KINGSTON, Ont. (January 15, 2010) – Led by
Jordan Mirwaldt's first career CIS hat-trick, the Queen's Gaels defeated the Nipissing Lakers by a score of 5-2 on Friday night at the Kingston Memorial Centre.
The win, which was the Gaels second in a row, improves the team's record to 11-8-1 and moves them into third place in the OUA East. Meanwhile, the Lakers fall to 7-11-1.
The Gaels came out strong to start the game, controlling the play in the Lakers zone for long stretches and peppering starting goalie Matt Hache with 16 shots. Hache withstood the barrage until late in the period when Queen's scored twice in less than three minutes.
First,
Jeffrey Johnstone of Etobicoke, Ont., scored his ninth of the season before
Payton Liske of Welland, Ont., scored an absolutely beautiful goal. Liske jumped off the bench just in time to receive a lob pass from
Ben Munroe of Kingston, Ont., and promptly walked in a roofed a backhand shot over Hache to give the Gaels a two goal lead after one.
In the second, the Lakers stepped up their play and were able to generate a number of great scoring chances but could not beat goaltender
Steele De Fazio of Georgetown, Ont. De Fazio's strong play allowed Mirwaldt, of Winnipeg, Man. to take over the game. The Gaels leading scorer notched his 11th of the season as he banged in a loose puck in front of the net. He then added his 12th shortly thereafter when he took a nice feed from Johnstone to chase Hache from the Nipissing net.
With a four goal lead heading to the third, Mirwaldt sealed the game with a powerplay marker 46 seconds into the final frame to complete the natural hat-trick.
Nipissing would break De Fazio's shutout bid midway through the frame on a goal from Dan Watt but it was too little, too late as the Gaels eventually skated away with a 5-2 victory.
De Fazio finished the game with 44 saves while Liske and Johnstone each had three point games to compliment Mirwaldt's hat trick.
Queen's will be back on the ice tomorrow night in Toronto when they take on the Varsity Blues. Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm at Varsity Arena on the campus of U of T.
