(23/11/24) - Toronto, ON., The Queen's Gaels Men's Hockey Team add another win to their now four game win streak after a competitive game against the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold.  Gaels goalie no. 37 Christian Purboo (Economics) earned his flowers with a 45 save game, leading the Gaels to victory.  Purboo is second in the OUA, and fifth in U Sports, for save percentage with an average of .931. The finals score saw the close score of 3-2, with the Gaels finding an early two-goal lead late in the first period.  The Gaels advance their season record. to 13-3 as they battle against the 13-2 Concordia Stingers for first place in OUA Standings.  With both the Gaels and the Bold on a tear against their opponents, one team had to give up their streak that evening and the Gaels proved it would not be them.  

The first period opened with the Gaels winning the initial puck-drop.  With the Bold with the most penalty minutes in the OUA so far, the Gaels looked to capitalize on this statistic as they have been immensely successful on the power play this season.  With a strong dump and chase seen in the first, a strong pk-unit after a hooking call sends no. 20 Ethan Larmond (Arts and Sciences) to the box, and already nine saves by Purboo, the Gaels looked strong and ready to find their moment at net.  No. 19 Nolan Hutcheson (Health Studies) was the player to watch on the pk as he leads the OUA in scoring with 14 goals in 15 games. 

Phenomenal attack wins the Gaels the majority of the face-offs in the first.  With 3:36 left in the period, no. 29 Daniel Michaud (Arts and Sciences) scores an unassisted goal to give the Gaels the lead with a high shot into the TMU net.  This is Michaud's second goal of the season.  Only a minute and two seconds later, Hutcheson strikes and scores on the TMU goalie, recording his 15th goal of the season assisted by no. 17 Holden Katzalay (Computing) and no. 44 Lucas Peric (Economics).  This goal gave the Gaels some insurance going into the second.  An exciting first period ended with the Gaels leading with the score of 2-0 with 18 shots by the Bold and 14 shots by the Gaels.

The second period seemed uneventful by glancing at the scoreboard, although saw both teams find even more physicality than the first.  Aggressions rose on the ice as the Bold are finding chances in the Gaels zone, giving Purboo a tough test of his performance.  A Bold power play enlisted the Gaels pk-unit, which is fourth-strongest in the OUA, to defend their lead as it could be diminished just as quickly as it was tacked on.  The Gaels dominated the second period spending most of it in the Bolds' zone while kicking away any chances on net the Bold were able to find.  The second ends scoreless due to an impressive 27 saves by Purboo.  

The Bold attack the opening puck drop in the third period with their first goal on Purboo 59 seconds in.  Both teams drew out intense physicality throughout the game, which the refs allowed them to play through.  With the Gaels looking to respond with an insurance goal to carry them through the final period of the game, no. 10 Cameron Tolnai (Business) roofs the puck over the goalie on a Gaels power play, scoring his fifth goal of the season and sixth point (6:22), bumping the score to 3-1.  Tolnai proves why the Gaels' power play is one of the best in the OUA.  The difficult contest of a game continues as both teams displaying their discontent for each other.  With 1:10 left in the final minutes of the game, the Bold pull their goalie giving them a one-man advantage and score on Purboo making it yet again a close 3-2 game.  Five seconds until the buzzer, traffic in front of Purboo sends him down on the ice, leaving the net open.  The Bold shoot but in a heroic grab of the puck, still down, Purboo saves the game and the Gaels exit the ice with a 3-2 lead.  

The Gaels extend their win streak to four games and look to foster a momentum to continue them through their season where they are in close reach for an OUA title.  Catch the Gaels Men's Hockey Team next November 29th, at 7:30 PM on their home ice of the Kingston Memorial Center against the Toronto Varsity Blues who are currently sixth in OUA standings, or watch it live on OUA.TV.