Hockey is a fast sport, but games featuring eleven goals are pretty unusual, that’s what made Thursdays night 6-5 win for the Ryerson Rams over the Guelph Gryphons stand out.
Not only was it a barnburner, but it was also the annual Aggies night for the Gryphons, as they packed their arena with a record-setting crowd of nearly 800 fans and supporters.
Captain matt Mistelle, who started the season injured and took a while to get going on the score sheet had himself quite the night, getting a point on each of the goals and tying a Ram’s record for most points in a single game.
Mistele had a goal and five assists on the night but had more points than Ryerson’s pair who tallied two goals each, that being Cavin Leth and Matthew Santos. Leth especially has been in very good form as of late and has tallied three times in the last two games. The explosion of Mistele and the consistent output from Santos brings them neck in neck at the top of the Ram’s points leader board with 18 points apiece.
On the home side, Todd Winder scored three goals in the Gryphons valiant effort, giving him the first Guelph hat trick this season.
With all that scoring you would expect it to be spread out, well it wasn’t- leading to a six-goal first period. The rest of them all came in the second, with none coming in the final frame. The effort from the Gryphons in the final 20 minutes was admirable, but the strong play of Ryerson’s goaltender Garrett Forest did enough to seal the victory for the Torontonians.
After the game, Gryphons head coach Shawn Camp said: “We played well enough to win, but we also played well enough to lose at times, it was just that kind of game tonight.”
It certainly was “just that type of game” with 11 goals scored through two periods and none in the final 20, but that’s hockey for you, things can be crazy.
With the close win, the Rams keep themselves within shouting distance of their downtown foes, the Toronto Varsity Blues for the top of the conference. At this point, the Rams are two points away from putting themselves in the OUA Westy driver’s seat. The Gryphons, on the other hand, find themselves in their familiar position alongside the Brock Badgers, sitting tied for fifth at 17 points.
Ryerson now gets set to take on those aforementioned Brock Badgers on home ice Saturday night, whereas the Gryphons will wrap up their 2019 schedule with a pair of games against the Western Mustangs and Windsor Lancers.