TORONTO – There never seems to be a shortage of goals when the Guelph Gryphons men's hockey team visits Toronto. The Gryphons scored early and often but ultimately had to come back to defeat the Varsity Blues 5-4 Friday night at Varsity Arena.
 
Seth Swenson scored twice for Guelph (17-5-1), including the winner at 16:59 of the second period. The fourth-year winger from Parker, Colorado opened the scoring just minutes into the game but his second of the night secured the eighth victory in the last 10 games for the OUA West leaders. J.P. Villeneuve broke down the right wing, cut to the net and found Swenson, who coolly deked Varsity Blues' goaltender Frederic Foulem to complete a Gryphons' comeback.
 
Guelph coughed up a two-goal leads on two occasions  and after going down 4-3 on three unanswered Toronto goals, the visitors mustered a response. It started with a Josh McFadden power-play marker, a blast from the slot at 13:55 of the second period before Swenson's second ultimately decided it.

 
"It was a real good test for us," said head coach Shawn Camp. "We expected Toronto to come out flying because they're fighting for their playoff lives. We found a way to get the lead back and keep it.
 
"Some games you have to gut it out like this."
 
Toronto had a great opportunity to send the game to overtime with a late power play. The Varsity Blues pulled Foulem for a 6-on-4 and Matt Campagna, who had scored earlier on a penalty shot, was robbed by the right pad of Andrew Masters with under a minute remaining in regulation.
 
"Andrew made a very timely save to preserve the win," Camp said of his goaltender, who was came into the game in a relief appearance. Masters stopped all 17 shots he faced.
 
Max McCutcheon (two points) and Trevor Morbeck also scored for the Gryphons, while Cody Thompson and Michael Stevens had two assists each. Jason Da Silva got the call in net and made 11 saves before giving way to Masters midway through the second period.
 
The two teams combined for 10 goals the last time they met in Toronto, a 6-4 Guelph win back on Dec. 1. And they were well beyond that pace early in a fast-paced first period as Guelph jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead.
 
Swenson scored his seventh of the year just 3:04 into the game and McCutchen doubled the lead at the 6:24 mark. But Toronto prevented the Gryphons from running away with the game when Scott Kirton got one past Da Silva at 8:22.
 
The Gryphons didn't let up and Morbeck scored his seventh for a 3-1 lead, Guelph's third goal on its first nine shots. The Varsity Blues answered just 1:22 later when Campagna found the back of the net on a penalty shot at 13:47, completing the scoring in a wild opening period.
 
Toronto erased the deficit just 56 seconds into the second after Hunter Atchison buried a rebound. And the Varsity Blues grabbed their first lead of the game on the power play at 10:38, their third straight goal. Curtis Harvey beat Da Silva, who was then pulled for Masters.
 
The Gryphons head to Waterloo Saturday, Jan 27 to take on the Laurier Golden Hawks, who they shutout 5-0 in last week's Frosty Mug. The puck drops at 1:30 pm.