No. 10 Gryphons find scoring touch against Ridgebacks

GUELPH - The Guelph Gryphon women's hockey team put away five goals in the second period, helping them take a hefty 7-2 win over the UOIT Ridgebacks Thursday night at the Gryphon Centre.

Leslie Taylor (Mindemoya, Ont.) picked up two goals for the Gryphons, while the defensive pair of Jacalyn Sollis (West Vancouver, B.C.) and Lucia Mazza (Sudbury, Ont.) had a huge night, each contributing three assists. Chelsey Roy (Bathurst, N.B.) made nine saves on the night to pick up the win.

The victory moves Guelph's record to 9-5-3 while UOIT drops to 4-11-1 with the loss.

The game got off to a slow start, as both teams spent much of the period killing off penalties. It wasn't until late in the frame that UOIT were able to net the first goal of the game.

Off a defensive misplay by the Gryphons, Jill Morillo of the Ridgebacks broke free and went in alone on Roy. The Gryphons defence attempted to tie her up from behind, but Morillo was able to keep the puck on her stick and slip it around Roy. The period ended with UOIT up 1-0.

The second period played host to flurry of Gryphon goals, seeing the Gryphons not only tie up the game and take the lead, but also add another three goals on top of that as well.

Guelph's scoring was ignited by a point-shot from Emily Corbett (Toronto) that found a path along the ice and ended up just inside the post. The goal was Corbett's first of the season and knotted the game at one.

The Gryphons went ahead on another point-shot that was tipped by Leslie Taylor and popped over the pad of the Ridgeback netminder. The defensive pair of Sollis and Mazza picked up the assists on the goal.

Tamara Bell (Guelph, Ont.) and Jessica Zerafa (Mississauga, Ont.) contributed two of the three additional goals in the period. Bell's came on a quick snap shot after she slipped the puck between the legs of the Ridgeback defender.  Zerafa made a great offensive play on her goal, as she worked to get leverage on the defender, gathered up the puck, used a little puck movement to throw off the goalie and slid the puck neatly between her pads.

Taylor would roof the final goal of the period with a minute left to put the Gryphons up 5-2 and induce a goalie change for UOIT.

Guelph would continue their scoring run in the third when, five minutes in, Rose Harris (Colborne, Ont.) deflected a long pass from Sollis at the blue line, sending the puck fluttering into the back of the net.

UOIT picked up a second goal at 12:48 in the third off a poor defensive pinch that left the Ridgeback forward on a breakaway.

The Gryphons would answer with one more score of their own with two minutes remaining in the game. Dayna Kanis (Georgetown, Ont.) put back the extra effort on a shot from Mazza on the point, wrapping up the scoring and leaving Guelph on top 7-2.

Guelph is back in action on Saturday when they host the Queen's Gaels. The puck drops at 2 p.m. at the Gryphon Centre.

Source: Guelph Gryphons