After sweeping the TMU Bold in the quarter-finals, the No. 2 nationally-ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team take on the Guelph Gryphons in a best-of-three OUA semifinal series this week.

Series Schedule:
Game 1: Wednesday, March 1 | Guelph at Toronto | 7:00 p.m. | Varsity Arena
Game 2: Saturday, March 4 | Toronto at Guelph | 2:30 p.m. | Gryphon Centre Arena
*Game 3: Sunday, March 5 | Guelph at Toronto | 4:00 p.m. | Varsity Arena
(*if necessary)

Tickets will be available at the gate, starting one hour prior to puck drop. 

"The first round was very close and exciting and a battle from start to finish," said Varsity Blues head coach Vicky Sunohara. "It's playoff hockey, we knew TMU would come out strong, it was a great series. We are looking forward to playing Guelph, we have had competitive games with them in the past and this series will be no different."

THE STAKES: The winner of the series will not only advance to the McCaw Cup against the winner of Nipissing/Waterloo, they will also book their ticket to Montreal, as the top two teams from the OUA advance to the 2023 U SPORTS national championship, March 16-19.

A HEAD-TO-HEAD LOOK: The Blues set a program record for most regular season wins, finishing with a 23-2-2 record, atop the OUA East standings with 70 points. The Guelph Gryphons finished second in the West with a 18-4-3-2 record.

U of T and Guelph faced off twice in the regular season, splitting the season series 1-1. The Gryphons beat the Blues 1-0 early in the season on Nov. 12. The Blues would then take the second game in a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind overtime victory on Feb. 1. 
 
This will be the fifth time the two teams have faced off in the OUA playoffs. While the Gryphons have a 5-3 record against the Blues in the playoffs, U of T won the most recent playoff matchup, sweeping Guelph in the quarter-finals in the 2019-20 season. 

Nikki McDonald and Natasha Athansakos have led the Blues offensively. McDonald notched a team-high 11 goals and 24 points, while Athanasakos led U of T with 18 assists and ranked second with 22 points.

Since returning from injury, veterans Taylor Trussler and Céline Frappier have also made a huge impact. Trussler scored 10 goals and added five assists for 15 points in 14 games, while Frappier has notched 10 points in 14 games for the Blues.
 
Continuing her dominance from the regular season, Athanasakos leads the Blues with three points after the opening round. Rookie forward Kaitlyn McKnight also recorded a team high two goals in the quarter-finals.

While Toronto ranked second in the league in offence with 84 goals, they co-led the nation with a mere 34 goals allowed. That is in large part due to the dynamic goaltending duo of Madeline Albert and Erica Fryer.

Albert led the OUA with a 1.07 goals against average and .948 save percentage, going 12-0-1 and recording five shut outs in 13 starts this season. Similarly, Fryer ranked second in the province with a 1.39 goals against average and third with a .936 save percentage, going 10-2-1 in 14 starts.

The Gryphons have some firepower of their own with forward Tori Verbeek finishing eight in the OUA in goals (11) and 10^th in points (22) in the regular season. Jaime Magoffin added 14 assists during the season, leaving her in the top 10 in assists. 
 
Guelph forward Hannah Tait sent the Gryphons to the semifinals with a game-winning goal in quadruple overtime of Game 3 against the Windsor Lancers. 
 
The Blues will look to get past one of the best goalies in the OUA this season in Martina Fredel. The Gryphons goalie went 15-6-1 in 22 starts this season. Fredel ranked first in the province with six shutouts, third with a 1.48 goals against average and eight with a .930 save percentage.