MARCH 11, 2017 (TORONTO) - The No.5 Queen's Gaels lost a thrilling 4-3 battle to the No.6 York Lions who won their first Queen's Cup championship in 13 years on Saturday night at Canlan Ice Sports.

"We made mistakes we don't normally make, and we weren't as sound as we normally are," said Gaels bench boss Gibson after the game. "Unfortunately when you get to this point, you have to buy in and do all the little things well, but we were one goal short tonight. We've done a lot of good things this year, and we can't lose that perspective after losing one hockey game. We've got to go there (University Cup) focused, and we will probably be the underdog, but we like that title."
 
The contest started out slow with an uneventful first period, but the action picked up considerably once the second period began and the game quickly became a classic.
 
A back-and-forth affair culminated at 15:26 of the third period when Steven Janes (Etobicoke, Ont.) netted the game-winner for the Lions after firing home a rebound given up by Queen's goaltender Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.). Janes was named the Porter Airlines player of the game after also recording an assist. The best player for the Gaels on the night was Slater Doggett (Oakville, Ont.) who had a pair of goals for Queen's.
 
After a scoreless first period, the floodgates opened in the second. It was Queen's that got on the board first just under seven minutes into the frame when Doggett put the puck past York goaltender Mack Shields (Saskatoon, Sask.) for a 1-0 lead.
 
Less than two minutes later the Gaels were at it again, this time with Eric Margo (North Vancouver, B.C.) scoring to put the Gaels up by two. 
 
The Lions would not be held off the scoreboard for long, however, and within five minutes the game was tied. Reid Jackman (Etobicoke, Ont.) cut the deficit to one at 10:36, and just over two minutes later Derek Sheppard (Ajax, Ont.) found the back of the net to make it 2-2, where the score remained heading into the final frame.
 
It didn't take long for the Lions to take their first lead of the game. Just 23 seconds into the third, Daniel Nikandrov (Richmond Hill, Ont.) collected another big rebound by Bailie and redirected the puck into a gaping net for a 3-2 lead.
 
Once again the advantage was short-lived as Doggett scored his second of the game, evading a defender and firing a hard shot past Shields to make it 3-3 at 3:45 into the third.
 
Both teams had their chances in the third until Janes came through with the winner for the Lions. Shields was forced to make one tremendous save that kept his team ahead until time wound down. He finished the game with 16 saves on the 19 shots he faced.
 
Bailie, meanwhile, was significantly busier at the other end of the ice, facing 34 shots and making 30 saves. For Queen's, the silver-medal result was their best finish in 36 years, since last winning the championship in 1981.
 
Both teams had already qualified for the U SPORTS championships before Saturday's game and will head to Fredericton next week, where the national tournament will begin on Thursday afternoon at the University of New Brunswick.