GUELPH – The Guelph Gryphons women's hockey team ended 2017 as one of the hottest squads in U SPORTS. The Gryphons won seven of eight November games, outscoring opponents 25-8 throughout an impressive month. Their return to OUA regular-season play was far from perfect but the No. 8-ranked team in the country got the job done with a 3-1 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks Wednesday night at Gryphon Centre Arena.
 
Guelph was in charge most of the night, outshooting the visitors 30-13. But with five weeks off from conference play, and only a few holiday exhibitions to work out the kinks, the Gryphons needed a solid third period to put the Hawks away.

"We were lucky to come away with a win," said head coach Rachel Flanagan. "We didn't play very well the first two periods."
 
No. 8 Guelph (9-4-0), got most of its production from the reunited top line of Kaitlin Lowy, Kelly Gribbons and Claire Merrick.  Lowy and Gribbons had a goal and assist each, while Merrick registered a critical helper on the winner. Ashlee Lawrence added a third for the hosts late in the game.

 

The deciding goal was a beautiful effort from the top trio. Lowy was on the right boards when she threaded a feed through the slot to Merrick, who slid a pass to the back right post where Gribbons calmly banged it home behind Hannah Miller at the 8:44 mark of the third.

Lawrence, who Flanagan praised for her effort all night, would ice it with less than four minutes on the clock on a great individual effort. She followed her own shot behind the net and surprised Miller with a quick wraparound.
 
Valerie Lamenta didn't have much to do as she faced just 13 Laurier shots en route to her sixth win.
 
Though outplayed, Laurier didn't make it easy for Guelph. The Gryphons squandered a big opportunity to pull away from the Golden Hawks while up 1-0 with about eight minutes left in the second. Gribbons stripped a Laurier player at the blueline and found Lowy on a 2-on-0 break but her backhand attempt was denied by Miller.

It was costly as the Hawks equalized with just 27 seconds left in the period. With Laurier buzzing around Lamenta, the Guelph goalie steered a puck into the slot, which Emily Woodhouse scooped up and buried top shelf with an incredible backhander.
 
Guelph puts lots of pressure on the Golden Hawks in the opening period, despite committing a few turnovers that could have led to goals for the visitors. The Gryphons had a couple of power-play opportunities with no success but finally cashed in on their third of the first period when Lowy coolly deked a Laurier defender and fired a shot low on Miller's blocker side just 38 seconds before the intermission. Gribbons picked up an assist on the play, her 14^th point of the OUA season.
 
Guelph outshout Laurier 12-3 after 20 minutes of play.

While the stat sheet was tilted Guelph's way, Flanagan wants her players to clean up a few notable mistakes in their first game back, including overhandling the puck and long shifts that left them vulnerable. 

"We weren't moving our feet and had all-around bad habits," the coach said. "We didn't execute our keys to success at all in the first and second periods."
 
The Gryphons are back in action Saturday, Jan. 6 when they travel to Waterloo to take on the Warriors. Game time is 2 pm.