GAME OF THE WEEK
Men's Rugby
The men's rugby team (3-1-1) is featured in the Game of the Week when they take on the Trent Excalibur (3-2) at 7pm Friday night on Nixon Field.
 
Queen's is coming off an 11-11 tie against a strong Western team on the road. Last weekend was the first time in eight years that the Gaels tied a match, the last time was in 2008 and also occurred at Western. Angus MacPhail (Vancouver) scored the only Gaels try of the day to tie the game in the second half, while two penalty goals from Dylan Young (Toronto) rounded out the tricolour scoring.
 
Trent comes to Kingston for the first time with their men's rugby team competing at the OUA level. The Excalibur have made a seamless transition into the new league with a 3-2 record at this point in the season, most recently beating Toronto 53-5. Trent's kicker Jesse Leadbetter is sixth in OUA scoring with 30 points.
 
Women's Rugby
The women's rugby team (2-2) is playing the York Lions (3-1) Friday at 5pm on Nixon Field in a game with playoff implications.
 
York is currently second in the Russell division, in a position to host Queen's in the first round of the OUA playoffs. Queen's is third and can turn the tables to host the Lions on Homecoming weekend if they can win big Friday night.
 
After falling to a nationally ranked Guelph team last weekend, Queen's has suffered back-to-back regular season losses for the first time since 2008. Against the Gryphons, Lauren Murray (Lindsay, Ont.) scored the sole try for the Gaels. Nadia Popov (Newmarket, Ont.) is the Gaels leading scorer this season with 32 points, good for eighth in the OUA scoring race.
 
The Lions are looking to finish the regular season with four wins for the first time since 2006, when they went 4-2, but didn't have a head-to-head against Queen's. Last weekend, York earned their second shutout of the year when they beat Toronto 71-0. Tobi Owotomo led the Lions scoring with four tries in last weekend's game.
 
Football
Queen's (2-3) faces the No.8 McMaster Marauders (4-1) Friday night at 7pm in Hamilton.
 
The Gaels are back in playoff contention with back-to-back wins against Toronto and Waterloo. A win this weekend would go a long way to seeing the tricolour in a playoff game later this month.
 
Read the full preview and remember to tune in Friday on OUA.tv.
 
Men's Hockey
The men's hockey team starts their season at home with a pair of games against the schools from the nation's capital. The Gaels play the Carleton Ravens Friday night before doing battle with the Ottawa Gee-Gees Saturday night. Puck drop is at 7:30 in the Memorial Centre for both games. Click the link for a full season preview.
 
Carleton finished the 2015-16 season with a bronze medal after beating Guelph in the third place game. The Ravens finished the regular season at 20-7-1, with the regular season series going to Queen's 2-1. Both Gaels victories were shutouts.
 
The newly reinstated Ottawa men's hockey program is back in competition this year. In 2013-14, the Gee-Gees last season of play, the regular season series with the Gaels was split 1-1, with both contests going to overtime.
 
Women's Soccer
The women's soccer team (6-3-1) is on the road at Ryerson (3-7-1) on Saturday and at Toronto (4-6-1) on Sunday. Game times are at 1pm and 12pm respectively.
 
Last weekend, Queen's stalled the winning streak of nationally ranked Ottawa team with a 1-1 tie. Ottawa came into the game at 9-0-0, but an early header from Tara Bartram (Vancouver) was enough to give Queen's a point in the standings. The Gaels also suffered a 4-2 loss at Carleton last weekend, where Jenny Wolever (Toronto) earned her sixth assist, which moves her into a tie for first in the OUA.
 
Ryerson was shutout when they came to Kingston in September, with Bartram and Matija Skoko (Toronto) scoring in the 2-0 Gaels win. The Rams have been on the road for the last seven games, and will look to snap a two game losing streak when they host Queen's. Soraya El-houni scored her first goal of the season when Ryerson last scored, which was two weeks ago at RMC.
 
Toronto also suffered a shutout loss when they played at Queen's earlier this season, when Brittany Almeida (Kingston) netted a pair of goals in the Gaels 4-0 win. The Varsity Blues split their games last weekend with a big win at Trent and a 3-0 loss at UOIT. Natasha Klasios scored a hattrick in Toronto's 6-1 win against Trent, jumping to third in OUA scoring with nine goals on the season. Klasios also scored a hattrick against Trent last season.
 
Men's Soccer
The men's soccer team (4-3-3) travels to play at No.2 Ryerson (11-0-0) Saturday and at Toronto (8-1-2) Sunday, with the games set for 3:15pm and 2:15pm, respectively.
 
Queen's snapped a three game losing streak with a pair of ties last weekend against a nationally ranked Carleton team and RMC. New addition Nicolas Meunier (Lyon, France) scored the Gaels only goal against Carleton on a well-executed corner. Alex Jones (Comox, B.C.) got his second start of the season against the Ravens, and stopped 11 of the 12 shots he faced.
 
The undefeated Ryerson Rams are led by Jamie Baker and his nine goals this season, which is good for third in the OUA. Last weekend at home against Laurentian, Baker recorded his third multi-goal game of the year, scoring both goals in a Ryerson 2-0 win over Laurentian. The Rams were 4-0 winners when they came to Kingston earlier this season.
 
Toronto also earned a win when they came to Queen's in September, beating the Gaels 4-0. Antonio Ajhert and Lukas MacNaughton are tied atop the Toronto roster with five goals. Ajhert scored twice in their last meeting with Queen's, while MacNaughton netted the first goal of the match. Varsity Blues keeper Mark Rogal has three consecutive clean sheets in the teams wins over Queen's, Trent, and Nipissing.
 
Men's Lacrosse
Thursday at 7:30pm, men's lacrosse hosts the Carleton Ravens on Tindall Field.