Gryphon Playoff Preview (Feb. 21-25, 2024): Six Gryphon Teams Set to Begin Their Postseason Campaigns

GUELPH, Ont. – From Wednesday, February 21 to Sunday, February 25, 2024, six Gryphon teams will begin their respective postseasons. The Gryphons women’s basketball team, women’s hockey team, women’s volleyball team, and men’s volleyball team will all play their first-round playoff matches while the University of Guelph varsity track & field and nordic skiing teams will compete in their respective OUA championships.

For live updates on all the action from the Guelph Gryphons varsity teams competing this week, head to twitter.com/guelph_gryphons.
 

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

OUA Women’s Hockey Quarterfinals
Guelph Gryphons (No. 1-seed in OUA West) vs Windsor Lancers (No. 4-seed in OUA West)
Game 1: Wednesday, February 21 – 7:30pm (Windsor @ Guelph) | Gryphon Centre | Tickets | Live Stream
Game 2: Friday, February 23, 2024 – 7:30pm (Guelph @ Windsor) | Capri Pizzeria Complex | Tickets | Live Stream
Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday, February 25, 2024 – 7:30pm (Windsor @ Guelph) | Gryphon Centre | Tickets | Live Stream

The U SPORTS No.3-ranked Gryphons women’s hockey team begins their quest for an eighth OUA banner in program history as they face off in a best-of-three series with the Windsor Lancers in the quarterfinal round of the McCaw Cup playoffs. As the No. 1-seed in the OUA West Division, the Gryphons receive the advantage of hosting two of the potential three games in the series, and enter the postseason coming off of a historical season which saw the 2023-24 edition of the program set a new mark for most wins in a single season. Not only did they produce the best record in the University of Guelph women’s hockey history, they beat the previous record by four wins, finishing the regular season with a 24-3-2 record (wins-losses-OT/SO losses). Following the conclusion of the quarterfinal round, the remaining four teams in the OUA women’s hockey playoffs will be re-seeded to determine semifinal matchups. 
 

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

OUA Women’s Basketball Playoffs – Preliminary Round
Guelph Gryphons (No. 7-seed) vs Windsor Lancers (No. 10-seed)
Wednesday, February 21, 2024 – 6pm | Tickets | Live Stream 
Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre | Guelph, ON

The Guelph Gryphons women’s basketball team (15-7) hosts the Windsor Lancers (11-11) this Wednesday (Feb. 21) in the opening round of OUA women’s baskteball playoffs. The Gryphons and Lancers met twice during the regular season, splitting games with the home team earning the victory in both. For the Gryphons, they will be looking to advance to the OUA quarterfinal round for the third consecutive season. Barring any unforeseen upsets in the opening round, a win for the Gryphons on Wednesday night would see the team head to Kingston to take on the OUA’s No. 2-seeded Queen’s Gaels. 
 

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

OUA Women’s Volleyball Quarterfinals
Guelph Gryphons (No. 6-seed) @ McMaster Marauders (No. 3-seed)
Saturday, February 24, 2024 – 6pm | Tickets | Live Stream
Burridge Gymnasium | Hamilton, ON

Saturday night (6pm – Feb. 24) the Gryphons women’s volleyball team will head to Hamilton for an OUA quarterfinal matchup with the McMaster Marauders. The Gryphons earned a spot in this year’s OUA women’s volleyball playoffs after posting a 12-8 record during the regular season to finish in 6th-place in the 14-team OUA conference standings. The Gryphons (12-8) will now travel to Hamilton to face a tough opponent in the Marauders (15-5), with McMaster already having earned an automatic berth to nationals as hosts of the 2024 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championships. The Gryphons dropped both of their head-to-head meetings with McMaster during the regular season, but will look to pull off the upset Saturday night at Burridge Gymnasium and advance to the OUA semifinal round for the first time since the 2019-20 season. 
 

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

OUA Men’s Volleyball Quarterfinals
Guelph Gryphons (No. 4-seed) vs Windsor Lancers (No. 5-seed)
Saturday, February 24, 2024 – 7pm | Tickets | Live Stream
Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre | Guelph, ON

The U SPORTS No. 10-ranked Guelph Gryphons men’s volleyball team begins their 2024 postseason journey this Saturday (Feb. 24), looking to cap off a record-setting season with a run through the OUA playoffs. This past Saturday (Feb. 17), the Grypons earned their 15th win of the regular season, setting a new program record for victories in a single season. The Gryphons finished the regular season in 4th-place in the conference standings, earning the right to host an OUA quarterfinal matchup. The Gryphons will host the Windsor Lancers, a team they faced twice this season and split their two-game set with by way of a 3-2 loss followed by a 3-1 win. A win on Saturday night would mark the Gryphons first appearance in the OUA semifinal round since the 2019-20 season. 
 

TRACK & FIELD

2024 OUA Track & Field Championships
Friday, February 23 – Saturday, February 24, 2024
Dennis Fairall Fieldhouse | Windsor, ON (hosted by the University of Windsor)
Live Stream  | Schedule | Live Results (TBD)

This weekend, the U SPORTS No. 1 & 2-ranked Gryphons men’s and women’s track & field teams will look to sweep the OUA banners for a seventh consecutive season when they take to the track at the Dennis Fairall Fieldhouse in Windsor, Ontario. The U of G women are hoping to bring home an 8th consecutive OUA title, and 11th OUA title in program history. The Gryphon men are looking for a seventh straight conference title, and 9th OUA banner in program history. Action from Windsor begins at 10am on Friday (Feb. 23) with the first event of the tournament, the men’s weight throw. 
 

NORDIC SKIING

2024 OUA Nordic Skiing Championships
Friday, February 23 – Sunday, February 25, 2024
Lappe Ski Centre | Thunder Bay, ON (hosted by Lakehead University)
Schedule

The Gryphon varsity nordic skiing team heads to Thunder Bay for the 2024 OUA Nordic Skiing Championships this weekend looking to improve upon their 2023 results. The Gryphons women’s team will be led by third-year human kinetics major Julia Shannon who led the way for the Gryphons at the 2023 conference championships. On the men’s side, Oro Medonte native Alec MacLean looks to spearhead the Gryphon effort after a Top 10 finish at last year’s provincial championships.