Kingston, Ont. (March 5, 2009) – After upsetting the No. 9 nationally ranked Toronto Varsity Blues on Tuesday evening, the Queen's Gaels will have little rest as they host a goliath of an opponent in the No. 2 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in game #1 of the Ontario University Athletics women's hockey semifinal series on Thursday.

Queen's (14-13-1-0) upended the Varsity Blues in a single game elimination to earn the right to play the Golden Hawks behind a three-goal performance by Amanda Morra of Pickering, Ont. Laurier (26-1-0-0) was the class of the OUA for this season, beginning the season with a 26-game win streak before losing their season finale to the York Lions on the road.

The 2007-08 defending OUA champions feature one of best one-two offensive punches in left wings Andrea Ironside (Collingwood, Ont.) and Kaley Powers (Kingston, Ont.). Both players led the team in goals with 15. They are also the top scoring threats on the Laurier power play, combining for 13 goals with the man-advantage. Ironside was the OUA co-leader in points with 33.

Ironside along with Andrea Bevan of Collingwood, Ont. return to the Laurier line-up after earning a gold medal as part of Team Canada at the 2009 Winter Universiade in Harbin, China – which concluded last Saturday.

Queen's will counter with depth which features a solid line-up of scorers. The trio of Becky Conroy of Pembroke, Ont., Kelsey Thomson of Martintown, Ont., and Elizabeth Kench of Gananoque, Ont., all finished the season in top-10 of the OUA scoring race. Thompson registered 16 goals to lead the Gaels while Conroy posted 14 of her own. Kench the 2006-07 OUA rookie of the Year posted 19 points (4 G, 15 A) in 27 games played.

Laurier captured all three meetings against the Gaels this season with goaltender Liz Knox of Stouville, Ont., earning two shutouts and surrendering a single goal. Melissa John of Unionville, Ont. will backstop Queen's having made 564 stops in the regular season as well as an outstanding 38 in Tuesday's playoff victory.

Queen's will host the opening game of the best-of-three series starting at 7:00pm on Thursday at the Kingston Memorial Centre. Tickets can be purchased by calling 613.533.2500 or at the door.

Game two and three (if necessary) will be hosted by Laurier at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex on Saturday March 7 and Sunday March, 8. Both games are scheduled for a 3:00pm puck drop.

In the other best-of-three semifinal, the No. 5 Guelph Gryphons (19-6-1-1) will battle the Brock Badgers (14-10-0-4) with game one set for Thursday evening in Guelph, Ont.

NOTES: This is the third-straight season Queen's has met Laurier in the playoffs. ... Last year, Queen's was one of only two teams to defeat Wilfrid Laurier posting a 2-0 on January 25, 2008; John earned the shutout against the Golden Hawks.

Game One
Date: Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Location: Kingston Memorial Centre, Kingston
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Tickets:
Adult: $10
Queen's Student: $5
Youth (5-12 yrs): $5
Tickets will be available at Kingston Memorial Centre.

Game Two
Date: Saturday, March 7th, 2009
Location: Sunlife Financial Area, Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Tickets:
Adult: $8
Students/Seniors:$6
WLU Students/Children u12: $4
Tickets will be available at 2:00 p.m. at the Rec Complex Ticket booth.

Game Three (if necessary)
Date: Sunday, March 8th, 2009
Location: Sunlife Financial Area, Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Tickets:
Adult: $8
Students/Seniors:$6
WLU Students/Children u12: $4
Tickets will be available at 2:00 p.m. at the Rec Complex Ticket booth.