ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – Saturday evening at the Seymour-Hannah Centre in St. Catharines, the Gryphons men's hockey team played with a level of desire and urgency of a team whose season was on the line. Facing a win-or-go-home situation, the Gryphons showcased incredible resolve in erasing a three-goal deficit, turning a 4-1 deficit into a 4-4 game which needed overtime. In the extra frame, however, Brock would score the series-clinching goal when Badgers' forward Mitch Nardi tipped home a point shot at 7:12 of the first overtime period to give the No. 5-seeded Badgers a 5-4 OT victory. With the result, the Badgers complete the unlikely sweep in the best-of-three OUA West Semi-final series. Both Brock victories in the series came by the narrowest of margins, with the Badgers needing overtime in both games to get past the OUA West's top-seeded Gryphons. Brock will now face the York Lions in the OUA West Finals, while the Gryphons' memorable 2017-18 campaign, in which they matched a school record for regular season wins (21) while scoring a conference-best 122 goals, officially comes to an end.
 
If Saturday night's game was the final game of the career for Gryphons captain Scott Simmonds, it was memorable way to go out. The fourth year forward, who has one year of eligibility remaining but who was honoured as part of the team's "Senior Night" presentations two weeks ago, spearheaded the Gryphon comeback, scoring a pair of goals to help get his team back into the game.

Brock grabbed an early lead with a goal at the 16:35 mark of the 1st period, but it would not last long as Simmonds would respond for the Gryphs with a goal just :18 seconds later when his point shot found its way through traffic and past a screened Clint Windsor.
 
In the 2nd period, the host Badgers exploded for three goals to suddenly grab a commanding 4-1 lead. The Gryphons were in desperate need of an answer. And that is when man with the 'C' stepped up yet again.

With just :32 seconds remaining in the 2nd period, Simmonds would score his second of the night and fourth of the postseason after firing a wrist shot past Clint Windsor to make it a 4-2 game. Thanks to Simmonds, a two-sport star at U of G who also plays on the Gryphons men's rugby team, the Gryphs suddenly had some life heading to the 3rd period.
 
That momentum would turn into a pair of Gryphon goals early in the final period, as Simmonds would pick up an assist on Mark Raycroft's goal 4:34 into the 3rd. Less than two minutes after Raycroft made it a 4-3 game, the Gryphons would score the tying goal. Second-year forward Marc Stevens would fire home a one-timer during a Gryphon power play opportunity, tying things at 4-4 and sending the game into overtime.
 
Just over seven minutes into the OT period, however, the Badgers would end the Guelph comeback bid when Mitch Nardi tipped home a point shot past Andrew Masters to seal the win.
 
Guelph outshot Brock 50-36 on the evening and, over the course of two games, outshot the Badgers 92-60. Simmonds led the way with three points on Saturday night (2 goals, 1 assist) while rookie Todd Winder picked up a pair of assists to cap off a memorable postseason in which he racked up 10 points (6 goals, 4 assists) in just 5 games played.