KINGSTON, Ont. (October 21, 2009) – The Queen's Gaels will look to put the finishing touches on their second-straight undefeated season on Saturday when they travel to Waterloo to face the Laurier Golden Hawks. 

It would be only the third time in Queen's history that the Gaels would have back-to-back teams finish undefeated in the regular season. They would also become the ninth team in school history to post a perfect regular season mark.

The Gaels, currently ranked No. 2 in Canada, are coming off a thrilling 27-26 victory over the No. 6 Western Mustangs last weekend. The victory ensured that Queen's finishes first in the OUA and gains the all-important first-round bye in the OUA playoffs.

In the game against the Mustangs, the final outcome was determined in the final two minutes of the game. After Western took the lead on a Nathan Riva touchdown run, QB Danny Brannagan of Burlington, Ont., and the Gaels offence responded by marching down the field. With 13 seconds to play, Brannagan connected with Blaise Morrison of Bedford, N.S., on a 30 yard catch-and-run touchdown to clinch the win.

Brannagan was spectacular on the afternoon as he passed for 436 yards and two touchdowns. He also became just the second quarterback to eclipse the 10,000 yard passing mark when he accomplished the feat in the first quarter. Western QB Michael Faulds became the third player to reach the milestone later in the first half.

Also starring for the Gaels on the afternoon was RB Marty Gordon of Kingston, Ont. Gordon ran for 86 yards and two touchdowns, his first multiple-touchdown game of the season.

The Golden Hawks, winners of two straight games, defeated the Guelph Gryphons last Saturday by a score of 21-14. QB Evan Pawliuk, who has been filling in for Luke Thompson after the Hawks starter suffered a season-ending injury, was the catalyst for Laurier. He completed 19 of 33 passes for 251 yards while rushing for another 68 yards and two touchdowns.

A major storyline of this Saturday's game is where Brannagan will finish on the CIS all-time career passing list. Currently, the accounting major sits just 31 yards shy of the all-time record of 10,455 yards. However, with Faulds still within striking distance of the record, it could come down to who has the better game this weekend.

Another sub-plot to this game is the OUA final standings. Although the Gaels have already clinched first in the OUA, they can play spoiler for the Golden Hawks in terms of where they finish in the playoff seedings. A Queen's victory would mean that Laurier could finish as low as fifth in the standings but a Golden Hawks win could mean that they finish as high as second.

Kickoff between the Gaels and the Golden Hawks is scheduled for 1:00 pm at University Stadium in Waterloo.