WATERLOO, Ont. - The Guelph Gryphons defeated the Laurier Golden Hawks 2-1 on Wednesday night to open their first-round series in the OUA Queen's Cup playoffs.
Laurier struck first at 6:32 of the opening period. Tyler Hunt fed Kallaway Mercer in stride, and Mercer finished high glove side for his first of the post-season. Luke Della Croce also drew an assist on the play as the Golden Hawks capitalized on one of their seven first-period shots.
Mercer stayed red hot with his third goal against the Gryphons in the past two games, having netted a pair - including the OT game-winner - on Saturday night to give Laurier home ice advantage in the series.
Despite the early lead, Laurier was outshot 16-7 in the frame, with rookie Andrew Ness turning aside 15 shots to keep the Gryphons at bay.
Guelph broke through with just 1:11 left in the frame though when Nolan Dann buried a chance through traffic off feeds from Jack Wismer and Dylan Hudon, sending the teams to the intermission tied 1-1.
The Gryphons carried momentum into the second, out-shooting Laurier 21-6 in the period with Justin Barker netting the eventual winner at 2:51, finishing a setup from Kaeden Johnston and Giordano Biondi.
Ness was a key factor throughout for Laurier staying within reach, making 45 saves on 47 shots in defeat.
At the other end, Olivier Ciarlo stopped 24 of 25 shots including a pair of key saves as Laurier made a push for the equalizer in the final ten minutes of regulations.
The Golden Hawks did not have a power play opportunity on the night while Guelph went 0-for-2.
With the Gryphons taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series, the must-win game two is scheduled for Saturday at the Gryphon Centre Arena in Guelph.
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. with fans able to follow the action on X at @WLUAthletics or on OUA.tv
Game three isset for 6:30 p.m. back at the Waterloo Memorial Rec Complex on Sunday.
