LONDON, Ont. - Tamara Bell (Guelph, Ont.) provided two goals and Chelsey Roy (Bathurst, NB) made 31 saves as the Guelph Gryphons improved their record to 2-0 Sunday afternoon with a 3-2 victory over the Western Mustangs (0-2-0-0).
Coming off a home opening loss on Saturday to Brock, Western looked determined in the game's opening stages, forcing Roy to come up big as Guelph battled to clear their own zone.
Western netminder Jessica Ulrich (Keswick, Ont.) came up big early, turning away Guelph's Erin Small (Pickering, Ont.) on a penalty shot at 9:11 of the opening period.
Kailey Hooker (Mississauga, Ont.) put Western on the board with a seeing-eye shot that found it's way through a maze of legs and in through a Guelph netminder that didn't see the initial release.
However, the 2008 Ontario finalists would answer 16 seconds later as skilled forward Tamara Bell banged a Jessica Zerafa (Mississauga, Ont.) feed home past Stangs netminder Jessica Ulrich (Keswick, Ont.) for her first of two on the afternoon.
Just as the Western Mustang men performed on Saturday night, the women too would be outdueled in the second frame as Guelph outshot Western 15-6 and Patricia Rose Harris (Colborne, Ont.) walked out of the corner unchallenged, beating Ulrich low for her first goal of the new campaign.
The Mustangs pressed early in the third period as a string of Gryphon penalties forced goaltender Chelsey Roy to rise to the occasion, stealing some sure goals from the Western attack.
Tamara Bell's second goal of the afternoon at 7:44 effectively killed any momentum the Mustangs had generated as Bell received a nifty cross-ice feed from teammate Erin Small, beating Ulrich with a one-timer.
Sophomore forward Lindsay Gidomski (Mississauga, Ont.) would try and rally the Mustangs late with a powerplay marker at 9:14 but that's all Western would muster as Guelph escaped Thompson Arena with a 3-2 win.
It wasn't exactly the start Paul Cook and his Western Mustangs were looking for but the head coach remains optimistic. "I was impressed with our checking line today, they worked hard and forced Guelph's hand down low in the offensive zone. However, there's a lot of work to be done, our powerplay was ugly early and we didn't establish a puck presence whatsoever." Cook adds that, "as the game wore on, I think the girls got settled and were able to generate some offense with the man advantage, but one for nine isn't cutting it, not against a team like that."
The loss wraps up a disappointing weekend for Mustang hockey as both the men and women dropped two decisions to open the 2009 schedule.
The ladies look to bounce back in a tough contest next Saturday afternoon at Thompson Arena when they host the reigning National finalist Laurier Golden Hawks at 4pm.
WOMEN'S HOCKEY
Guelph 3 At Western 2
Oct 11, 2009 - Thompson Arena
1st Period
1, Western, Hooker 1 (Rellinger, Ouellette), 11:55.
2, Guelph, Bell 2 (Zerafa), 16:11.
Penalties-Karapalidis Uwo (roughing), 1:42; Sollis Gue (hooking), 5:08; Ouellette Uwo (tripping), 5:59; Woods Gue (interference), 8:49; Milton Gue (body checking), 16:32.
2nd Period
3, Guelph, Harris 1 (Van Vlack), 4:24 (pp).
Penalties-Flanagan Uwo (body checking), 1:20; Buck Uwo (high sticking), 3:14; Woods Gue (slashing), 6:20; Harris Gue (hooking), 8:32; Cox Uwo (interference), 14:25; Small Gue (hooking), 16:33; Taylor Gue (roughing), 20:00; Hooker Uwo (cross checking), 20:00.
3rd Period
4, Guelph, Bell 3 (Small, D'Angelo), 7:44.
5, Western, Gidomski 1 (Seedhouse, Hooker), 9:14 (pp).
Penalties-Hewer Gue (body checking), 7:49; Corbett Gue (tripping), 8:48; Hooker Uwo (high sticking), 11:00; D'Angelo Gue (roughing), 14:03.
Shots on Goal 1 2 3 T
Guelph 14 15 13 42
Western 10 6 17 33
Scoring By Period 1 2 3 T
Guelph 1 1 1 3
Western 1 0 1 2
Power Play Opportunities
Guelph 1 of 6
Western 1 of 9
Goalies
Guelph, Roy 2-0-0-0 (33 shots-31 saves)
Western, Ulrich 0-2-0-0 (42 shots-39 saves)
