GUELPH, Ont. (February 23, 2014) - The No. 8 Queen's Gaels will return to the OUA Finals after beating No. 3 Guelph in the deciding game of the best-of-three series 2-1 in Guelph on Sunday afternoon.

After scoring with six attackers in the final minute to force overtime on Friday night the Gryphons were shut down in the final second of regulation this time as the Gaels held on to win the game 2-1 and the best-of-three series 2-1 as well.

The first period opened with Guelph getting some early chance but Gaels starting goaltender Mel Dodd-Moher (Stittsville, Ont.) stopped all eight shots she faced in the period. Queen's began to put the pressure on Guelph in the latter half of the frame but were unable to score firing eight shots and going 0-1 on the powerplay.

In the second the Queen's offense came alive. Only 38 seconds into the period the Gryphons turned the puck over trying to vacate their own zone when Clare McKellar (London, Ont.) picked it up and broke in on the right wing. She beat Gryphons starting goalie Stephanie Nehring with a low shot to give the Gaels a 1-0 lead.

After the Gaels and Gryphons were each called for penalties the teams skated four on four for two minutes. Taryn Pilon (Peterborough, Ont.) capitalized with more room on the ice by jumping on a loose puck for her first of the playoffs to put the Gaels up 2-0 at 12:54 of the second period. Dodd-Moher continued to shine for Queen's stopping all seven Guelph shots in the period.

With their backs against the wall the Gryphons continued to fire shots and look to capitalize in the third, dominating much of the offensive play. The Gryphons broke through Dodd-Moher on the powerplay at 6:25 in the third. Kaitlyn Mora scored her first of the playoffs to give the Gryphons some life.

With their goaltender pulled and an extra-attacker on the ice the Gaels defense held strong and Queen's took a 2-1 win to elminate the Gryphons. 

Dodd-Moher finished with 30 saves for the win after Guelph added 16 shots to the Gaels none in the final period.

Queen's returns to the OUA Finals after winning the championship last season, this will mark the third time in four years that the Gaels have been in the finals, as they also won in 2010-11.

The best-of-three series will begin this week and Queen's will take on the winner of Laurier and Toronto who play their third and deciding game tonight at 7:30pm. Stay tuned to www.gogaelsgo.com and www.gogaelsgo.com/tickets for updates.