ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – There aren't many preseason hockey games that create genuine buzz. But the Guelph Gryphons have come to play a central role in an annual exhibition contest that does exactly that. The Steel Blade Classic is the official Homecoming event for Brock University and having a genuine rival like Guelph take part only ups the emotion for two teams so familiar with each other.
 
And the 20^th edition of the event didn't disappoint. The Badgers scored the go-ahead goal from Ryan Burton late in the third period to defeat the Gryphons 3-1 in front a record-crowd of 5,000 at the Meridian Centre. Brock was presented with the Steel Blade Classic trophy at game's end, a framed battlefield sword carried by Upper Canada Artillery Units in the War of 1812 that will bear the winner's name.

 
"Full credit to Brock," said Gryphon head coach Shawn Camp. "They worked extremely hard and won a lot of one-on-one battles tonight."
 
Fourth-year veteran Mark Raycroft scored the lone goal for the Gryphons, while second-year Gryphon goaltender Andrew Masters was sharp in net despite allowing a quick one to the Badgers. The Kitchener, ON native wasn't phased by Brock's opener less than a minute in, turning away several good scoring chances.
 
"Andrew was outstanding," Camp said of his goalie.
 
There is a lot of mutual respect between the two teams but also no shortage of fireworks. They met a total of six times in 2017/18, including exhibition, regular season, and playoffs. The Gryphons took the Steel Blade 5-3 last September, then won three out of four in the regular season. Brock would earn the bragging rights by year's end though, sweeping the higher-seeded Gryphons out of the playoffs with two straight wins, including a 4-3 OT thriller in Game 1 of the OUA West semi-final series. So the intensity was understandably high.
 
The first couple minutes of the game played out exactly like last year's meeting when Brock forward Connor Brown gave the hosts a 1-0 lead. Brown got in on a break and beat Masters top shelf just 48 seconds in to ignite the big Meridian Centre crowd. The Badgers continued to push the pace but Masters came up big on a few occasions, including an incredible glove save on a Cosimo Fontana shot.
 
The second-year Gryphon goalie made another key save minutes into the second period when he slid across his crease to get a glove on a teed-up Brock shot from the open slot.

Moments later, the Gryphons got the all-important equalizer as Raycroft took a Seth Swenson pass down the middle of the ice and beat Badgers' goalie Logan Thompson glove side, setting the stage for a dominant performance throughout the rest of the period.
 
But Guelph couldn't muster that same energy in the third, in which they were outshot 11-5 (30-24 overall). Burton tallied late and the Badgers would add an empty-netter to close out the scoring.
 
"We didn't give ourselves a chance in the third period," Camp said of the stalled offensive effort. "We have to play with a little more urgency."
 
The Gryphons are back on the ice Thursday, Sept. 27 when they face the Windsor Lancers in the Ridgetown Showdown at the East Kent Memorial Arena. The puck drops at 7 pm.