The Queen's Gaels returned from the winter break with a commanding 7-2 victory over the Nipissing Lakers on Friday night. The win extends Queen's winning streak to seven games and improves their record to 16-3 on the season, firmly keeping them in contention near the top of the OUA East standings.

Queen's showed resilience early after Nipissing opened the scoring midway through the first period. Samuel Marburg (Arts & Science) answered quickly, pouncing on a rebound to tie the game. Cameron Tolnai (Business) followed up with a highlight-reel goal, snapping a shot glove-side to give the Gaels the lead. Despite a late Nipissing goal to even the score, Queen's entered the first intermission confident, having weathered penalty trouble to close the period.

The Gaels found another gear in the second period, taking control with a balanced offensive effort. Derek Hamilton (Arts & Science) buried a setup from Holden Katzalay (Computing) and Daniel Michaud (Arts & Science) to restore the lead. Minutes later, Liam Tanner (Kinesiology) converted on the powerplay, capping off a period that saw Queen's tighten its defensive play and stymie Nipissing's attack.

In the third, Queen's dominated, with second year defender Nathan Ribau (Arts & Science) having a standout performance. Ribau scored twice in the final frame, one off a net-front scramble and another from a crisp passing play and point shot. Michaud rounded out the scoring for the Gaels with a wrist shot that found the back of the net after feeds from Lucas Peric (Economics) and Owen Lalonde (Arts & Science).

Goaltender Christian Purboo (Arts & Science) was steady in net, making 23 saves and backstopping a penalty-kill unit that nullified all of Nipissing's power-play opportunities. The Gaels' discipline and depth were on full display, with seven different players recording points in the win.

Three Stars of the Game
1st Star - Nathan Ribau  – A breakout performance with two goals in the third period to seal the game.

2nd Star - Cameron Tolnai  – Scored the go-ahead goal and added a key assist in a complete offensive effort.

3rd Star - Owen Lalonde  – Contributed three assists while leading the defense with poise and strong puck movement.

With the victory, Queen's will now turn its attention to a pivotal matchup against McGill on the road January 18th. The Gaels will look to maintain their momentum as they push for the top spot in the OUA East standings. Fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv.