The Queen's Gaels women's hockey team closed out the first half of the 2024-25 season with a 4-2 victory over the York Lions on Sunday evening in Toronto. Despite weather delays forcing a late arrival to the arena, the Gaels jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, improving their record to 4-9-0-1 on the season.

The Gaels wasted no time setting the tone, with Sophie Hudson (Chemical Engineering) opening the scoring just over a minute into the game. Hudson, who has been a key contributor from the blue line, capitalized on a crisp feed from Sarah Campbell (Law) to notch her third goal of the season. The top line of Hudson, Carys Collie (Life Sciences), and Alyson Reeves (Commerce) dominated the opening period, combining for three goals.

At the 9:44 mark, Collie extended the lead with a smooth finish off assists from Hudson and Reeves, showcasing the chemistry of the Gaels' power line. Reeves capped off the first-period scoring frenzy at 18:56, converting on a rebound after another setup from Hudson and Collie. Reeves' goal marked her team-leading fifth of the season and gave Queen's a commanding 3-0 advantage heading into the intermission.

The second period saw a more defensive effort from the Gaels, highlighted by a successful penalty kill after a tripping call on Campbell. Alexis Jandciu (Arts & Science) was solid between the pipes, stopping all eight shots faced during the frame to maintain the shutout.

In the third period, York managed to get on the board with a goal from Jillian Milligan at 14:24, cutting the Gaels' lead to two. However, Queen's quickly responded with an empty-net goal from Taya Leonard (Kinesiology) at 16:48, sealing the victory. York added a late goal in the dying moments, but it was too little, too late.

Jandciu earned the win with 28 saves on 30 shots, anchoring a Gaels defensive unit that held strong despite late pressure from the Lions. Unfortunately, the win came with a concern as Hudson left the ice in the final minutes after blocking a shot and appeared to be in significant pain. Hudson's status remains uncertain heading into the winter break.

3 Stars of the Game:

1st Star – Sophie Hudson: Hudson was instrumental in the Gaels' offensive success, contributing a goal and two assists while showcasing defensive poise before her injury.

2nd Star – Alyson Reeves: Reeves demonstrated leadership on the ice, tallying a goal and an assist while driving the offense with consistent pressure.

3rd Star – Alexis Jandciu: Jandciu provided a steady presence in net, making crucial saves to keep York at bay throughout the game.

Queen's heads into the winter break on a positive note and will look to build on this momentum when they return to action on January 10, hosting the York Lions at the Memorial Centre. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m., and fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv.