KINGSTON, Ont. (November 26, 2011) – The No. 7 Queen's Gaels (8-3-2) faced off against the No. 6 Guelph Gryphons (11-3-1) in a battle of top ten CIS teams on Saturday afternoon at the Memorial Centre in Kingston where the Gryphons took a 4-3 shootout win over the Gaels.
 
In the first period the visiting Gryphons were the first to strike. Kristen Nixon of Durham, Ont. beat the Gaels starting keeper Karissa Savage of Calgary for her second goal of the season. Minutes later the Gaels went to the man advantage but could not find a way to beat Guelph first year starter Stephanie Nehring of Oshawa, Ont.
 
The Gaels outshot the Gryhphons by a 15 to five margin in the first frame, but trailed 1-0 heading into the second period of action.
 
In the second period the Gaels tied the game at 1-1 when Alex Cieslowski of Oakville, Ont. took the puck in front of the Gryhpon's goal and dropped a back handed pass to Brittany McHaffie of Guelph, Ont. Brittany managed to slip the puck through the five hole of Nehring for her second goal of the year. Morgan McHaffie of Guelph, Ont. collected the second assist on the play.
 
Only minutes later the Gaels took a 2-1 lead when team captain Kristin Smith of Toronto intercepted the puck from Guelph and went in on a breakaway. Smith made a right to left move to catch Nehring moving as she slipped the puck through the goalies legs for the goal, her sixth of the season.
 
Later in the period the Gryphons evened up the score on a goal from Jessica Pinkerton of Oshawa, Ont. Pinkerton broke in down the right wing past a Gaels defender and lifted a backhand shot over the shoulder of Savage to make it 2-2.
 
Late in the second the Gryphon's Jacalyn Sollis of West Vancouver, B.C. took an outside shot that was handled easily by Savage, but the defenceman grabbed her own rebound and flipped it up towards the top of the net. Savage managed to get just enough of the puck with her blocker as it sailed over top of the goal.
 
Guelph wasted no time in the third period to take a 3-2 lead. Only 38 seconds into the frame with the two teams playing four on four hockey, Jenna Lanzarotta of Mississauga, Ont. fired a shot from an off angle that snuck past Savage.
 
The Gaels responded later on the power play when Kristin took the puck on the left side boards and fed a pass to the front of the net that Shawna Griffin of Redwood Meadows, Alta. buried to even the game at 3-3.
 
The game headed to overtime where the Gryphons fired the only shots of the extra period with four. Savage stopped them all and forced a shootout.
 
In the shootout the Gryphons scored the lone goal off the stick of Pinkerton who deked Savage from right to left to secure the victory.
 
Savage made 29 saves in a losing effort for the Gaels.
 
Shootout (Guelph shot first)
Guelph                            
Pinkerton – Goal             
Lanzarotta – Missed     
Sollis – Missed             
 
Queen's
M. McHaffie - Missed
B. McHaffie – Stopped
K. Smith - Stopped

 
ICE CHIPS: The Gaels and Gryphons last faced off in Kingston in the 2010-11 OUA Championship game that was won by the Gaels… Queen's forward Morgan McHaffie and Guelph forward Erin Small each had 24 points coming into this afternoon's game to lead the OUA in scoring