(07/02/25) Kingston, ON., In a battle till the end, the Queen's Gaels Women's Hockey team fell 2-1 in overtime against the Ottawa Gee-gees in their second last home game of the regular season. The Gaels went into the face-off against their conference rivals with a season record of 8-14 tied against TMU for fourth in the OUA East, while the Gee-gees sat one spot above at third and held a 13-9 record.  Both teams have notably powerful power play units as well as goalies.  Gaels no. 1 Emma Tennant (Mechanical Engineering) produced an exciting game with 30 shots taken against her of which 28 she saved. The Gaels tested the Gee-gees goalie with a total of 26 shots.  6 penalties were taken for each team throughout the game although neither team were able to capitalize on the short-hand opportunities. 

The match-up against the Gee-gees started off slower for the Gaels as their opponents dominated their zone for the majority of the first 10 minutes on the ice.  The Gaels defrosted and slowly were able to find opportunities in the Gee-gees zone, although the first period went scoreless for both teams.  Tennant kept the score null making impressive saves while unable to get back on her feet at the 9 minute mark. Soon after this scary opportunity for the Gee-gees, the Gaels looked as if they had gathered a momentum which would only grow through the game making for an exciting third period later on.  The first period closed with 9 shots attempted by the Gaels and 7 for the Gee-gees.

The first power play for the Gaels occurred during the second after a tripping call on the Gee-gees gave the Gaels their first advantage.  Quickly after, a Gaels foul gave the Gee-gees the same advantage, although neither team was able to capitalize. The Gaels survived a five-on-three Gee-gees power-play soon after and beat them out with physicality and good puck handling.  8:26 left in the second, Gaels no. 26 Mikayla Cranney (Arts & Sciences) made a pass to defenseman no. 24 Sara Di Fillipo (Con-Ed) allowing her to score the first goal of the game. Di Fillipo cut across the crease and back-handed the puck into the net, not realizing the success of her attempt until moments after. At the end of the second, the Gaels led the Gee-gees 1-0 with 9 shot attempts to the Gee-gees 10 for the period. 

The third period was an energetic fight for puck possession and offensive opportunities.  With the Gee-gees unable to score so far, frustrations were beginning to become apparent. The Gee-gees picked up one of their penalties in the third while the Gaels picked up two. The Gaels seemed to have a new-found energy coming off the bench.  Still unable to score, the Gee-gees pulled their goalie giving them a one-player advantage. With just 1:48 left in the game, a shot from the red sailed through traffic and in behind Tennant at net, tying the game 1-1.  The Gaels found a few opportunities to take back their lead, although the regulation time ended and the game went to overtime.

It only took 1 minute and 50 seconds for the Gee-gees to find a successful play during overtime to take home the win.  This heart-breaker of a loss for the Gaels brings their season record to 8-15.  

The Gaels look to their next game the following afternoon, Saturday, February 8th at 2:30 PM, against the TMU Bold where they will hope to defeat their conference rivals. Catch the Queen's Women's Hockey team in action live at the Kingston Memorial Center or livestream on OUA.TV.