Men's Voyageurs clip Guelph Gryphons 4-1

The Laurentian Voyageurs men's hockey team was able to shake off a tough loss the previous night to beat the visiting Guelph Gryphons at Countryside Arena on Saturday night.

Relying on strong defensive play and great goaltending, the Voyageurs made the most of their sparse offensive opportunities to down the Gryphons 4-1.

The Voyageurs staved off some early Gryphon pressure as Alain Valiquette turned aside everything fired in his direction, allowing the offence to get their feet underneath them.

The Voyageurs broke through with just over five minutes remaining in the first period as Marc-Alain Begin fed a pinching Caleb Apperson, who fired the puck past the Gryphon net minder, Sudbury native Chris McDougall.

Begin went down with an injury on the play after being hit while making the pass and he didn't return.

Four minutes later, on the power play, Brian Nanne tipped home a Vincent Llorca point shot and the Voyageurs had a 2-0 lead heading into the break.

The Gryphons came out in the second trying to find a way back into the game, and despite four power-play opportunities, they could not solve Valiquette. The Voyageurs didn't do any better, getting only four shots on net in the period as they headed to the intermission with their two-goal lead intact.

The third period saw the Voyageurs sustain much of the offensive pressure, but it was the Gryphons who would tally first in the frame, cutting the lead to 2-1.

Nanne answered for the Voyageurs just over a minute later as he picked up a Guelph turnover and buried a shorthanded marker. Peterborough's Dylan Fitze rounded out the scoring as he ripped a shot off the post and in with just 33 seconds left on the clock.

The win moves the Voyageurs mark to 5-12, good for eighth in the OUA East, just three points back of sixth. The Voyageurs head to Quebec on Friday to take on Concordia before taking on Trois-Rivières on Saturday.

Follow the Laurentian Voyageurs at www.luvoyageurs.com.