GUELPH, ON - The view from the top has been nice. The CIS's No. 1-ranked Guelph Gryphons women's hockey team, winners of six straight, has been gaining momentum throughout the 2015-16 season.

But this weekend means much more to the Gryphon program than keeping a streak alive or picking up points on the road at York Saturday and again at home Sunday when Windsor comes into town. Head coach Rachel Flanagan, her staff and the players have something else to think about - a former teammate and her young brother, who was tragically taken from a family.

Sunday's matchup with the Lancers is billed as the third annual "Fight For Kevin" game, a day to honour former Gryphon goaltender Brooke Siddall and her brother Kevin, who passed away in 2014, the victim of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Funds raised at Sunday's 2:00 pm game at the Gryphon Centre Arena will go the Childhood Cancer Research Association in London, where Kevin was treated.

"There are girls on this team that played with Brooke," said Coach Flanagan. "We are a family and this has touched everyone of us. Not only is this a great cause but there is a message for our team. Brooke was a pillar of strength, she was such a rock. She is the definition of a Gryphon athlete, how she dealt with her brother's illness and continued to study and play hockey at a high level. It's inspiring."

Guelph captain Leigh Shilton played with Siddall and said this has been a game that the women look especially forward to. Siddall, a Windsor native, is not just a former teammate but a close friend. Her painful loss reverberated through the group. And the respect the Gryphons have for her is clear.

"Brooke always came to the rink with a positive attitude and really put everything into hockey and playing for her brother," Shilton said. "The courage and strength she showed was incredible and it really rubbed off on the team. Back then, it was a group of girls rallying together to support a Gryphon family member. Her fight was our fight. Then and now, the experience has humbled us. It showed us that what was happening to her brother was bigger than us and the game of hockey and that every shift on the ice, we had to battle our hardest for those who couldn't."
  Brooke Siddall (middle) performs the ceremonial puck drop ahead of last year's "FFK" game The Gryphons won't be lacking motivation when they enter the weekend's games. Flanagan has been pleased with her team's effort and was particularly happy about the performance in a 3-0 win away at Queen's last week. "The message is not whether we win or lose but how we are playing," the coach said, citing both effort and execution as the keys to maintaining that momentum and success the Gryphons (13-3-2-1) have built.

The team has won 9 of its last 10. Guelph has gotten the job done at both ends of the rink, leading the OUA in both goals scored (58) and goals allowed (just 22). And as the playoffs approach, that balance will be critical, especially this weekend. York will pose a physical challenge, a team that likes to battle on the wall and slow the game down. Flanagan said the goal in that matchup is to execute at a high pace - she wants her players to move the puck quickly and utilize their speed on York's Olympic-sized ice surface, a welcome venue for Guelph's collective skill set.

Windsor presents a different problem. The Lancers boast the top three scorers in the OUA in Krystin Lawrence (26 points), Erinn Noseworthy (25 points) and Shawna Lesperance (23 points, including a league-high 14 goals). The explosive line is a nightmare for opponents and Guelph will need a solid effort from the top of the lineup through to the bottom. Home ice advantage and the last change will also help, allowing Flanagan to play match ups to better handle the deadly Windsor trio.

Flanagan and the Gryphons have a healthy respect for the Lancers. And they appreciate the fact that the "Fight For Kevin" game will be played against the team that hails from Siddall's hometown. "It's great that it's against Windsor," said Shilton. "We could not have asked for a better team to join us." 

As the Gryphons look to keep a special season going in the right direction, they will use the Siddalls as inspiration. They aren't forgotten in Guelph and they never will be. "This game is to keep Kevin's memory alive and to show Brooke, an alumni, that just because she's graduated, it doesn't mean that we have stopped caring and showing our support," said Shilton. "We will continue to fight for the cause. Not only will Kevin's memory live on in the Siddall family but he will also live on with Gryphon hockey for many years to come."

"This is about the legacy that Brooke left," Flanagan said, " and the legacy moving forward."