GUELPH, Ont. – The No. 10-ranked Gryphons men's hockey team has thrived on home ice this season. The Lakehead Thunderwolves are the latest opponent to leave Guelph with a loss. Saturday night at the Gryphon Centre Arena, the Gryphons picked up a convincing 5-1 win over the visitors from Thunder Bay. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 9-1-1 on home ice this season and remain in 1st in the OUA West division with a record of 15-4-1.
 
"Top to bottom, it was a really good team effort," said Gryphons head coach Shawn Camp. "We jumped on them early and pushed the pace. We got some great saves when we needed them and for a second straight game had some great production from our special teams."
 
The Gryphons jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes and never looked back. The Gryphs were 2-for-6 on the power play and a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill. First year goalie Andrew Masters made 20 saves for the win.
 
J.P. Villeneuve, who red-shirted a season ago with the Gryphons, led the way with 3 points on the night (2 goals, 1 assist) and veteran defenceman Josh McFadden capped off a dominant opening frame by scoring with :01 second remaining in the 1st period to put the Gryphons up 3-0 heading to the 2nd.
 
After Lakehead (8-9-2) cut into the lead with a goal early in the 2nd, the Gryphons would respond with J.P. Villeneuve's second goal of the night. Villeneuve, who arrived at U of G a year ago after having played professionally in Denmark, would show off his scorer's touch by going five-hole to beat Lakehead goalie Devin Green for his 6th goal of the season to restore Guelph's three-goal lead.
 
Rookie goalie Andrew Masters continued his stretch of solid play in between the pipes, making several timely saves on the night, including a beautiful pad save during a short-handed breakaway by Lakehead's Sam Schutt midway through the 3rd.
 
Team Captain Scott Simmonds would cap the scoring on the night, wiring home a one-timer from the slot on the power play after a nice feed from Marc Stevens.
 
The Gryphons will now turn their attention to the 9th annual "Frosty Mug" game, where they will host the Laurier Golden Hawks at the Sleeman Centre in downtown Guelph on Thursday, Jan. 18. The 2018 edition of the Frosty Mug will feature the top two teams in the OUA West division, with Guelph sitting three points ahead of Laurier for top spot in the division. Puck drop is set for 7pm with the game also televised live on Rogers Cable 20.