All eyes are on the men’s and women’s hockey teams as they return after the winter break.
Thankfully their performances last weekend proved they’re ready to come back strong and unbothered by the extended time off. Here’s what both teams were up to over the break, how they’re looking now, and what we can expect from them in the new year.
Men’s Hockey returned with a bang and two wins over the Nipissing Lakers.
In Friday’s game, goalie Luke Richardson made a whopping 37 saves and earned Queen’s Athlete of the Week for his performance. He kept up the same energy on Saturday with 32 more saves, shutting the door in the eventual shootout.
On Wednesday, the men sunk the Ravens on home ice to tally yet another win in the new year. Duncan Campbell, Nolan Hutcheson, and Hayden Fowler each recorded two points in the 6-3 win.
Meanwhile, Women’s Hockey played a stellar game against Laurier on Friday. Alison Reeves scored twice in the win and earned a spot next to Richardson as Queen’s other Athlete of the Week.
The next day, however, they dropped a disappointing 3-2 overtime loss against the Waterloo. Despite the loss, Reeves still had a good game and finished with two assists.
Both the men’s and women’s entered the break struggling.
The men’s season got off to a rough start with a series of five losses, broken up by a single win over Carleton. The Gaels turned these losses into motivation as they fought hard during the three-game winning streak that followed.
Unfortunately, the Gaels soon fell back into a losing pattern and only secured one more win—over uOttawa—in the first half of the season. Their final game of last year resulted in a loss to McGill. As they entered the break, they looked to turn disappointment into motivation once again.
Women’s Hockey has a better record, but also lacks consistency.
The first half of the women’s season was unpredictable, seemingly alternating wins and losses. They dropped their last game before the break 3-2 in overtime against TMU.
Since October, the season has been a battle for both teams. The women are ranked fifth in the province and the men stand significantly lower in the 14th spot. Last weekend, however, both teams showed the work they put in during the break.
Men’s Hockey will play on Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kingston Memorial Center against the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks.
Women’s Hockey will play their next game at home on Friday at 2:30 p.m. against the University of Toronto at the Kingston Memorial Center. They’ll be looking for revenge after narrowly dropping their last matchup against the Varsity Blues 5-4.
Tags
Memorial Centre, Men's hockey, new year, wins, women's hockey
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