Gaels This Week – Football Homecoming Game vs Laurier in the Game of the Week on Saturday

FOOTBALL
The Gaels football team (5-2) will be hosting the Laurier Golden Hawks (3-4) for the Sold-Out Homecoming game this weekend at Richardson Stadium in the last regular season game before the playoffs.

The Queen's Gaels traveled to Toronto last weekend to take on the York Lions (1-7) in OUA football action and were able to hang on until the bitter end coming away with a 33-32 win to secure a playoff spot. The Gaels had two running backs rush for more than 100 yards in the game with Jonah Pataki (Wallaceburg, Ont.) rushing for 119 yards on 14 carries and Brad Innis (Toronto) with 105 yards on 12 carries.

The Gaels and Golden Hawks last met each other in week six of the 2013 regular season, another Queen's homecoming game, where Queen's won 40-34 over Laurier. Aaron Gazendam's (Kingston, Ont.) overtime heroics gave the Gaels the 40-34 victory over the Golden Hawks. When Laurier blocked Dillon Wamsley's (London, Ont.) field goal attempt in overtime, Gazendam caught the blocked kick out of the air, punted it into the endzone, and jumped on the loose ball to get the touchdown and the win. Justin Baronaitis (Rexdale, Ont.) led the Gaels defensively with eight tackles, along with Sean Plumley (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.), who made 7.5 tackles, including a sack, and a fumble recovery. McPhee finished the game with 204 yards through the air, and the Gaels were led by Granberg on the ground, who ran for 100 yards.

The Gaels enter the final regular season game riding a current three game winning streak with their last lost coming at No.2 Western in week 4. The 2015 campaign has had its highs and lows throughout the season as well as featured a lot of growth in key positions for the Queen's football team. Offensively, second year Nate Hobbs (Mississauga, Ont.) and first year starting at quarterback for the Gaels has shown his great potential throughout this season. Hobbs ranks among the top 10 quarterbacks in CIS football in yards thrown and touchdown passes. He has also shown his athletic ability to escape from pressure on many occasions throughout the year and run through defenders to earn first downs as well as score goaline rushing touchdowns. Fourth year running back Jesse Andrews (Arnprior, Ont.) was leading the CIS in rushing yards and was on pace for a 1000 yard rushing season before getting injured after week 5. On the defensive side of the ball second year defensive back Jason Shamatutu (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) has led the Gaels secondary with 42.5 total tackles which is tied for 9th best in the CIS to also go along with a forced fumble and an interception. Second year middle linebacker Mike Moore (Mississauga, Ont.) has been the core defensive leader for Queen's this season with 40 total tackles, one sack, forced fumble, fumble recover and an interception. With the overall talent the Gaels feature they have a chance to compete with the best in the OUA and CIS this year and years to come.

This year's Homecoming game has a lot of significance to it as it's the final regular season game that will ever be played at Richardson Stadium's grass field. Next year Queen's will have a brand new revitalized Richardson stadium.

WOMEN'S RUGBY
Need to Know: No.5 Ranked team in CIS, Gaels will host CIS Championship Nov.5-8 at Nixon Field.

The No.5 women's rugby will be traveling to Guelph this weekend to take on the No.1 Gryphons in the OUA Semifinal playoff game at 1pm.  The Gaels are coming off of an impressive quarter-final victory at home last weekend against the York Lions who they defeated 53-15 to earn a matchup against the top ranked team in the nation. The Gaels and Gryphons played each other just over two weeks ago in their final game of the regular season where Guelph came away with a convincing 48-7 win.

Queen's will be looking to upset the No.1 Gryphons this weekend to better their seeding heading into the CIS Championships hosted by Queen's on Nov. 5 – 8th.
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MEN'S SOCCER
The men's soccer team will be closing their regular season play this weekend with two final games as they host Nipissing (4-4-6) Saturday afternoon at 2:15pm and Laurentian (3-9-2) Sunday at 2:15pm with both games at Miklas McCarney Field.  

Last weekend Queen's were on the road as they traveled to Oshawa to play UOIT where they defeated the Ridgebacks 1-0 with local Durham Region midfielder Kyle Owens (Whitby, Ont.) netting the lone goal for the Gaels. On Sunday afternoon the Gaels were in Peterborough where they defeated the Trent Excalibur 4-2 with goals from Patrick Van Belleghem (Kenora, Ont.), Brevin Mackay (Ottawa) and William Twardek (Ottawa).

Nipissing is currently 4-4-6 on the season which places them fifth in the East division of the OUA as they are coming off back to back losses last weekend at Ryerson and Toronto. Laurentian is currently 3-9-2 on the season which places them seventh in the East as they are looking for their first win since defeating the Gaels 3-2 back on Oct. 4th.  

Queen's currently sits third in the East with 28 points. They are one point back of second place Toronto with 29 points. If the Gaels finish in third place they will have guaranteed a home playoff game next Wednesday at Miklas McCarney Field.  If Queen's overtake Toronto for second place this weekend they will have earned a first round bye in the OUA playoffs.

WOMEN'S SOCCER
The women's soccer team will be also closing their regular season play this weekend with two final games as they host Nipissing (5-6-3) Saturday at 12:00pm and Laurentian (8-4-2) Sunday at 12:00pm with both games at Miklas McCarney Field.  

Last weekend Queen's were on the road as they traveled to Oshawa to play UOIT where they played to a 0-0 draw against the Ridgebacks. On Sunday the Gaels were in Peterborough where they defeated the Trent Excalibur 3-1 with goals from Captain Jessie de Boer (North Vancouver), Micah Vermeer (Grimsby, Ont.) and Tianna Lombardo (Calgary).

Nipissing is currently 5-6-3 on the season which places them seventh in the East division of the OUA as they are coming off back to back losses last weekend. Laurentian is currently 8-4-2 on the season which places them third in the East as they are coming off their first loss in six games played.

Queen's currently sits in fourth place in the East with 24 points. They are only two points back of third place Laurentian and second place UOIT. With a single win this weekend the Gaels will secure a home playoff game next Wednesday afternoon at Miklas McCarney Field.

MEN'S RUGBY
The men's rugby team will host the 0-6 Toronto Varsity Blues this Saturday evening at 5pm at Nixon Field. The Gaels are currently 5-1 this season with 26 points which places them second in the OUA standings.

Last weekend the Gaels hosted the visiting Laurier Golden Hawks where Queen's had a convincing 60-20 victory at Nixon Field. Alex Colborne (London, Ont.) led the Gaels that afternoon finishing the game with 20 points in the win.

The Gaels are currently on a five game winning streak heading into this weekend's matchup against the winless Varsity Blues.

MEN'S HOCKEY
The men's hockey team will be travelling to Thunder Bay this weekend to play back to back games against cross conference Lakehead University on Friday and Saturday night with the puck drop set for 7pm for both games.

Last weekend the Gaels hosted their two home opening games against York and Brock. Queen's lost 3-1 to the visiting York Lions on Friday night followed by a 4-3 win over the Brock Badgers Saturday night.

The Gaels are currently 2-1-0 during their first three games of the OUA season. They have allowed an East division low seven goals against during the three game span. Lakehead has only played two games so far this season losing both at UQTR last weekend by scores of 4-2 and 6-1.

WOMEN'S HOCKEY
The women's hockey team will be at home this weekend as they welcome the visiting Laurentian Voyageurs Friday night at 7:30pm and Nipissing Lakers Saturday night at 7:30pm with both games being played at the Memorial Centre.

Last weekend the Gaels were in Toronto taking on the Varsity Blues and the Ryerson Rams. On Friday night the Gaels lost their first game this season in a shootout to the Varsity Blues. On Saturday Queen's skated to a 2-0 shutout win against Ryerson.

The Gaels are currently 3-1-0 during their first four games of the season which places them second in the OUA standings. During the team's first four games they have only allowed three goals against which are the lowest in the OUA thus far. Laurentian comes into this game with a 3-2 record; the Voyageurs opened the season winning three straight games but have followed that up with back to back losses last weekend against York and Brock. Nipissing comes into town with a 2-3 record; the Lakers lost their opening three games followed by back to back wins last weekend at York and Brock.

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
The women's volleyball team will open up their 2015-16 regular season this weekend when they travel to Ottawa Friday night to take on the Gee Gee's at 7pm.

The Gaels are coming off a 12-7 regular season record last year which saw them finish fourth in the OUA East division with 24 points before losing to Toronto 3-0 in their playoff elimination game.

The Gaels and Gee Gee's met twice in the 2014-15 regular season where Ottawa came away with two 3-0 set wins over Queen's. The Gaels will be looking to get off to a winning start this season against the Gee Gee's in Ottawa.

ROWING
The Queen's rowing teams will be in St. Catherines this weekend to compete at the OUA Rowing Championships.

The Gaels will be led this weekend by third-year standout Larkin Davenport Huyer (Caledon, Ont.). Last season Davenport Huyer won gold in the women's double and silver as part of the women's eight at the OUA Rowing Championship. This season Davenport Huyer set the overall fastest women's time in the Championship single event at the Head of the Trent Regatta. She also won the varsity single at the Head of the Rideau regatta for the second consecutive season. Queen's captured gold in the women's Heavyweight 2x at the OUA Rowing Championships last season.

After finishing third last season, the Queen's Gaels will look to take a couple steps up this weekend at the OUA Championships. If the Gaels can pull off the upset over the rival Western Mustangs and Brock Badgers, it would be the seventh title in program history and their first since 2008.

Queen's got off to a great start this season capturing the overall team points Kandahar trophy at the Head of the Rideau, with the men taking home gold in the lightweight men's coxed 4+ and the Junior Varsity men's 2x. The Gaels followed up that at Head of the Trent, where the Junior Varsity men's 4+ won a silver medal. At the National Rowing Championship the following week, the Gaels got another strong showing from Stephen Holloway (Calgary) and Mark Bonar (Delta, B.C.), as the men's pair finished first the B Final, good for seventh overall in the event. Another Gael rower to keep an eye on this weekend is Jordan Rendall (Vineland, Ont.). Rendall represented his country at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA. He was a member of the National Training Centre Lightwieght Men's 8+ edged out Princeton to win the three mile race by seven seconds.

Queen's won the Men's Heavyweight 1x at the OUA championship last season.

MEN'S BASKETBALL
The men's basketball team will be in Edmonton, Alberta this weekend to compete in the Golden Bears Invitational. The Gaels will take on the University of Lethbridge Friday night at 8pm, followed by a game against the University of Alberta Saturday night at 9pm. Queen's will also be playing in a separate exhibition game on Sunday against the Grant Macewan Griffins at 3pm.

These are the final three preseason warmup games before the Gaels kick off their 2015-16 regular season on Saturday November 7th at home against the York Lions.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The women's basketball team will be closing out their preseason schedule this weekend. Thursday the Gaels will be in St. Catharines to take on the Brock Badgers at 6pm, Friday afternoon the team will be in Hamilton playing McMaster at 1pm and their last preseason game is on Saturday evening at Guelph against the Gryphons at 5pm.
The Gaels will open up their 2015-16 regular season on November 7th at home against the York Lions at 6pm in the Main Gym of the ARC.

WOMEN'S LACROSSE
The women's lacrosse team will be in Oshawa this weekend competing at the OUA Championships hosted by UOIT. The Gaels will play Friday night at 7:45pm against the winner of game #2 which is York vs McMaster. 

The Gaels finished first this season in the OUA East division with a 11-2 record and 22 points. They enter the OUA Championships on a five game win streak to end the regular season. 

HOME GAMES

DATE	SPORT	OPPONENT	FACILITY	LOCATION	TIME/RESULT
10/23/2015	Lacrosse (M)	vs Trent University	Tindall Field	Kingston, Ont.	7:00pm
10/23/2015	Hockey (W)	vs Laurentian	Memorial Centre	Kingston, ON	7:30:00 PM
10/24/2015	Field Hockey (W)	vs QUEEN'S vs University of Waterloo	Tindall Field	Kingston, Ont.	9:00am
10/24/2015	Field Hockey (W)	vs York vs Toronto	Tindall Field	Kingston, Ont.	10:45am
10/24/2015	Soccer (W)	vs Nipissing	Miklas-McCarney Field	Kingston, ON	12:00:00 PM
10/24/2015	Field Hockey (W)	vs Western vs QUEEN'S	Tindall Field	Kingston, Ont.	12:30pm
10/24/2015	Football	vs Laurier	Richardson Stadium	Kingston, Ont.	1:00:00 PM
10/24/2015	Soccer (M)	vs Nipissing	Miklas-McCarney Field	Kingston, ON	2:15:00 PM
10/24/2015	Field Hockey (W)	vs Waterloo vs McGill	Tindall Field	Kingston, Ont.	2:15pm
10/24/2015	Field Hockey (W)	vs Toronto vs Western	Tindall Field	Kingston, Ont.	4:00pm
10/24/2015	Rugby (M)	vs Toronto	Nixon Field	Kingston, ON	5:00:00 PM
10/24/2015	Lacrosse (M)	vs Alumni Game	Tindall Field	Kingston, Ont.	7:00pm
10/24/2015	Hockey (W)	vs Nipissing	Memorial Centre	Kingston, ON	7:30:00 PM
10/24/2015	Water Polo	vs Homecoming Games	ARC - Pool	Kingston, Ont.	TBD
10/25/2015	Field Hockey (W)	vs York vs McGill	Tindall Field	Kingston, Ont.	9:00am
10/25/2015	Field Hockey (W)	vs QUEEN'S vs Guelph	Tindall Field	Kingston, Ont.	10:45am
10/25/2015	Soccer (W)	vs Laurentian	Miklas-McCarney Field	Kingston, ON	12:00:00 PM
10/25/2015	Field Hockey (W)	vs McGill vs Western	Tindall Field	Kingston, Ont.	12:30pm
10/25/2015	Field Hockey (W)	vs Guelph vs York	Tindall Field	Kingston, Ont.	2:15pm
10/25/2015	Soccer (M)	vs Laurentian	Miklas-McCarney Field	Kingston, ON	2:15:00 PM

AWAY GAMES