Montreal, Que.).  The Montreal, Que. native, who was recently named an OUA first-team all-star, finished second in the OUA in both goals against average (1.39) and save percentage (.945).

It should come as no surprise that Guelph finds themselves back in the OUA championship once again, as the Gryphons led the conference in both goals (76) and goals-against (32).  Under the leadership of head coach Rachel Flannagan, the Gryphons are the most disciplined team in the league as they only found themselves shorthanded 62 times this season.

Up front, forward Kaitlyn Lowy (Toronto, Ont.) led the Gryphons attack and finished the regular season averaging more than a point per game with 29 points in 24 games for Guelph.  While her 16 goals ranked third in the OUA, Lowy is as clutch a player you'll find on the ice Sunday after she finished tied for the league lead with five game-winning goals this year.

The Gryphons will be extra motivated come Saturday as it's been 47 long years since the Guelph women's hockey team last won back-to-back provincial titles (Guelph won four consecutive provincial titles from 1966-67 to 1969-70) and to do it at home in front of friends and family would be extra special.  

However, standing in their way will be an extra motivated Lakers squad looking to capture the OUA banner for the first time in program history in just their fourth season of existence.  However, Nipissing is no stranger to the McCaw Cup playoffs as they've found themselves in the postseason in three of their four seasons.

Ranked inside the U SPORTS Top 10 for the majority of the season, only the Gryphons allowed fewer goals than the Lakers so fans can likely expect a defensive dual at the Gryphon Centre Arena on Saturday afternoon. 

If the Lakers hope to take down the defending champs, they'll need to take advantage when they find themselves with the man-advantage.  Despite 101 power-play opportunities during the regular season, the third-most amongst OUA teams, the Lakers converted just 12 percent of their chances.

Like any successful hockey team, Nipissing is also built from the crease out.  Goaltender Jacqueline Rochefort (Ajax, Ont.) was recently named the team's first OUA all-star after she led the year in goals against average (1.33) and save percentage (.946).

Forwards Samathana Stassburger (Schreiber, Ont.) and captain Kaley Tienhaara (Thunder Bay, Ont.) finished tied for the team lead in scoring this season with 18 points.  Each player scored seven goals and added 11 assists this season, however, as one of the most physical players in the league Strassburger led the team with 34 penalty minutes.

The Gryphons and Lakers split their two regular season meetings with each team picking up a win at home.  Back on Nov. 18 in North Bay, Ont., Jade Gauthier's (Callander, Ont.) third period goal would be all the offence the Lakers would need as Rochefort made 16 saves in a 1-0 shutout.

But Guelph found their offence in their regular season finale, thumping Nipissing 4-1.  Three different Gryphons found the back of the net, including a short-handed and power-play goal from OUA second-team all-star Kelly Gribbons (Port Elgin, Ont.).   

Not only will the winner of Saturday's game hoist the McCaw Cup, they will also receive the eighth and final berth into the U SPORTS Women's Hockey Championship (hosted by the Queen's Gaels and held in Napanee, Ontario - March 16-19).