Kingston, ON – The Queen's Gaels women's hockey team, in a game celebrating Pride and the LGBTQ2S+ community, fell 3-0 to the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday afternoon at the Memorial Centre. Despite a strong start and a valiant effort in net by Emma Tennant (Mechanical Engineering), the Gaels were unable to overcome the top-ranked Lakers, whose goaltender Chantelle Sandquist posted a shutout.

The first period saw the Gaels generate quality opportunities, including an early chance for Sophie Hudson (Chemical Engineering), who lost control of the puck in front. Tennant made a critical save on a 3-on-1 rush to keep the game level. Later, Taya Leonard (Kinesiology) earned a penalty shot while killing off a Gaels penalty but was denied by Sandquist. Nipissing capitalized on a turnover in the neutral zone with under a minute left in the period, as Maggie McKee scored off a 3-on-1 to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead heading into intermission.

Queen's came out determined in the second period, with Megan Cranney (Arts & Science) creating a scoring chance off a toe drag and Kelsey Dunn (Kinesiology) ringing a shot off the iron. Tennant stood tall, making key saves to keep the deficit at one, but Queen's struggled to solve Sandquist, whose positioning and rebound control stifled the Gaels' attack.

The Lakers extended their lead early in the third period, as Tessa Kosec finished a setup from Lana Duriez and Jill Hennessy. Nipissing added an insurance goal in the final seconds, with Madison Laberge finding the back of the net on the power play. Despite outshooting Nipissing 39-30, Queen's was unable to find a breakthrough, highlighting Sandquist's dominance in net.

The Gaels' penalty kill was effective, nullifying four Nipissing power-play opportunities, but repeated trips to the box disrupted their momentum. Tennant finished with 27 saves in a poised and composed performance.

With the loss, Queen's drops to 4-13-0 on the season, while Nipissing improves to 13-3-0. The Gaels now turn their focus to next week's road matchup against the Brock Badgers on January 17th.

3 Stars of the Game:

Chantelle Sandquist – Nipissing: Shutout performance with 39 saves to anchor the Lakers' win.

Emma Tennant – Queen's: Key saves kept the game within reach despite the result.

Maggie McKee – Nipissing: Scored the game-winner and set the tone offensively.

Catch all the action from next week's game live on OUA.tv.