TORONTO, ON – Saturday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, the No. 1-ranked Gryphons women's hockey team extended their win streak to five games with a 5-2 victory over the Ryerson Rams. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 15-2-1 on the season while Ryerson falls to 2-12-1.
 
There are no easy games in OUA women's hockey. Despite the fact that the Gryphons and Rams were at opposite ends of the spectrum in the standings coming into this game, the two combined for a hard fought, competitive game on Saturday afternoon that remained in the balance heading into the final minutes of regulation.
 
With just under four minutes remaining in the final period, Guelph was clinging to a slim 3-2 lead over the Rams before Gryphons fourth year forward Christine Grant gave the visitors some breathing room with a goal that pushed the lead to 4-2 with just 3:37 left to play. Jessica Pinkerton would add an empty netter with 1:14 remaining to extend the Gryphons lead to 5-2 in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated.
 
The Gryphons got off to a great start to the game when the team's leading scorer, Averi Nooren, opened the scoring with her 11^th goal of the season just :39 seconds into the game. That would prove to be the only goal in the opening 20 minutes but a back-and-forth second period saw the Rams and Gryphons combine for four goals, split two apiece. Kelly Gribbons and Jessica Pinkerton were the U of G goal scorers in the second period as the Gryphons took a 3-2 lead into the third.
 
Grant's insurance marker and Pinkerton's empty netter ensured there would be no upset as the Gryphons won for the 13^th time in their last 14 games, with the only loss in that stretch coming in a shootout to the defending national champion Western Mustangs.
 
A pair of Gryphons recorded three-point performances in Jessica Pinkerton (2 G, 1 A) and Brittany St. James (3 A). Averi Nooren, Christine Grant and Kelly Gribbons had two-point nights with a goal and an assist each. Valerie Lamenta made 18 saves and improved to 12-2-0 on the season. Lamenta, a second year goalie from Montreal, leads the OUA in both wins (12) and Goals Against Average (1.08).
 
With the win, the Gryphons are now a perfect 3-0 on a stretch of five straight road games. Up next, a trip to Kingston to face the Queen's Gaels on Saturday, January 30. After that, the Gryphons will head back to Toronto to face the York Lions on February 6 before finally returning home on Sunday, February 7 to host the Windsor Lancers.
 
The Gryphons have six games remaining on their regular season schedule and currently sit comfortably in top spot in the OUA standings with 43 points, 11 points clear of second place contenders Western and Waterloo.