The Varsity Blues men’s ice hockey team started the new year with a bang in a 7–6 overtime win against the Guelph Gryphons at Varsity Arena on November 14, 2025. The atmosphere was filled with angst, as the game’s unfolding seemed reminiscent of the two teams’ last match-up, where the Blues experienced a 5–6 shootout loss at home.
Blues forward Sean Clarke buried the overtime winner to nab a much-needed win to keep themselves in contention for the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs, as they currently sit fifth out of 10 in the standings with a 9–8 record, good for the last postseason slot in the Western Division.
What happened?
The Blues’ offence got off to an early start, drawing a hooking penalty in the first 27 seconds of play. The home team capitalized on the man-advantage as defence Mark Cooper sniped a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle, finding forward Dylan Wightman for a tipped-in rebound goal, giving the Blues a 1–0 lead.
Despite taking less control of the offensive zone, the Gryphons made every chance count. Guelph forward Cole Craft seized the puck from Blues forward Justin Barker, and tied the game at 1–1. The two teams traded shots for the remainder of the period, with the Blues piling on more shots on goal, but failed to convert, as Guelph goalie Olivier Ciarlo stifled their chances.
Odd-man rushes became a point of emphasis for the Blues’ offence, as they banked on speed to create scoring opportunities. Forward Ryan Evenhuis fed the puck to the trailing forward Ryan Watt, as the latter drilled the Blues’ second goal of the night, bringing the score to 2–1. Cooper would then notch his second assist for the night as he slid the puck to the positioned forward Eddie Yan for another Blues’ goal, extending their lead to 3–1.
While the Gryphons managed to bring the score to 3–2 and trim down the deficit to one courtesy of defence Dillon Stiles’ goal, the momentum remained on the Blues’ side as their shotmaking abilities were on full display. Forward Rylee Hlusiak rifled the puck past Ciarlo’s shoulder before forward Zack Smith netted another improbable goal against the goalie’s tight guard, to give the Blues a comfortable 5–2 cushion. The series of goals from the Blues forced a netminder substitution for Guelph, as Cal Schell anchored the crease for the rest of the game.
The third period saw the Gryphons chip their way back onto the scoreboard as forward Dylan Hudon snatched the puck and went on a breakaway, giving it off to forward Nolan Dann to score his first goal of the night. Dann would return the favour less than a minute later as he assisted in Hudon’s goal, which cut the Blues’ lead to one with a score of 5–4.
A two-minute penalty for Clarke awarded Guelph with a powerplay, which they made no mistake. Dann nailed the equalizer, tying the score at 5–5 and putting pressure on the Blues as they were looking at another potential comeback loss. However, Blues forward Cooper Way answered back with less than nine minutes left, with a goal off forward Owen Hollingsworth’s assist, handing the Blues back the lead and bringing the score to 6–5.
With about a minute and a half left in regulation, the Gryphons’ gamble to pull their goalie for another attacker paid off, as defence Nathan Allensen delivered a game-tying goal from the top of the slot off seamless puck movement to force overtime with a 6–6 score.
While Guelph got the better of chances in overtime, Clarke ultimately came up with the game-winning goal off Way’s assist, earning the Blues a 7–6 win on their 2026 opener.
What’s next?
The Blues continued the second half of their season against the Waterloo Warriors on January 8, where they earned a 4–3 shootout win. They next faced their cross-town rivals, the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold on January 10 and earned a 2–0 win at Mattamy Athletic Centre.
“I just have full confidence in our group, and we’ve been through adversity going up into the third period. Going up with a good lead felt nice, but Guelph rallied back. But we had full confidence in our group that we could close this out,” Clarke said in a post-game interview with The Varsity.
“For the next game, [we just have to make] sure we play the full 60 minutes. We had a very, very good first and second period, and unfortunately, we let them come back in the third period; credit to them. But, we just have to make sure that we play the last period as hard as the first two.” Sean Clarke responded when asked about the team’s adjustments heading into their next games.
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