After A Slow Start, Nipissing Storms Back To Upset The Gryphons

Guelph came out flying, scoring four unanswered goals in the opening quarter. Ethan Lee opened the scoring before Brandon Orr made it 2-0. Ethan Brown converted a feed from Carter Mackay, and Mackay added another just 21 seconds later to give the undefeated Gryphons a commanding 4-0 advantage. Nipissing completely changed the momentum in the second quarter, holding Guelph off the scoreboard while Blake Davies, Jack Quinn and Nolan Downey scored to cut the deficit to 4-3 by halftime.

Orr scored his second goal early in the third to briefly restore Guelph’s two-goal lead, but the Lakers answered with three straight. Ben King scored twice, including one assisted by Quinn, before Quinn converted a feed from Davies to give Nipissing its first lead at 6-5. Jared Bettonvil tied the game early in the fourth, but King completed his hat trick and then assisted on Quinn’s third goal to put the Lakers ahead 8-6. John Logue brought Guelph within one at 7:02, but Downey set up Zach Tarr with 4:48 remaining to seal the 9-7 upset. Nipissing scored nine of the final 12 goals, improving to 4-3 while handing Guelph its first loss and dropping the Gryphons to 6-1.

Final score: Nipissing 9, Guelph 7.