WATERLOO, ON – At times this season, the Gryphons women's hockey team has relied heavily upon the team's star forwards Kaitlin Lowy and Kelly Gribbons. On Saturday afternoon however, it was the Gryphons' supporting cast that led the way in an impressive road victory over the Waterloo Warriors. The two-time defending OUA champion Gryphons recorded a convincing 5-1 road win at the University of Waterloo with third year forward Karli Shell scoring a pair of power play goals. After Waterloo opened the scoring midway through the opening period, the Gryphons would respond with five unanswered goals, outshooting the Warriors 33-15 along the way. The five goal outburst marked the most goals scored by the Gryphons this season away from home. With the win, the No. 8-ranked Gryphons improve to 10-4-0 on the season and now sit third in the OUA standings, but are just three points back of first-place Queen's. With the loss, the Warriors fall to 8-5-0.
 
"That is a hard rink for us to play in, so for us to come away with a victory like that is big," said Gryphons head coach Rachel Flanagan. "We were better as the game went on and got some nice contributions from up and down the lineup."
 
A total of nine different Gryphons recorded a point on Saturday but, surprisingly, none were named Lowy or Gribbons. The senior forwards, who have put together impressive 2017-18 campaigns, were relatively quiet at Columbia Icefield Arena, but the Gryphons showcased some tremendous depth while dominating play throughout the 2nd and 3rd periods.
 
After tying the game at 1-1 with a power play goal from third year forward Karli Shell late in the 1st period, the Gryphons would score twice in the 2nd period to take a 3-1 lead the 3rd. All-Canadian defenceman Katherine Bailey scored to give the Gryphons a 2-1 lead, with sophomore forward Sydney Davison extending the lead to 3-1 with her 1st of the season. Davison, a member of the OUA All-Rookie Team a season ago, showed why she was one of the top rookies in the league a year ago, carrying the puck through the neutral zone and into Waterloo territory before firing a perfectly placed shot past the blocker of Waterloo goalie Stephanie Sluys.
 
Early in the 3rd period, Karli Shell would score her 2nd power play goal of the game to push the Gryphon lead to 4-1. For Flanagan, Shell's performance on Saturday at Waterloo was a reflection of her impressive development both on and off the ice this season, "She's starting to gain some more confidence and that has helped her in all facets of her game. She joined our "Leadership Academy" this season and has become a bit more of a vocal leader for us as well. Her growth over the past few years has been impressive and we feel really good about that whole line (Karli Shell, Miranda Lantz and Ashlee Lawrence)." Shell also added an assist to finish with a three-point game.
 
Third year forward Claire Merrick recorded a pair of assists and now has 15 points on the season, putting her just one point behind OUA leading scorer Maria Dominico from Nipissing.
 
Valerie Lamenta needed to make just 14 saves for the win, but made several key stops early in the 2nd period with the game still tied. The Gryphons limited the Warriors to just two shots in the entire 3rd period.
 
The Gryphons, winners of nine of their last 11 league games, will now return home for a Thursday night game (Jan. 11) versus the York Lions (4-8-2).