GUELPH, Ont. – The No. 7-ranked Gryphons women's hockey team took a big step towards securing top spot in the OUA West Division, winning 5-4 in a shootout over the University of Waterloo Warriors on Saturday night (Feb. 1, 2025) at the Gryphon Centre Arena. A thrilling, back-and-forth affair in Guelph saw the host Gryphons jump out to a 3-0 lead with three goals in the opening nine minutes of play. After the Warriors stormed back to tie the game at 3-3, the Gryphons would re-take the lead on a 3rd period power play goal from senior forward, Chihiro Suzuki, to put Guelph ahead 4-3. But Waterloo's Carly Orth would tie things up at 4-4 at the 18:01 mark of the 3rd period. After overtime solved nothing, the Gryphons and Warriors would head to a shootout for a second consecutive meeting, after also needing a shooting to determine a winner during their matchup in Waterloo back on Sunday, Jan. 26. The Gryphons would get the better of the Warriors in the shootout once again, with standout rookie forward Michelle Gao once again scoring for the Gryphons in the shootout. The Warriors were unable to beat U of G goalie Sophie Helfenstein with any of their three shooters in the shootout, with the Gryphons earning a hard-fought 5-4 victory.
 
Jaydyn Calder, Myriam Parnell and Rachael Brazeau all scored for the Gryphons in the opening period of play. For Brazeau, a rookie from St. Catharines, Ontario, the goal marked the first of her OUA career. Saturday night's game in Guelph also marked 'Senior Night' for the Gryphons women's hockey team, with graduating seniors celebrated prior to the game.
 
With the win, the Gryphons improve to 16-4-2 (wins-losses-OTL/SOL) on the season, while the Warriors fall to 14-2-6. Guelph (47 pts) now sit 2-points ahead of Waterloo (45 pts) for top spot in the OUA West Division standings. The Gryphons (47 pts) also remain on the heels of the Nipissing Lakers (48 pts) for the top overall seed in the entire conference and the right to have home ice advantage throughout the OUA playoffs, including the McCaw Cup (OUA Championship game). The Lakers currently hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with Guelph, with Nipissing having won 3-1 in Guelph back on November 15. The Gryphons have four games remaining in their 26-game OUA regular season schedule, all four of which will come on the road, including a marquee matchup with the Nipissing Lakers in North Bay on February 14. The Gryphons four-game road trip begins with a Friday, February 7 matchup in London against the last-place Western Mustangs (7-14-1). The Gryphons will then close out their regular season schedule at Windsor (Feb. 8), at Nipissing (Feb. 14) and at York (Feb. 15).