KINGSTON, Ont. (March 7, 2019) - The Forsyth Cup Final Four is set as the Gaels will welcome the Toronto Varsity Blues, McMaster Marauders and Windsor Lancers for the conference championship weekend at the Queen's ARC. Tickets are going fast but available at
gogaelsgo.com/tickets or you can catch all the action live on
OUA.tv.
On Saturday at 1 pm the first semifinal matchup will pit the top seed in the West McMaster against the third-seed in the West Windsor. At 3 pm, the host Queen's Gaels who finished as the top seed in the East will battle Toronto who was the third-seed in the East.
MEDIA TOUR
This morning Gaels head coach Gabriel deGroot joined men's hockey coach
Brett Gibson on a tour with the local radio stations promoting the OUA championships in Kingston this weekend.
SCHEDULE
Semifinal Saturday
1 pm - McMaster vs Windsor | OUA.tv
3 pm - Queen's vs Toronto | OUA.tv
Championship Sunday
1 pm - Bronze medal game | OUA.tv
3 pm - Gold medal game | OUA.tv
MEET THE TEAMS
Queen's Gaels - The Gaels have been a nearly unstoppable force this season, finishing with a 15-3 record, and now a 1-0 playoff record, with wins in nine straight and 14 of their last 15 games. Queen's was also one of the two teams in the OUA this year to defeat the top seed in the West the McMaster Marauders and the only team to do so in Hamilton. Queen's is led by
Zac Hutcheson who finished second in the OUA in kills at 266 and third with a 0.312 hitting percentage. Setter
Zane Grossinger averaged 9.97 assists per set in the regular season, second best in the conference.
In the playoffs, the Gaels drew the fourth seed in the West for their quarter-final crossover at the ARC last weekend. After going up 2-0 in the match Guelph battled back to force what turned out to be a wildly entertaining fifth set.
The fifth set saw neither team able to break-away from one-another. The match went past 15 with ties all the way through to 21-21. After staving off match points on three occasions the Gaels tied and then collected kills from Hutcheson in succession to seal the five-set win with a 23-21 fifth frame.
This season Queen's finished with a 2-2 record against the other final four opponents defeating both Toronto and McMaster with both victories coming on the road.
Toronto Varsity Blues - Toronto finished the OUA season with a 12-6 record finishing third in the East division. They finished with a 5-3 road record which included a win at the Queen's ARC over the Gaels.
In their quarter-final playoff matchup they were again on the road visiting the second-seed in the West division and managed to escape London, Ontario with a 3-2 win over the Mustangs. Down 2-1 in the match, the Varsity Blues took the fourth set 25-21 and finished off the fifth 15-8 for the win. Toronto's Chris Towe finished with 15 kills and 10 digs in the victory.
This season Toronto finished with a 2-2 record against the other final four opponents defeating Queen's and Windsor.
McMaster Marauders - McMaster was nearly untouchable in the OUA regular season finishing atop the West with a 15-2 record. Their two losses came back in November to Queen's and Western and they enter the Final Four having won 10 straight including a quarter-final victory over York 3-1.
The Marauders received a bit of a scare in their quarter-final after the 8-11 York Lions pulled through with the opening set 27-25. The Marauders scraped out a 25-23 second set and returned to form for the third and fourth sets to take the 3-1 win. Setter David Doty finished with 49 assists to go along with two digs and two aces in the victory.
This season McMaster finished with a 3-1 record against the other final four teams defeating all but Queen's.
Windsor Lancers - The Lancers came through with one of their best seasons in recent memory finishing with a 13-4 record and placing third in the West division. They closed out the season with four straight victories and found success on the road with a 7-2 record.
In their quarter-final match, they travelled to Toronto to take on the Ryerson Rams. Down 2-1 in the match with their season on the line the Lancers were able to close out the fourth set 25-23 and then won the fifth 15-10. Pierce Johnson put down 18 kills and added 13 digs in the victory for Windsor.
This season the Windsor Lancers finished with a 1-3 record against the other final four teams with their lone victory coming against the Gaels.
ALL-STARS ABUNDANT
East Division Major Awards
Dale Iwanoczko Award –
Zac Hutcheson, Queen's
Coach of the Year – Gabriel deGroot, Queen's
West Division Major Awards
Player of the Year – Matt Passalent, McMaster
Dale Iwanoczko Award – Andrew Richards, McMaster
East Division All-Stars
First Team All-Stars
Jordan Figueria, Toronto
Zane Grossinger, Queen's
Zac Hutcheson, Queen's
Chris Towe, Toronto
Second Team All-Stars
Adam Bolijkovac, Queen's
Dylan Hunt, Queen's
All-Rookie Team
Evan Falardeau, Toronto
Shane Gabel, Queen's
West Division All-Stars
First Team All-Stars
Matt Passalent, McMaster
Pierce Johnson, Windsor
John Moate, Windsor
Andrew Richards, McMaster
Second Team All-Stars
Craig Ireland, McMaster
All-Rookie Team
Tyler Pavelic, McMaster
LAST TIME HOISTING
Toronto - Have won 15 times, last title 2004
McMaster - Have won 10 times and six straight, last title 2018
Queen's - Have won 7 times, last title 2012
Windsor - Have never won
TWO SPOTS IN QUEBEC CITY ON THE LINE
The winners of the two OUA semifinal matches will be guaranteed spots at the 2019 U SPORTS men' volleyball championship hosted by Laval in Quebec City. The national championship runs from March 15 to 17 and tickets are available at roueetor.ulaval.ca.
