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Kiriakou scores four times as Gryphons down Ridgebacks
GUELPH, Ont. - The Guelph Gryphons opened the men's hockey
season at home on Thursday with a win over the UOIT Ridgebacks.
Guelph didn't let anything slow them down, netting eight goals on
54 shots in the 8-5 victory.
Guelph got a shock to their system in the first period when the
Ridgebacks flew out of the gates, scoring just three minutes in.
After a great save by Matt Smith (Waterloo, Ont.), the puck
trickled through the crease and before a Gryphon could get a stick
on it. Tony Rizzi of UOIT slapped it in, making it 1-0
Ridgebacks.
Some great puck control by Guelph in the UOIT zone drew a penalty
and the squad went to work on the power play. After a missed
breakaway attempt, the puck came loose in front of the net and
Thomas Kiriakou (Richmond Hill, Ont.) was there to stuff it in,
getting the first Gryphon goal of the 2009-2010 season, and his
first of many in this game.
Later in the period Kris Belan (Florence, Ont.) would dangle in
from the side boards and roof one on the Ridgeback netminder Jason
Guy and Kiriakou would finish the period off on a put back from a
wide shot that ricocheted off the boards and ended up in front of
the net.
The second period looked like it was going to be much like the
first when UOIT netted one three minutes in again, to take away the
insurance from the Gryphons and make it 3-2. If that wasn't enough
of a scare, a minute later, the Ridgebacks, while in control in the
Gryphon end, wired a shot from the point that was tipped in by
Steve Spade knotting the score at 3.
Minutes later while Guelph was working the puck in UOIT's end,
Kiriakou slide a quick pass from behind the net right to the tape
of Jake Lalonde's (Sudbury, Ont.) stick, missing the first attempt
but making the second effort count, jamming it behind the
goalie.
The Ridgebacks were able to even things up, when a cross-ice pass
had the puck floating freely in the Gryphon end, and while Smith
came storming out to cut it off, Jeremy Whelan of UOIT was able to
slip the puck around Smith and throw it in from a distance.
It was at this point that Kiriakou of the Gryphons, decided to take
things into his own hands, streaking down the sideboards from the
redline and slinging a long shot past the goalie to give him a
hat-trick on the night. But not much later, Kiriakou would find
himself on the receiving end of hard pass from Barrett Brook
(Leduc, Alta.), at the point, and chipped it in from the side of
the net, increasing his total to four on the night.
The score was 6-4 going into the third. After a quick goal by the
Ridgebacks, Guelph came back with two more of their own.
The first came after some intense back and forth action, when Matt
Lyall (Richmond Hill) dropped the puck back to Nathan Martine (Port
Colbourne, Ont.) at the point who hammered a low hard shot that met
the back of the net. The second came much later when Geoff Guimond
(Mississauga, Ont.) was hauled down on a partial breakaway and with
no ensuing penalty, David Volpe (Bolton, Ont.) scooped up the puck
behind the net, dished it back in front to Guimond, and Guimond
punched it in.
There were some close calls in the third, with the puck ringing off
the post on a couple occasions and with less than a minute left
Smith stood on his head, making some spectacular saves to keep the
Gryphons ahead. Tim Priamo (Guelph, Ont.) also had a key defensive
stop when a wide-open Ridgeback had a chance at an open net and
Priamo got his stick on the puck to keep it out.
Smith, who got the nod for the season opener, played all three
periods with 24 saves, to help the Gryphons come away with the
win.
Source: Guelph Gryphon
