Box Score
Halifax, NS – On Thursday afternoon (March 11) the Gryphons men's hockey team won 3-1 over the Calgary Dinos in a CIS Quarterfinal matchup in Halifax. With the win, the Dinos are eliminated from the tournament, while the Gryphons advance to the CIS Semifinals. Guelph's next game will be played at 12pm Atlantic Time (11am Eastern) on Saturday, March 14^th versus the winner of Thursday night's game between the University of New Brunswick and Windsor.
 
You do not have to be a fashion expert to know that certain colours just do not go well together. A perfect example: maroon and red. They clash. But, if anybody can pull it off, it is Andrew D'Agostini. Guelph's star rookie goalie spent five seasons in the OHL with the Peterborough Petes who, as you may know, have maroon coloured uniforms. It is common for hockey players to not want to change equipment once something has been effectively "broken in." But manufacturers are aware of this. That is why "pant covers" (or "shells") were created. They give players the option to keep their broken in, favourite pair of pants, yet still customize with the appropriate team colour by simply slipping a new fitted cover over top of the old pants. What the manufacturers don't realize, is that when you're winning, you don't mess with things. And right now, the Gryphons are winning a lot. So get used to those maroon pants.
 
One way to beat a hot goalie is to get traffic in front of the net and deflect some shots. That is exactly what the sixth seeded Calgary Dinos did early on against Guelph and it appeared to work, at least momentarily. A point shot was re-directed in past D'Agostini in the opening period but was immediately waved off for a high-stick (with the replay on the scoreboard at the Scotiabank Centre confirming that the refs got that one right). Calgary, finalists in the Canada West conference, would continue to apply the pressure as Dinos forward Kodie Curran found himself all alone in the slot before being robbed by D'Agostini. Later in the period, Calgary would come close again as a shot from a streaking Elgin Pearce would beat D'Agostini, but not the post. After escaping a few close calls, the Gryphons would strike at the other end of the ice thanks to some great puck movement on the power play. The great passing would end with Nick Huard (North Bay, ON) feathering  a 'saucer pass' in front to Teal Burns (Victoria, BC) who would pot his second goal of the playoffs to give Guelph a 1-0 lead with just 39 seconds remaining in the opening frame. But the period was not over just yet. In the dying seconds of the period, Calgary's Dylan Walchuk would chase down a non-icing and force a turnover, allowing him to walk out front all alone, but D'Agostini once again would come up big. Thanks in large part to their first year goalie, the Gryphons took a 1-0 lead to the second period.
 
Great goaltending from D'Agostini is nothing new. But the second period provided some more unusual moments. With a delayed penalty coming to Gryphons forward Robert De Fulviis (Toronto, ON) the Dinos would pull their goalie to get the extra attacker on the ice. For what seemed like an eternity, the Gryphons were unable to get possession of the puck and stop play as Calgary applied 6-on-5 pressure for just over a minute and a half in Guelph's zone. During that stretch, the Gryphons blocked approximately half a dozen shots, with De Fulviis getting in the way of three or four of those. An even more bizarre play occurred later in the period when Gryphon captain Dan Broussard (Fayetteville, NC) went to make a pass and had his own stick snap in half, causing Broussard to fall to the ice. As a result, the Dinos were given a 2-on-1 break and a great scoring chance, but a terrific defensive play by Gryphon rookie defencemen Mac Nichol (Listowel, ON) spoiled Calgary's hopes of tying the game up as Guelph took a slim 1-0 lead to the third period.
 
Just 56 seconds into the third period, the Dinos would finally solve D'Agostini when Chris Collins was able to streak into the zone and snap one home blocker side to tie the game 1-1. The Gryphons would get that goal back around the five minute mark. After Scott Simmonds (Uxbridge, ON) forced a neutral zone turnover, Carlos Amestoy (Toronto, ON) would unleash a hard, perfectly placed slap shot from just inside the blue line that would beat CIS Goalie of the Year Kris Lazaruk high, blocker side to give the Gryphons a 2-1 lead. With just over three minutes remaining, the Gryphons would double their lead on a backhand goal from rookie forward Seth Swenson (Parker, Colorado) which put Guelph up 3-1. Calgary would throw everything they had at the Gryphons for the remainder of the game, but D'Agostini and company stood tall. Both Teal Burns (one goal, one assist) and Nick Huard (two assists) finished with multi-point nights. The Gryphons were out-shot on the night 43-26. Not surprisingly, Andrew D'Agostini was named "Player of the Game" after finishing the night with 42 saves, including several of the highlight reel variety, as the third seeded Gryphons knocked off the sixth seeded Dinos in what was an entertaining opening game of the 2015 CIS Men's Hockey Championships.
 
The Gryphons will now face second seeded UNB (University of New Brunswick). UNB was 6-2 over Windsor in their quarterfinal matchup on Thursday night. With the Gryphons this time being the lower seeded team, they will wear their black jerseys instead of their whites. Ultimately, what jerseys they wear come Saturday is irrelevant. All that really matters is that those maroon pants are be back in between the pipes. Because you just don't mess with a good thing.
 
Note: Guelph's CIS Semi-final game on Saturday will be broadcast on national television and can be seen live at 11am ET on Sportsnet 360.