KINGSTON, Ont. (December 4, 2009) - The No. 7 Gaels lost their second game of the season to the undefeated No. 2 Laurier Golden Hawks 3-0 at the Memorial Arena in Kingston Friday evening.

Both teams were vying for the top spot in the OUA with this critical game, which lead to a heated match-up that saw the Gaels fail to recover from 2 first period goals.

Queen's and Laurier struggled to gain the early offensive momentum in the opening minutes of the game. The Hawks were able to hold off a Gaels' attack in an early power play with several key saves from Hawks keeper Liz Knos. 

It seemed the Gaels' were gaining momentum midway through the first period, with impressive shots from Jess Cone of Winnipeg, Man., and Becky Conroy of Pembroke, Ont. However, it was the Hawks that would get on the board first with a power play goal when Candice Styles deflected a shot from Andrea Ironside into the back of the Gaels' net. The Hawks were able to add to their score with a shorthanded breakaway goal from Caitlin Muirhead with 6 seconds left to play. 

Beginning the period with an extra player, the Gaels came out strong attempting to recover from a two goal deficit, and were given another promising early power play. Despite some good pressure from the Gaels, a strong Hawks defence fended off yet another power play. 

The Gaels were penalized with two penalties halfway through the period, and were forced to play 5-on-3. The Gaels were able to stop the Hawks from adding another goal with strong defence and several important saves from Gaels' keeper Mel Dodd-Moher of Stittsville, Ont. The Gaels finished the end of the second period with an offensive push to attempt to narrow the gap going into the third period.

The third period saw the pace of the game slow as the Hawks set back on their two goal lead by playing a defensive game. Kristin Smith, of Toronto, Ont., had the Gaels best chance to narrow the lead with a bullet shot that was gloved by the Gaels keeper early in the period. The Gaels spent the rest of the period attempting to penetrate the Hawk's defense. 

With seven minutes remaining, Muirhead added her second of the game for Laurier after converting a pass from behind the net by Abby Rainsberry. 

The Gaels had a final push from the entire team in the final minutes of play, including a close opportunity crashing the net that was just saved by Knox.

Going into the game the Hawks and Gaels were first and second in the OUA respectively, with the Gaels coming off a 4 game win-streak since losing to the Hawks earlier this month. The loss drops the Gaels record to 10-3-1.

The Gaels next game is against the Waterloo Warriors at the Memorial Centre Saturday afternoon at 2:30.