KINGSTON, Ont. (November 5, 2010) - The Queen's Gaels kick off their 2010-2011 season tonight at home against the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks.

The Gaels men are a much different squad than the one which wrapped up its season last February in the OUA playoffs. The Gaels have lost three key players to graduation in Baris Ondul (Istanbul, Turkey), Ryan Hairsine (St. Mary's, Ont.), and Kingston, Ontario's Mitch Leger. This season the team will be relying on a new veteran core to develop a number of young players. Dan Bannister (Newmarket, Ont.) and Timothy Boyle (Belleville, Ont.) will be looked upon to lead this team as they are now the elder statesmen on the roster.

Queen's had a rough pre-season as they finished with a 1-7 record. The team showed its youth as it had difficulty against much more veteran teams from around the country. The lone victory came against Bishop's in overtime at home. Bernard Burgesson (Port Hawkesbury, N.S.) led the Gaels in scoring with 23 points.

The Golden Hawks finished their pre-season with a 5-3 record. They will be looking to improve on their finish from a year ago after being knocked out of the playoffs in the Quarter-finals. Laurier has a strong core of veteran players and appear poised to improve from a year ago.

These two teams last met in November of 2009 and saw the Gaels take the game by a 64-63 score. Mitch Leger led all scorers with 21 points.

The Gaels opener will take place on November 5th in the Main Gym of the ARC. Tip off is set for 8:00 pm.