GUELPH, ON – It seemed inevitable that the Guelph Gryphons would complete the comeback. The tying goal was only a matter of time.
 
But in the end, time ran out, and the tying goal never came.
 
The Gryphs fell behind early on Thursday night and dropped a 3-1 decision to the York Lions in OUA men's hockey action at the Gryphon Centre.
 
York's Derek Sheppard opened the scoring just shy of the 15-minute mark of the first period, and Trevor Petersen made it 2-0 a little over three minutes later. Guelph head coach Shawn Camp didn't think at the time that getting out of the hole would be such a monumental chore.
 
"We dug our way out in the sense that we outworked them," he said. "We pushed the pace, especially in the second and third periods. We dominated a lot of both periods. But we didn't finish, and in this league, you've got to finish on the chances you get.
 
"We outshot them, we out-chanced them, but we didn't out-finish them. That's the bottom line."
 
It looked good for the Gryphs when defenceman Mac Nichol scored his first goal of the season early in the second period. The alternate captain made a nice play to keep the puck in at the York blue line, then sent a beautiful wrist shot into the top corner of the net.
 

INSTANT VIDEO HIGHLIGHT: Mac Nichol finds the back of the net from the point for his first of the season. pic.twitter.com/U55mUIKsHh

— Guelph Gryphons (@guelph_gryphons) October 21, 2016

 
"We took five minutes off in the first period, and it cost us," said the Listowel, ON native. "They're a good team. They've got some skilled players, and if you give them the opportunities, they're going to put the puck in the net."
 
Despite outshooting the Lions 34-23 on the night, and spending most of the third period in particular buzzing around the York net, the Gryphs could not beat Mack Shields for the tying marker.
 
"It's just unfortunate," Nichol said. "We had opportunities, but it was just one of those nights when you don't get the bounces and you don't get the goals."
 
With Guelph netminder Scott Stajcer on the bench for an extra skater, York's Colton Vannucci scored into the empty net to seal his team's third consecutive victory. Both teams now have 3-2 records in the OUA West Division.
 
The Gryphs are back in action on Friday in Windsor against the Lancers. Their next three games are away from home; they won't return to the Gryphon Centre until Nov. 4 when the Carleton Ravens pay a visit.