Western 2, Guelph 1 – 2OT
 
Guelph, Ont. (February 22, 2014) – The Guelph Gryphon men's hockey team fell to the Western Mustangs in double overtime with a final score of 2-1 in Game 2 of the OUA West Quarterfinals, tying the series at 1-1. The Gryphons will head to London on Sunday to play Game 3 of the series.
 
The Gryphons kept the momentum from their Thursday night win and started the game full of aggression, providing an even match up for the Western Mustangs. The Mustangs were able to get a shot right out of the opening face off, but the Gryphons took back possession of the puck, moving it down the ice and immediately taking their own shot, finding the glove of Western goaltender, Josh Unice (Toledo, OH.).
 
Western earned their first power play after a cross checking call on Steven Strong at 4:30. The Gryphons were able to kill off the penalty successfully, until Mustang player Adam McKee (London, Ont.) found the net after shooting from the blue line, but Gryphon goalie Andrew Loverock was able to stop the puck.
 
Carlos Amestoy had a close call later on in the first period, fighting his way to the front of the net, only to find his shot caught up in a group of Mustang defenders and ultimately stopped by Unice, which had the game stuck at 0-0.
 
The Gryphons and the Mustangs continued the second period in a defensive deadlock. Offside calls plagued the Gryphons for the first half of the second period, halting any forward momentum into the attacking zone and successfully removing any pressure from the Mustang defenders and goaltender. The Gryphons would get a break at 3:25 after a boarding call on Mustang player Steve Reese (Dorchester, Ont.). The Gryphons would not hesitate with setting up in front of the net, but they ultimately wouldn't be able to punch the puck past Josh Unice.
 
The Mustangs would get a good opportunity to score the first goal of the game after an across the crease pass had Mustang player Daniel Erlich (Thornhill, Ont.) set up in front of the net. Erlich would shoot, but an amazing save by Loverock would keep the game scoreless.
 
The Gryphons would have trouble finding their way back to the front of the net with Mustang defenders doing their best to push the Guelph players to the outside. The Gryphon defense was able to respond by pushing the Mustangs back through the neutral zone and back into their own territory at every opportunity. The Gryphons ended the second period being outshot by the Mustangs with a total of 23-19.
 
The Gryphons and the Mustangs started the third period stuck once again in a back and forth defensive match up, with each team struggling to set up in front of the net. The Gryphons struggled to pick up the pace offensively, but were able to surpass the Mustangs in shots on goal half way through the third period.
 
The Gryphons would put more pressure on Josh Unice later on in the third period with a scrum in front of the net. It would be Robert De Fulviis who would finally punch the puck in the bottom right corner to make it 1-0 for the Gryphons at 8:14, with Michael Charbonneau and Amestoy on the assists. The Mustangs were quick to take back possession of the puck, putting even more offensive pressure on the Gryphon defenders, but stellar goaltending by Andrew Loverock kept the Gryphons in the lead.
 
In a must win situation, the Mustangs pulled their goalie for the extra man in the last minute of play. It would be Matt Paltridge (Tecumseh, Ont.) who would score for the Mustangs and tie the game up at the ones, with Reese and Zach Harnden (Thunder Bay, Ont.) on the assists.
 
The Gryphons and the Mustangs would head into double overtime with the game ending with a goal from Stefan Salituro  (Willowdale, Ont.) to make it 2-1 at 6:24 in the second overtime, with Julian Cimadamore (Concord, Ont.) and Alex Micallef (Fort Erie, Ont.) on the assists.
 
The game would end with the Gryphons out shooting the Mustangs with a final total of 41-39.
 
The Gryphons and the Mustangs will head to Game Three of the OUA West Quarterfinals Sunday February 23rd in London at the Thompson Arena, with the puck set to drop at 7 p.m.