GUELPH, Ont. – For the first time in just over two months, Gryphon varsity sports are set to return to action at the University of Guelph.
Beginning on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, Ontario University Athletics varsity programs from across the province will return to play after a lengthy layoff due to the pandemic. Back on
December 17, 2021, the OUA announced it would be pausing collegiate sports. As a result, a University of Guelph varsity team has not competed in intercollegiate action since early December (when the Gryphons men's hockey team picked up a 2-1 road win over the Laurier Golden Hawks on December 2, followed by the Gryphon track and field team competing at the York Christmas Classic on December 4). Now, just over two months later, collegiate athletics are finally set to resume in Ontario, with the first Guelph Gryphon varsity games set to take place on Thursday, February 10 when the Gryphons men's and women's volleyball teams host the Waterloo Warriors. Additional information and updated schedules for Guelph Gryphons hockey, basketball and volleyball can be found below.
Men's Hockey 2021-22 Schedule
Women's Hockey 2021-22 Schedule
Men's Basketball 2021-22 Schedule
Women's Basketball 2021-22 Schedule
Men's Volleyball 2021-22 Schedule
Women's Volleyball 2021-22 Schedule
Tickets, Capacity and General Information for Gryphon Fans
- Tickets for Gryphon hockey, basketball and volleyball games are now available online at gryphons.ca/tickets.
- All spectators must be pre-purchase a ticket online, with limited seats available within the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre and Gryphon Centre Arena (maximum 500 fans per venue).
- Spectators will also have to complete the U of G daily screening form before entering the facility.
- All spectators must enter the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre through the Garney Henley entrance located off East Ring Rd. when attending volleyball or basketball games.
- All spectators must sit in their assigned seats.
- All spectators 12 years of age and older must be prepared to show proof of full vaccination status using enhanced vaccine certificate with QR code and government issued ID with name and date of birth upon arrival.
- Medical exemptions and clinical trial exemptions must be verified using a certificate with QR code. Physician notes are no longer accepted.
- Food and drinks are permitted. No drinking or eating unless you are sitting in your designated seat.
- Masks must be worn at all times. Medical masks are encouraged.
First Gryphon Home Games in February 2022 (Basketball, Hockey & Volleyball):
Women's Volleyball - Thursday, Feb. 10 (6pm vs Waterloo)
Men's Volleyball - Thursday, Feb. 10 (8pm vs Waterloo)
Men's Hockey - Saturday, Feb. 12 (7:30pm vs Western)
Women's Hockey - Wednesday, Feb. 23 (7:30pm vs Brock)
Women's Basketball - Friday, Feb. 25 (6pm vs Algoma)
Men's Basketball - Friday, Feb. 25 (8pm vs Algoma)
Total Amount of Regular Season Games Remaining in 2021-22 Regular Season Schedules
Men's Hockey (10 games remaining | 6 home games | 4 away games)
Women's Hockey (6 games remaining | 2 home games | 4 away games)
Men's Basketball (8 games remaining | 4 home games | 4 away games)
Women's Basketball (8 games remaining | 4 home games | 4 away games)
Women's Volleyball (9 games remaining |4 home games | 5 away games)
Men's Volleyball (8 games remaining |4 home games | 4 away games)
Gryphons Men's Hockey
In a typical season, the Gryphons men's hockey team would have played a 28-game regular season schedule. Prior to the start of this season,
that number was reduced to 20 games.
And following this latest re-scheduling of games, that number of games is now 17. The defending OUA champions have 10 games remaining on their 2021-22 regular season schedule, beginning with a Friday night road game (February 11) at Western. During the first half of the season, the Gryphons played seven regular season games and posted a 4-2-1, good for 2nd-place (out of five teams) in the
OUA's Far West Division. However, following a
recent ruling from the OUA regarding a violation of roster rules and regulations, the Gryphons men's hockey team was forced to forfeit three of those wins from earlier in the season, putting their record at 1-5-1 on the season. The good news for the reigning Queen's Cup champions is that they still control their own playoff fate. Although the Gryphons currently sit 5th in the OUA West Far Division, they are just one point back of the 4th-place Laurier Golden Hawks (with the top four teams in the five-team division qualifying for the playoffs). The men's hockey team will also host Laurier in the
12th annual Frosty Mug, which is set for Thursday, February 24 at the Sleeman Centre. The OUA men's hockey playoffs, which feature a single-elimination format this year instead of a traditional two-out-of-three series, get underway March 16. The men's hockey national championship tournament will take place March 31-April 3 at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
Gryphons Women's Hockey
When play finally resumes for the U of G women's hockey team, the Gryphons will be looking to extend a four-game win streak, with the team's last game coming way back on November 27, 2021 (a 1-0 shootout win over Brock).
The Gryphons have impressed so far during the 2021-22 season, posting a 6-1-1 record (their 15 points tying them with the Waterloo Warriors for the most in the OUA West Division). Six games now remain for the Gryphons women's hockey team, beginning with back-to-back road games in Windsor on February 11 and 12. The next time the Gryphons women's hockey team will play on home ice is on Wednesday, February 23 when they host Brock, marking nearly three months (or 88 days to be exact) between home games for the Gryphons. The OUA women's hockey playoffs, which feature a single-elimination format this year instead of a traditional two-out-of-three series, get underway March 9. The women's hockey national championships will take place March 24-27 in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Gryphons Men's & Women's Basketball
The Gryphons men's and women's basketball teams each have eight games remaining on their regular season schedule.
Each team has already played six regular season games prior to the Christmas break, meaning the total number of regular season games played for the 2021-22 season will be 14 (down from the 16-game format initially scheduled prior to the season). In a typical year, the OUA regular season basketball schedule adopts a 22-game regular season format.
In the eight games remaining this season, both Gryphon basketball teams will be fighting for playoff positioning, with the OUA basketball playoffs set to tip off on March 16. The Gryphons women's basketball team boasts a 3-3 record to this point in the season having split their first six games prior to Christmas. The Gryphon women return to play with a road trip to Lakehead (1-7) before returning to the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre on February 25 and 26 for a pair of games versus Algoma (0-6).
The Gryphons men's basketball team currently sit at 1-5 on the season, with four of those five losses coming by the finest of margins (including a pair of two-point losses to Windsor and McMaster). The Gryphons have made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, and will be looking to extend that streak to three seasons in a row as they battle for playoff positioning in the crowded OUA West Division during this final eight-game stretch in February and March.
Gryphons Men's & Women's Volleyball
So far, during the 2021-22 OUA regular season, the Guelph Gryphons men's volleyball team has played on their home court just twice.
The Gryphons women's volleyball team has done so once. Fortunately, both teams will get four more home games before the 2021-22 regular season comes to an end, with a volleyball doubleheader versus Waterloo set for Thursday, February 10. Both Gryphon volleyball teams will be looking to get into the win column after slow starts to the first half of their regular seasons, with the Gryphon women having played in just four matches prior to the break, and the men playing in just five. The OUA volleyball playoffs get underway on March 9, with the OUA volleyball championship final set for March 19.
