Прес-релізи

The Guelph Gryphons got back on the winning track today against an opponent who is no stranger to the Gryphons, the Halifax Eagles. The Gryphons played at home today, will travel to Halifax for Friday and Saturday games before traveling back to Guelph to close out the series on Sunday.

With 11 of the Gryphons' top prospects away at camp some new faces got a chance to show the staff what they are made of. Ian Garnett got the call in the absence of Tim Newton and played very well. The start of the game saw the Gryphons fall behind once more, with Connor O'Reilly scoring on the powerplay due to a Gord Ferdinand penalty. The Gryphons responded the next period with two goals of their own to take the lead 2-1 with Tyler Roach and Ben Morrissey getting the goals. All was well until Rod Esdaille tied the game with just seven minutes left in the game. The look on the Gryphon bench was heart-break. Despite this being a friendly game, the Gryphons wanted to get back on a winning note and get their confidence back.

With only 13 seconds left in the game Roach picked off a blind pass by Yvon Flack and sprung defenceman Lee Nicholson. Nicholson quickly fed Matt Sheringham who buried the one-timer to win the game for the Gryphons. The 934 fans in attendance erupted as they finally had something to cheer about. The Gryphons goal-scorer had this to say after the game:

"You know, sometimes these games are just what the doctor ordered. We had played well all year then last series it just didn't click for us. Rather than point fingers we got back to work today, and overcame some adversity to grab a very important win. The fact that I put the puck in the net is irrelevant, the mood in the dressing room right now is what it is all about" said Sheringham.

After the game, Head Coach Stubbs was asked about his lineup choice. "After the loss to Kitchener we decided to send our core guys away from the team for awhile. Not so much as punishment, but to get them re-focused. We have a great training facility down along the great lakes were we like to do our off-season training. We sent 11 guys there to work on individual aspects of their game and try and get them away from the city and fans. There will be lots of skating and conditioning work, but at the same time, lots of moral building. This has given other guys the opportunity to step up over the next three games as the crew of 11 won't return until Sunday night."

Coach Stubbs went on saying, "Ian Garnett played well today. With Tim's struggles both this year and last year down the stretch, I may turn to Ian to win us a game or two. That being said, nobody's job is safe and I feel strongly that now is as good of time as ever to but relationships aside and play whoever is producing and getting the job done. I was very pleased with the line of Sheringham, Pemberton and Roach stepped up today. They may get a significant role once the 11 veterans return. I have not been impressed with some individual performances from that crew and am seriously considering using the SPR line as a 4th line energy unit. Nothing is set in stone however."

Gryph News will be on temporary shutdown until after the Sunday game pending any breaking news. Stay posted on Sunday for the rest of the series results against the Halifax Eagles as well as a report on the Gryphon's promotion opponent.

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