GUELPH, Ont. – The 2022-23 OUA men's hockey season has officially arrived, and the Guelph Gryphons are set to begin their 27-game regular season schedule on Friday (October 14) with a trip down the 401 to London to take on the Western Mustangs.
After playing a shortened regular season schedule in 2021-22, which saw the Gryphons impressive streak of 11 consecutive seasons with a playoff appearance come to an end, the 2022-23 campaign will see all 19 OUA hockey schools return to a traditional regular season format.
The conference also returns to a two-division format, with the Gryphons competing in the 10-team OUA West Division. Come playoff time in February of 2023, the top six teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs, with the 1st and 2nd-place teams receiving a opening round bye, while the remaining four teams square off in OUA preliminary round action. The playoffs will also return to a traditional 3-game series format for the first three rounds of the playoffs before a single-game championship is used to decide the winner of the 111th Queen's Cup, which will be played on March 11, 2023. The Gryphons have reached the Queen's Cup in two of the past three seasons of on-ice action, including claiming the OUA title during the 2019-20 campaign, which marked the seventh conference championship in program history.
"We are excited about the potential in this group," says head coach
Shawn Camp, now in his 16th season in charge of the men's hockey program at the University of Guelph, which includes leading the Gryphons to a pair of OUA titles in 2014-15 and 2019-20. "As our team grows together throughout the season, we feel confident that our incoming recruiting class should be able to compliment our group of returning veterans nicely. It's an exciting time to be a Gryphon. This team has some really good leadership in place to go along with talent and balance throughout the lineup."
Forwards
The Gryphons enter the 2022-23 season with plenty of skill in their group of forwards, led by now two-time team captain,
Ted Nichol.
Nichol, a 25-year-old native of Listowel, Ontario and a former captain in the OHL with the Kingston Frontenacs, is the owner of one of the most memorable goals in Gryphon hockey history. Back on March 7, 2020,
Nichol scored the triple overtime game-winning goal for the Gryphons on home ice in the 2019-20 OUA championship game against the Ottawa Gee-Gees. The hard-working winger has continued to lead by example on and off the ice for the Gryphons, and is coming off another solid season in 2021-22 when he finished 4th on the team in scoring during the regular season (3 goals, 6 assists, 9 points during the shortened season). Nichol is one of seven players on the 2022-23 team who are still leftover from that 2019-20 Queen's Cup-winning group, with talented forward Zach Poirier included in that category.
Poirier was a freshman back in 2019-20, and after taking a season off, returns to the Gryphons for the 2022-23 season and provides the Gryphs with a solid goal scoring threat up front. Poirier scored 15 goals in a season on two different occasions in the OHL with the North Bay Battalion, and played a total of five seasons of OHL hockey prior to arriving at U of G, with his OHL career also including stints with the Guelph Storm and Owen Sound Attack. The Gryphon forward group is also strengthened with the return of
Luke Bignell, who earned a spot on the 2021-22 OUA All-Rookie Team. Bignell, a second-year justice and legal studies major,
was one of just three current U SPORTS men's hockey players from across the country to be invited to NHL rookie camp this season. The Kitchener, Ontario native appeared in 2 games for the New Jersey Devils as part of their "prospects challenge" against the Buffalo Sabers and Boston Bruins and now returns to U of G for his sophomore season as a Gryphon.
Luke Kutkevicius, a skilled centre with excellent vision and play-making abilities, returns for his fourth season with the program and third season of on-ice action as a Gryphon.
During his tenure with the Gryphons, Kutkevicius, a management major from Toronto, has appeared in 32 games, scoring 11 times, and accumulating 12 assists. The Gryphons return another steady scorer in
Ted McGeen, a Windsor native who was a bright spot for the Gryphons during the 2021-22 season, scoring 12 goals and 17 points in just 19 games. The Gryphons also welcome back forwards
Cameron Searles and
Zach Roberts, both of whom were part of the 2019-20 Queen's Cup roster. Additional depth at centre is provided by
Ethan Doyle, a management economics and finance student from Whitby, Ontario, who joins the Gryphs out of the GOJHL where he registered 79 points in 46 games while helping lead the Pickering Panthers to a championship. Rounding out the returning forwards are wingers
Jacob Winterton and
Michael Little. Winterton appeared in 17 games for the Gryphons in 2021-22 scoring 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists).
While Little, who played 13 games last season, will join the Gryphons at a later point this season as he works his way back from injury.
The 2022-23 edition of the Gryphons forward group is also bolstered by several new faces. Headlining the group is winger
Nolan DeGurse, who scored 20 goals and added 23 assists in 47 games with the OHL's Sarnia Sting during the 2021-22 season. Another proven OHL talent making his Gryphon debut in 2022-23 is
Anthony Tabak, a power forward with an impressive offensive touch. Tabak served as assistant captain of the Barrie Colts and scored a career-high 52 points (15 goals, 37 assists) a season ago in Barrie. The Gryphons have also added an OHL champion to their roster in winger
Giordano Biondi. Biondi, a Sudbury, Ontario, native, was a part of the 2021-22 OHL championship run by the Hamilton Bulldogs, where he appeared in 16 of the Bulldogs 19 playoff games. The final newcomer of the Gryphon forward group is centreman
Griffin Wilson. The Elora, Ontario native played two seasons with the Owen Sound Attack before joining the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the BCHL in 2021-22 where he recorded 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists).
Defence
A promising group of players makeup the Gryphon blueline in 2022-23. The Gryphon defencemen are a quick and mobile unit, who should be able to contribute offensively from the back-end.
Assistant captain,
Cole Cameron, returns for his fourth season with the program and third season of on-ice action. The former Kitchener Ranger was a key contributor to the Gryphons 2019-20 championship run, appearing on the blue line in 38 games that season. The food and agricultural business major provides the Gryphons with a steady defensive presence on the backend, with Cameron also contributing offensively a season ago for the Gryphons with 3 goals during the regular season (tied with teammate,
Matt Timms, for the most goals scored by a Gryphon defenceman during the 2021-22 season). 6-2, 200-pound defenceman,
Tristan de Jong, returns for his second season as a Gryphon. The human kinetics major from Breslau, Ontario, recorded 55 points (13 goals, 42 assists) in the QMJHL with the Moncton Wildcats prior to arriving at U of G.
Jaxon Camp returns for his sophomore season with the Gryphons.
Camp impressed a season ago during his rookie season in the OUA, with the Ottawa native earning team Rookie of the Year honours after registering 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists). The Gryphons also welcome back defencemen
Duncan Penman,
Emmett Gordon, and
Liam Ham, all of whom return for their second years within the program and are expected to make major contributions to the Gryphon defence, with Gordon even potentially expected to contribute at forward as well. Rookie defencemen, Nate Allensen and
Ashton Reesor, are both set to begin their OUA careers in 2022-23 and could make immediate impacts on the Gryphon blueline. Allensen joins the Gryphs from the Barrie Colts, where the Waterloo, Ontario native ended the 2021-22 season as captain of the Colts.
Ashton Reesor stays in the Royal City after coming over to U of G from the Guelph Storm. Reesor was an assistant captain with the Sarnia Sting before being traded to the Storm at the deadline a season ago. The Stouffville, Ontario native has to the tools to be a shut-down defenceman as he brings a responsible, heavy game to the Gryphon blueline.
Goalies
Helping lead the way in between the pipes for the Gryphons in 2022-23 is veteran netminder,
Brendan Cregan. The 24-year-old native of Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia enters his fourth season with the Gryphons men's hockey program, and third season of on-ice action. The animal science major played a key role during the Gryphons 2019-20 OUA championship-winning campaign, going 8-3 as a starter and posting a .896 save percentage.
Cregan, who played with the QMJHL's Blainville-Boisbriand Armada prior to arriving at the University of Guelph, leads a competitive goaltending group for the Gryphons in 2022-23.
Colton Incze (Oakville, ON) played three seasons in the OHL (Niagara Ice Dogs and Windsor Spitfires) from 2016-17 to 2018-19 before suiting up for the Brantford 99ers (OJHL) in 2019-20. Incze, a real estate major at the University of Guelph, now enters his second season as a Gryphon after appearing in a team-high 10 games with the Gryphs a season ago (4-6-0 record, .306 goals against average). Also returning for their season season as a Gryphon, but first full season in the red, black and gold, is
Tanner Wickware. With the Gryphon goaltending group plagued by injuries a season ago, the 6-4, 191-pound Wickware helped fill in for the Gryphons last season, appearing in 2 games. Prior to arriving at U of G, Wickware helped lead the Cambridge Redhawks to a GOJHL title. New to the goaltending group this season is an NCAA-DI transfer in
Nate McDonald (North Bay, ON), who arrives at U of G after transferring from the Cornell Big Red. The 23-year-old McDonald provides the Gryphons with some proven, veteran experience and added depth to the goaltending unit.
Following Friday night's (Oct. 14) road game at Western, the Gryphons men's hockey team will return home on Saturday night (Oct. 15) for a 7:30pm puck drop versus the Waterloo Warriors in the team's 2022-23 home opener. Tickets are on sale now at gryphons.ca.tickets, with all 2022-23 OUA regular season games broadcast live online at www.oua.tv.
