TORONTO – It's a good time for fans of the Guelph Gryphons men's hockey team. The hottest squad in the country, boasting an offence that's clicking like few others, was at it again Friday night. The No. 9-ranked Gryphons ran their win streak to nine games with a wild 6-4 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues at Varsity Arena.
 
The streak began against the same Varsity Blues with a 4-1 win on Aggies Night back on Nov. 2 at Gryphon Centre Arena. And Guelph (11-3-1) has been on fire ever since, racking up an incredible 50 goals over the nine games, while also allowing a hearty 29. The Gryphons are tied with the York Lions (11-4-1) at 23 points but have played one fewer game.

"We've had other stretches in previous years where we've won chunks of games but they were maybe interrupted with an overtime loss," said head coach Shawn Camp, noting the exceptional team efforts each night this past month. "But I don't recall consecutive wins like this. It's been a fun run."
 
Todd Winder had two goals for Guelph. The first-year centre from Uxbridge, ON, opening the scoring early in the first when he beat goaltender Frederic Foulem. And he would finish it with his team-leading 11^th of the season at 5:24 of the third period to reestablish Guelph's two-goal cushion at 6-4. 

Camp said Winder had shown great consistency in his first year as a Gryphon, adding to the team's offensive depth and balance. 

"He's so dangerous," the coach said. "He has speed, he has skill, and he's very smart. Todd really uses his linemates very well. He's dangerous every night."

Seth Swenson, J.P. Villeneuve, Max McCutcheon (two points), and Reilly O'Connor (two points) each had a goal for the Gryphons, while Tryg Strand added three assists. Guelph goalie Jason Da Silva made 23 saves to earn his eighth win of the season.

It was a physical affair that featured six first-period goals before tempers eventually boiled over in the final few minutes of the game when a few run-ins led to packed penalty boxes. 
 
Guelph had to come back in this one despite going up 3-1. Toronto got its first lead of the night at 4:35 of the second period immediately after Foulem had bailed the hosts out with a series of big saves. The Varsity Blues took advantage as Curtis Harvey went to the net and tipped a pass from Dean Klomp up over Da Silva for a brief 4-3 lead.

Toronto went on the power play looking to extend the margin but it was Guelph that equalized when O'Connor found McCutcheon for a timely shorthanded effort that made it 4-4 at 7:10 of the second period. O'Connor would then get in on the goal scoring at the 10:04 mark, putting the OUA West leaders in front for good.

"We settled down after the first period," Camp said. "The game was so back and forth in the first. In the second, we battled back again and once we got the lead, we took control of the game. We're continuing to score."

Camp knows the team has to play much sharper in its own end of the rink, like they did in the third, with the help of some big saves from Da Silva. There wasn't much in the way of sound defensive play in the opening period as the two teams combined for six goals, five of which came in a stretch of 10 minutes.

The Gryphons started well on the Varsity Arena ice, sending a few early shots Foulem's way before Winder would get them on the board. The rookie stripped the puck off a Toronto player and got one past Foulem 5:38 into the first for a 1-0 lead.

Swenson scored exactly four minutes later, completing a nice passing sequence, with Manny Gialedakis and Trevor Morbeck picking up assists. Toronto would get one back 38 seconds after Swenson's goal when Phil Chadder beat Da Silva though the momentum didn't last long. Sixty-one seconds later, Villeneuve gathered a puck to the right of Foulem and fired it into the net for a 3-1 lead.

Guelph has been scoring at an incredible rate of late but have allowed its fair share, as well. The Varsity Blues cut the lead back to a single goal when Max Lindsay scored with 5:21 left before the home team equalized in dramatic fashion. Toronto had a final rush up ice in the dying seconds of the period and while Da Silva made a great save on an initial shot, the rebound fell to Willy Paul, who quickly shot from the slot and scored with just 0.7 seconds left for a 3-3 tie after 20 minutes of play.

Guelph wraps up the 2017 portion of the OUA schedule on the road in Windsor Saturday night. Game time is 7:30 pm.