Gryphon hockey men tripled by Western

LONDON – The Guelph Gryphons surrendered three goals in the second period as they were tripled 6-2 by the Western Mustangs in OUA men’s hockey play at Western’s Thompson Arena Friday night.

The game was the first for the Gryphons since they scored a 2-1 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks at Waterloo Dec. 2.

Western 6 Guelph Gryphons 2

While the Gryphs were away from OUA league play for more than two months, it was an eventful break as they were docked three victories “due to a violation of the OUA Men’s Hockey Rules & Regulations as it pertained to team composition.” The exact violation was not reported.

The forfeitures dropped the Gryphs from second to fifth and last in the Far West division. Top four qualify for the playoffs.

Friday, the Gryphs scored the game’s opening goal and the teams were tied 1-1 at the end of the first period. Western shot ahead 4-2 by the end of the second.

Zach Roberts and Matt Timms scored unassisted goals for the Gryphs.

Franco Sproviero scored two goals for the Mustangs while single goals were added by Michael Boushy, Shane Bulitka, Jake Gravelle and Reed Morison. Sean Montgomery had two assists while single assists were awarded to Andrew Bruder, Gravelle, Kyle Pettit, Boushy, Jack York, Brett Jacklin, Bulitka, Morison and Sproviero.

The Gryphs were outshot 25-20 and were scoreless on five power plays while Western went 1-for-3 on its power play.

There was more drama for the Gryphs in the game when starting goaltender Brendan Cregan was ejected with a gross misconduct for a discriminatory slur with one second to go in the first period. Western’s Sproviero was given a minor penalty for goaltender interference at the same time.

Gabe Mollot-Hill took over the goaltending chores for the rest of the game and was tagged with the loss. He had eight saves while Cregan had made 11 in the first period.

Dylan Myskiw had 18 saves to get the win in net for Western.

The Gryphs and Mustangs are to meet again Saturday at the Gryphon Centre. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Standings

• Guelph Sports Journal