Queen’s sweeps their way into the semis after taking down both Montreal universities.
On Feb. 25 and 27, the Queen’s Men’s hockey team took on the number-one-ranked team in the country, Concordia Stingers, in the quarterfinals, after upsetting the McGill Redbirds in the first round of the OUA playoffs. A best-of-three series, which started on the road and then had two subsequent games at the Memorial Centre.
Game one was a tight, spirited playoff-style game, filled with hard defence and tough contact as every inch was earned on both sides of the ice. Emotions were only brewing as the game grew, and after the whistle, scrums became commonplace. With the period coming to an end, it looked like it would end in a draw until the Stingers defensive zone turnover ended up on the stick of Gaels forward Aidan Castle, ArtSci ’29, slipping pass to forward Sam Marburg, ArtSci ’27, who found himself all alone with the Stingers goaltender and fired a shot past him, giving the Gaels a 1-0 lead.
Period two started with a push from the Stingers, seeking vengeance after the late goal by the Gaels. From this push, then they would score just 2:21 in the period, tying up the game. The physical play would continue in the second period, only getting more chippy with the growing stakes of the game. Both teams would limit each other to just single-digit shots in the period, and just like the first period, when you thought the period would end tied. Defenceman Ian Lemieux, ArtSci ’27, would score off a 4-on-4 scramble draw in the offensive zone, giving the Gaels their second lead of the night entering the final period.
The third period continued to be a back-and-forth affair with little sustained pressure from both teams. The Gaels would get the ultra-important next goal, off a turnover by Sebbie Johnson who would shoot it off the Stingers defender, then ricochet off Gaels forward Nolan Hutcheson, ArtSci ’26, streaking to the net and miraculously fly over the Stingers goalie and into the net. The circus goal would give the Gaels a 3-1 lead with just over 14 minutes left in the game. A powerplay goal by the Stingers would cut the deficit to just 1 with 7:22 left on the clock. The Gaels would hold on and take a 1-0 series lead.
In game two, the Stingers came out flying, as the Gaels would be outshot heavily in the first, a trend that would continue for the entire game. Despite the high shot total, Gaels goaltender Tanner Wickware, MIR ’26, stood tall as his team limited the Stingers high danger scoring chances. The Gaels would surrender the first goal, however, after a turnover at the Gaels’ blue line led to a high-numbered offensive attack for the Stingers, who capitalized on the opportunity.
In the second period, Concordia had an early power play, which was well defended by Queen’s, who used the momentum to put the pressure back on the Stingers and lead to the Gaels first goal of the night. A great pass from behind the net by Ante Zlomislic, Sci ’28, to Michael Renwick, ArtSci ’27, who one-timed past the goalie.
Just three minutes later, the Gaels would take their first lead of the game off the stick of Liam tanner who was found all alone in the slot. The Stingers would put the pressure on facing elimination, but Wickware would have the answer, who certainly has been playing his best hockey of his career for the past two months.
The Gaels would hang on to the lead and take the series in the form of a sweep, knocking off the number one-ranked team in the country. With the win, the Gaels move on to the semi-final where they take on the University of Quebec Trois-Rivières Patriotes in a best-of-three series.
After taking game one, 5-3 on March 4 at the Memorial Centre, the Gaels will travel to Trois-Rivières on March 7 to potentially end the series in another sweep.
Tags
hockey U sports, Memorial Centre, Men's hockey
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