Four first-period goals led the Guelph Gryphons men's hockey team to a 6-2 victory over the York University Lions at Gryphon Centre Arena on Thursday night.
 
The Gryphons scored three times in the opening half of the first period, forcing Mack Shields from the net in favour of Alex Fotinos. Zach McFadden tallied first at 7:35 and then Todd Winder added two quick goals at 8:45 and 10:24 for a commanding 3-0 lead they would not relinquish.
 
Tryg Strand added another for the home squad at 12:37 for a 4-0 Guelph advantage after the first period.
 
The Lions got on the board first in the second period when Daniel Nikandrov scored his first of the season on the power play at 9:16, but the Gryphons retook their four-goal lead late in the period on a goal by Scott Simmonds. They added another off the stick of J.P. Villeneuve with 31 seconds remaining in the frame and Guelph led 5-1 after 40 minutes.
 
A short-handed tally by Colton Vannucci at 12:36 of the third period rounded out the scoring.
 
The win clinched top spot in the OUA West Division for the Gryphons, who improved to 20-6-1 with one game remaining this season. The Lions dropped to 16-10-1 and sit third in the division, two points back of second-place Ryerson with one game left. The Lions will finish no worse than third in the standings as they hold the tiebreaker over Laurier and Western, who are both two points back.
 
The Lions will wrap up the regular season on Saturday night when they return home to Canlan Ice Sports for a contest against the Toronto Varsity Blues. Puck drop is set for 7pm, just after a ceremony to honour the team's eight graduating players.