Link to OUA Release
KINGSTON, Ont. – Chris Gencarelli headlines the six Queen's Gaels who were honoured by the OUA in its annual announcement of East Division award-winners and all-stars, Wednesday. Gencarelli was named the OUA East Coach of the Year, while five players earned all-star recognition. Defenders Joe Zupo (Toronto, Ont.) and
David Tom (Thunder Bay, Ont.) were both named to the divisional First Team, while goalkeeper
Dylan Maxwell (Vancouver, B.C.) and midfielders
Nathan Klemencic (Trenton, Ont.) and
Henry Bloemen (Toronto, Ont.) picked up Second Team honours.
Gencarelli wins Coach of the Year honours for the first time in his career, and he is the only the third Gaels men's coach to win the award, following Al MacVicar (who won in 2002, 2003 and 2006) and John Walker, Sr. (who won four times, most recently in 1995). The fourth-year bench boss led the Gaels to an 11-1-2 regular-season record and their first regular-season pennant since 2003. The Gaels conceded only eight goals this season – the second-lowest total in the country – and rose to as high as No. 5 in the CIS Top 10.
Zupo, a third-year defender, is a three-time All-Star, after winning second team honours in 2010 and being named to the first team in 2011. The Gaels' captain, he played all 14 games in 2012 at centre back and led one of the stingiest defences in Canada. He also scored one goal. Tom, also a third-year defender, is a two-time All-Star, as he was on the divisional second team last season. This year, he played 11 games, and scored one goal.
Maxwell, a third-year goalkeeper, posted a 10-1-2 record in 2012, including five shutouts as he earned his first all-star nod. Klemencic, a fourth-year midfielder, scored a pair of goals for the Gaels in 14 games this year, while fellow midfielder Bloemen scored three times for the Gaels in the regular season, and prolonged the Tricolour's playoff run with his game-winning goal in Sunday's penalty shootout against Toronto.
With Sunday's win, the Gaels advanced to the OUA Final Four for the first time since 2007. This year's tournament, hosted by York, will see the Gaels take on the McMaster Marauders on Saturday at 11 a.m. in one OUA semifinal. The winner of that game will play the winner of the York-Carleton semifinal for the OUA Championship, on Sunday at 2 p.m. The bronze medal game is set for 11 a.m. Sunday.
