GUELPH, Ont. - Playing in their first regular season game in just over a month, the No. 9-ranked Gryphons picked up a 3-1 home win over the Toronto Varsity Blues. Rookie sensation Todd Winder scored Guelph's first goal, his team-leading 12th of the season, and first-year defenceman Mathieu Henderson scored on the power play midway through the 2nd period for what would prove to be the game-winner as the Gryphons picked up two more points to temporarily take over sole possession of top spot in the OUA's West Division. The Gryphons improved to 12-4-1 on the season and picked up where they left off from an impressive first half of the season by recording their ninth win in their last 10 league games. With the loss, the Varsity Blues fall to 4-12-1 and sit last in the OUA West standings.

With the exam/Christmas break accounting for just over four weeks off between conference games, both teams understandably came out of the gates a bit slow and were locked in a scoreless tie heading to the 2nd period.

Despite the long layoff, there were zero signs of rust when it came to the Gryphons' top rookies, with freshman forward Todd Winder and rookie blueliner Mathieu Henderson both impressing.

With the Gryphons trailing 1-0 midway through the 2nd period, Winder's quick release would beat U of T goalie Frederic Foulem to tie the game at 1-1. For Winder, who last season scored 25 goals for the Newmarket Hurricanes in the OJHL, it marked his eighth goal in the Gryphons' last eight regular season games. His 12 goals on the season leave him just one behind the OUA's leading goal scorers for the 2017-18 season.

Winder would also help draw a penalty late in the 2nd period which put the Gryphons on the man advantage to start the 3rd. The OUA West-leading Gryphs would not waste the opportunity, with first-year standout Mathieu Henderson showing off some great skill by toe-dragging around a U of T defender before firing home his 2nd goal of the season from the high slot to give the Gryphons a 2-1 lead.

The Gryphons also received a great performance in net from first year goalie Andrew Masters. The NCAA transfer from Miami of Ohio made 28 saves on the night, none more important than the sensational glove save made with 7:25 remaining in the 3rd period to preserve the Gryphs' one-goal lead.

Varsity Blues' rookie forward Hunter Atchison was sent in all alone and fired a shot high glove side, only to see Masters deny him with the leather. 

Masters' counterpart, Frederic Foulem, was equally impressive at the other end of the ice, making several big stops throughout the night. However, with just under four minutes remaining in the final period, J.P. Villeneuve would cross the blue line and fire a wrister past Foulem on the glove side to push the U of G lead to 3-1. Villeneuve now has four goals on the year, two of which have come against the Varsity Blues.

The Gryphons will now hit the road for a Saturday night clash with the Brock Badgers in St. Catharines. It will mark the third time this regular season that the two teams have met, with Guelph winning each of the first two matchups. The Gryphons also defeated Brock during the preseason in the Badgers' annual Homecoming game. Puck drop for Saturday night's contest is set for 7:15pm at the Seymour-Hannah Centre.