Gryphon Playoff Preview (Feb. 28-March 3, 2024): Three Gryphon Varsity Teams Continue Their Postseason Journey’s This Week

GUELPH, Ont. – From Wednesday, February 28 to Sunday, March 3, 2024 three Gryphon varsity teams will continue their postseason campaigns, with two remaining in conference play while one gets set to compete in their respective national championship. The Gryphon women’s hockey and men’s volleyball teams kick off the semifinal round of the OUA playoffs this week while the University of Guelph wrestling team takes part in the 2024 U SPORTS Wrestling Championships in their home gym. 

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 Semifinals
Guelph Gryphons (No. 1-seed in OUA West) vs University of Toronto Varsity Blues (No. 2-seed in OUA East)
Game 1: Wednesday, February 28 – 7:30pm (Toronto @ Guelph) | Gryphon Centre | Tickets | Live Stream
Game 2: Friday, March 1, 2024 – 7pm (Guelph @ Toronto) | Varsity Arena | Tickets | Live Stream
Game 3: (if necessary) Sunday, March 3, 2024 – 2:30pm (Toronto @ Guelph) | Gryphon Centre | Tickets | Live Stream

Following a dominant quarterfinal sweep of the Windsor Lancers, all that stands between the U SPORTS No. 3-ranked Guelph Gryphons women’s hockey team and a McCaw Cup championship berth is the U of T Varsity Blues. The Varsity Blues earned the right to take on the Gryphons following a 2-games-to-1 series win over the Queen’s Gaels, which saw the Varsity Blues rebound with two straight wins after dropping the opening game of the series. Toronto needed double-overtime in Game 2 to keep their season alive, but won convincingly (6-1) in Game 3 to close out the series. The two teams are no strangers to each other in the postseason, with the Varsity Blues having ended the Gryphons 2022-23 season in the semifinal round with a 2-1 series win. Unlike last season, the Gryphons enter Wednesday’s Game 1 (Feb. 28) as the clear favourite having captured the best record in the conference while the Varsity Blues finished the season as the No. 2-seed in the OUA West. This year Guelph and Toronto met twice in the regular season, with both meetings coming in the first month of OUA women’s hockey action. In their first meeting, the Varsity Blues were able to edge out the Gryphons with a 2-1 shootout victory at the Gryphon Centre before the Gryphons earned a 1-0 shutout win in Toronto. Also on the line, is a 2024 U SPORTS National Championship berth, with the top two teams in the OUA gaining entrance to the national championship tournament, which is being hosted by the University of Saskatchewan Huskies from March 14-17 in Saskatoon. 
 

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

OUA Men’s Volleyball Semifinals
Guelph Gryphons (No. 4-seed) vs McMaster Marauders (No. 1-seed)
Friday, March 1, 2024 – 7pm | Tickets | Live Stream
Burridge Gymnasium, Hamilton, ON

This Friday (March 1) the Guelph Gryphons men’s volleyball team will make the short trip down Highway 6 to the campus of McMaster University for a semifinal matchup against the top-seeded team in the OUA, the McMaster Marauders. The Gryphons captured a semifinal berth Saturday night on their home court with a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Windsor Lancers which saw the U of G team comeback from 1-0 and 2-1 to earn their first playoff victory since the 2019-20 season. They will face off with a Marauders team that comfortably advanced to the semifinals with a 3-0 sweep of the Nipissing Lakers in their quarterfinal match. In their two meetings this season, which took place at the GGAC back in December, the Marauders earned 3-0 victories in both. Since then, the Gryphons have posted a 9-3 record with their only losses coming to the No. 2-seeded Queen’s Gaels and the Windsor Lancers, who the U of G team just eliminated from playoff contention. For the Gryphons to pull off the upset of the No, 3-ranked team in the nation, they will undoubtedly need to slow down Brendan Mills, the conferences leading scorer with 333 points this season. The Gryphons will also need another big performance from Jonathan Pickett, who totaled 21.5 points last weekend and ranks just behind Mills with 312.5 points this season. If the Gryphons are able to leave Hamilton with the win it would be their first Forsyth Cup appearance since 2019-20.
 

WRESTLING

2024 U SPORTS Wrestling Championships
Saturday, March 2, 2024 | Tickets | Live Stream
Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre | Guelph Ontario

Tournament Page

For the first time since 1999 the Guelph Gryphons wrestling teams will not be traveling to the U SPORTS Wrestling Championships, with the University of Guelph serving as hosts of the 2024 edition of the national tournament. This Saturday (Mar. 2) 14 Gryphon student-athletes, which include 8 OUA medalists, will take to the mats at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre in the hopes of earning a podium on the national stage. One Gryphon will be hoping to repeat as a U SPORTS medalist in second-year U of G wrestler Kelyn Young, who was the lone Guelph medalist at last season’s national championship, earning bronze in the women’s 50kg weight class.

Championship Schedule (Saturday, March 2, 2024)

9am – 12pm: Competition Rd. 1
12pm – 1pm: Break
1pm – 3pm: Competition Rd. 2
3pm – 5pm: Medal Rounds

Gryphon Wreslters Competing at the 2024 U SPORTS Championships

WOMEN
Kelyn Young – 50kg
Brooklyn Glasgow – 53kg
Jayden Sparks – 56kg
Charlotte Gregus – 59kg
Lauren Chew – 65kg
Rebecca Redlich – 68kg
Mary Adarkwa – 76kg
Logan Stimson – 83kg

MEN
Tristan Cako – 57kg
Cooper Feke – 61kg
Brennan Laplante-Brady – 72kg
Caius Harbridge – 76kg
Austin Murphy – 82kg
Mitchel Schechinger – 125kg