TORONTO, Ont. – The 2017-18 OUA women's hockey regular season has officially come to an end for the Guelph Gryphons. And the two-time defending conference champions will officially begin their quest for a third consecutive McCaw Cup as the No. 2-seed in the OUA. Saturday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, the No. 7-nationally ranked Gryphons capped off their impressive 2017-18 regular season with a 4-0 road win over the Ryerson Rams. With the victory, the Gryphons clinch 2nd-place in the OUA standings with a record of 17-6-0. Second year forward Sydney Davison recorded a hat trick while fourth year goalie Valerie Lamenta made 17 saves for her second consecutive shutout.
 
"We got off to a bit of a slow start this afternoon but seemed to find some good energy at the end of the 1st period," said Gryphons head coach Rachel Flanagan. "We were really able to hem them in their own end during the 2nd and 3rd periods, and Val (Lamenta) was really good for us in the first 10 minutes. Ryerson only had three lines rolling tonight but were working really hard. We knew it was going to be a tough test today, but getting the three points was big. Home ice advantage for at least two rounds, if you're fortunate enough to make it that far, can be a big factor."
 
Saturday's meeting marked the second matchup of the season between the Gryphons and Rams, with Ryerson stealing a 4-3 victory in Guelph nearly four months ago in what was the regular season opener. Just as they did in that first meeting, the Gryphons would once again jump out to a 2-0 lead. Gryphons fifth year senior Kelly Gribbons (Port Elgin, ON) would open the scoring midway through the 2nd period by firing a wrist shot into the top corner for her 12th goal of the season.

Later in the period, a trailing Sydney Davison would jump on a loose puck and slide a quick shot through the five-hole of Ryerson goalie Rachel Seeley. Davison's 7th goal of the season gave the Gryphs a two-goal cushion heading to the final period.
 
Davison, a second year forward who was named to the OUA's All-Rookie Team a season ago, would cap off a memorable afternoon by adding two more goals in the final period to complete the second hat trick of her career. At the 11:37 mark, Kristen Jay would set up Davison for her second of the night, with Davison finishing on the backhand in close to put the Gryphons up 3-0. With just under five minutes remaining, Davison would complete the hat trick with a power play goal. This time, the Oakville native would unleash a rocket of a shot into the top corner for her 9th goal of the season. It marked the second hat trick in a four-game span for Davison, who also recorded a four-goal game at Windsor on February 3.

"Syd has really started to find her stride, offensively, in these last few weeks," added Flanagan. "Her production offensively is really a result to the development of her all-around game. She continues to improve at both ends of the ice and it has been great to see her make an impact at some many different areas of the game." 
 
The Gryphons quest for a third consecutive McCaw Cup will begin on Wednesday, February 21 when they host the No. 7-seeded Brock Badgers (12-8-3) in Game 1 of their best-of-three OUA Quarter-final series. Game 2 will take place in St. Catharines, either Friday night or Saturday afternoon, with Game 3 (if necessary) set for 2pm on Sunday, Feb. 25.