KINGSTON, Ont. (December 3, 2016) - The Queen's Gaels (13-4-1) closed out the 2016 portion of the schedule with an upset win over the No.7 nationally ranked UQTR Patriotes (11-5-1) and stay in first place in the OUA East.
GAME FLOW
The opening period was a battle of the two goaltenders as the Gaels
Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.) and Patriotes Sebastien Auger turned aside all scoring chances in the period. Bailie finished the frame with 14 saves while Augers stopped all 11 shots that he faced in the frame.
UQTR had the only powerplay in the opening period but the Gaels OUA leading penalty kill unit held the Patriotes attack at bay.
In the second period, the Gaels were the first to strike. After
Warren Steele (Williamsburg, Ont.) cleared the puck out of the Gaels zone,
Darcy Greenaway (Wilton, Ont.) picked up the puck and after speeding past one defender broke in on a two-on-one rush. Greenaway drew the final Patriotes defencemen close enough and slid the puck over to
Ted Hunt (Toronto) who made no mistake beating Auger and giving Queen's a 1-0 lead.
The Gaels defence held up strong and Bailie stopped all seven shots he faced in the second.
UQTR was finally able to beat Bailie in the third, Tommy Giroux scored on a short angle shot that beat the Gaels netminder and the score was tied at 1-1 at the 8:54 mark of the third period.
With time ticking down on the clock
Slater Doggett (Oakville, Ont.) stayed hot for Queen's. The trailing forward on the play, he picked up a late pass and fired a quick shot to the blocker side of Auger beating the Patriotes goaltender to put the Gaels ahead 2-1.
Queen's held on from there and claimed the 2-1 victory. Bailie finished with 35 saves for Queen's picking up the win while Auger stopped 33 of the shots he faced.
BY THE NUMBERS
6 - Game point streak for Doggett who scored the game winner
1st - The Gaels stay in 1st place in the OUA East with 27 points, one clear of 2nd place McGill
12 - Goals for Doggett on the season, 2nd best in the OUA
88.9% - Penalty kill efficiency for Queen's, 2nd best in the OUA
UP NEXT
The Gaels will return to action in 2017 when they host the UOIT Ridgebacks on Friday January 7, 2017 at 7:30pm. Tickets for the game at the Memorial Centre can be purchased online at www.gogaelsgo.com or the game can be seen live online at OUA.tv.
