GUELPH, Ont. – A three-goal first period gave the Guelph Gryphons a lead they wouldn't relinquish as they defeated the Western Mustangs 5-1 in the OUA McCaw Cup Final on Saturday afternoon at the Gryphon Centre.
 
The title is Guelph's first OUA women's hockey championship since 1997-98, and is the fourth in school history.  
 
Kaitlin Lowy led all players with two goals on the day, while Christine Grant, Leigh Shilton, and Averi Nooren provided the rest of the offence for the Gryphons. Katelyn Gosling recorded the lone goal for Western, her first of the post-season.
 
A few days after being named OUA MVP, Valerie Lamenta earned the win in the Guelph net, turning aside 14 of the 15 shots sent her way. Kelly Campbell stopped 22 shots in the loss for the Mustangs.
 
Guelph carried the play from the opening faceoff, playing sharp, quick transition hockey that pressured the Mustangs and kept play towards Western's half of the ice. The Gryphons then opened the scoring just past the midway mark of the first period, going up 1-0 thanks to Lowy's first goal of the day.
 
The home side doubled their lead only a minute and a half later, as a great play to keep the line for the Gryphons resulted in a 2-on-1. Grant converted on a sharp cross crease pass from Jessica Pinkerton to make it 2-0.
 
Shilton extended that lead to three goals just under five minutes later, scoring on the power play at 16:24 of the first.
 
The Mustangs drew a penalty shortly after Guelph's third goal, and Gosling's power play marker at 18:47 brought the score back to 3-1.
 
Guelph continued to hold an edge in the second period, with Lowy and Nooren both scoring power play goals to give the Gryphons a 5-1 lead. Lowy's second goal of the game came at 14:18 of the period, while Nooren's tally was at 18:32.
 
The third period featured Guelph slowing the game and forcing the Mustangs to attack them. Chances for both teams were extremely limited. Although Western outshot Guelph 6-4 in the period, the Gryphons came away with a 5-1 win.
 
Western will now get set to defend its national title next week when the Mustangs head to Calgary for the CIS Women's Hockey Championship. The tournament kicks off on March 17 and runs until March 20, check back to westernmustangs.ca on Sunday evening when the full championship schedule is announced.