KINGSTON, Ont. (Aug. 31, 2023) Queen's Men's hosts Toronto in an intense back-to-back home opener at Richardson Stadium on Thursday evening. 

Both teams certainly came to play tonight. The Gaels opened the scoring in the 14th minute when #9 Matthew Ciavarro found the back of the net with an assist from #11 Pablo Hempelmann-Perez. Toronto equalized from the penalty spot with a goal from #7 Andrea Schifano in the 18th minute. Queen's was put back in lead when #11 Pablo Hempelmann-Perez finished with a brilliant goal in the top corner. 

In the 24th minute, Ciavarro calmly put away another one with an assist by Lucas Booth, bringing the score to 3-1 for Queen's. This seemed to only encourage the Varsity Blues, as #19 Michael Maslanka scored just 2 minutes later. Shortly after, the score was tied up 3-3 with a second goal from Maslanka in the 37th minute.

After a high-scoring first half, both teams brought steady defense into the second half. Queen's started to apply more pressure, with a few close shots. With the crowd on their side, the Gaels were able to keep the Varsity Blues from scoring any goals for the rest of the game. 

The game ended with a score of 3-3. Queen's recorded 12 shots while Toronto recorded 11. The teams recorded 3 saves each. 

The Gaels are back in action at home on September 3 at 6:15pm against the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks.