GUELPH, Ont. - On Thursday night (Feb. 8) at the Gryphons Centre, the University of Guelph's men's hockey team saw their 2023-24 season come to an end with a 9-5 loss to the Western Mustangs in the 7th edition of the annual 'Aggies Night' game, proudly presented by Syngenta Canada Inc. After a tightly-contested first period, the visiting Mustangs scored four goals to close out the second en route to a 9-5 victory that saw the visiting team play spoiler to the Gryphons hopes of qualifying for the OUA West's postseason play-in game. 

Playing in front of an Aggies Night record crowd of 1,250, the two teams combined for plenty of offence, including six goals in the second frame. With plenty of trips to the penalty box by both teams, there was no shortage of entertainment in the game. 

With a spirited crowd full of members of the University of Guelph's Ontario Agricultural College behind them, the Gryphons got off to a strong start, immediately applying the pressure to the visiting team. With just under six minutes remaining in the opening period, the Gryphons offensive pressure would pay off as Jacob Winterton found Anthony Tabak alone in front of the Western net who opened the scoring with a perfectly placed wrist shot. The U of G lead did not last long however, as just 1:42 later the Mustangs were able to strike and send the two teams into the first intermission tied. 

6:40 into the second defenceman Jaxon Camp sent Luke Kutkevicius flying up the right side of the ice for a fast break opportunity. Stopping just above the faceoff circle, Kutkevicius would pull back and find Liam Ham who ripped a wrist shot up and over the blocker of Mustang goaltender Dylan Myskiw to recaptured the Gryphon lead. The goal saw three Gryphon seniors connect for the score, with the trio all being honoured prior to puck drop along with goaltender Brendan Cregan, in their final game in a Gryphon uniform. However the U of G lead was once again short lived as Western sent the game back to a stalemate 57 seconds later.

The Mustangs would then close out the period with four goals in less than five minutes to take a commanding lead heading into the second intermission. 

In the third, with frustrations boiling over as the Mustangs had already been eliminated from playoff contention, the two teams combined for 12 penalties including six 10-minute misconducts. A Western goal 4:31 into the third to give the visiting team a 7-2 lead, would eventually lead to the Gryphons pulling the goalie. Despite goals from Griffin Wilson and Nolan DeGurse in the late stages of the third, a pair of empty net scores eventually led to the Mustangs leaving Guelph with a 9-5 victory. 

With the loss the Gryphons officially see their 2023-24 season come to a close, finishing the campaign with an 11-16-1 record.