WATERLOO, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons men's hockey team opened up their 2026 Queen's Cup playoffs with a 2-1 road win on Wednesday night (Feb. 18) in Waterloo against the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks. With the win, the Gryphons (seeded No. 5 in the OUA West) take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series over the No. 4-seeded Golden Hawks, with the series now set to shift back to the Gryphon Centre Arena on Saturday night (Feb. 21).
Reaching the OUA playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season, the Gryphons were able to overcome an early 1-0 deficit after Laurier scored 6:32 into the opening period of play. But a familiar face rose to the occasion for the Gryphons, with second-year forward,
Nolan Dann (Cambridge, ON), tying the game up at 1-1 late in the 1st period of play. For Dann, the playoff goal marks a continuation of his fine form during the regular season, where he finished tied for the OUA lead in scoring with 40 points (13 goals, 27 assists) in 25 games played. Early in the 2nd period, the Gryphons would take the 2-1 lead, as forward
Justin Barker (Calgary, AB) found himself alone in the slot and fired home a shot low, glove-side past Laurier goalie Andrew Ness to give the Gryphons the lead. It would prove to be the game-winner, with Guelph holding on the rest of the way, thanks in large part to the play of their standout freshman netminder.
Olivier Ciarlo (Laval, QC), who has put together a sensational rookie campaign with the Gryphons, was once again a difference maker in net. With their goalie pulled and an extra skater on the ice late, the Golden Hawks were pushing for the tying goal to send the game to overtime. With under a minute remaining in regulation, Laurier forward Kallaway Mercer was set up with a one-timer from the left faceoff dot, but
Olivier Ciarlo came sliding across and reaching up with his glove hand to make the save and end any hopes of a Laurier comeback.
Just one point separated the Gryphons and Golden Hawks during the 28-game regular season, with Laurier finishing with 35 points (15-8-5 record, 4th in the OUA West), while Guelph finished with 34 points (15-9-4 record, 5th in the OUA West). The Gryphons will now return to their home ice on Saturday night with a chance to close out the best-of-three series. Puck drop for Game 2 is set for Saturday, Feb. 21 at 7:30pm at the Gryphon Centre Arena. Tickets for the game are available at
gryphons.ca/tickets, with the game broadcast live online at
oua.tv. Game 3, if necessary, would take place back in Waterloo at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 6:30pm.
