The energy was high out the gate as the Queen’s Men’s Hockey team faced off against the Concordia Stingers last Friday at the Memorial Centre.
The game swayed slightly in the Stingers’ direction the first few minutes, although there was a strong back-and-forth presence on the ice.
As the first period progressed, the Gaels saw many good scoring opportunities but were unable to find the back of the net.
It was clear from the start the game would be anything but boring as both teams broke onto the ice with hard hits and fast plays.
“That’s our style of play,” Head Coach Brett Gibson said in a post-game interview with The Journal. “We have to be physical. We’re a big team and other teams know that .”
Despite some great efforts, the first period ended scoreless.
An early whistle in the second period allowed for the Gaels to recuperate on the Stingers’ blueline. This led to the first goal of the game, scored just twenty seconds in, which was awarded to Hayden Fowler, ArtSci ’25, assisted by Alex Robert, ArtSci ’24, and Jack Duff, ArtSci ’25.
After the first goal, the Stingers desperately tried to catch up. Their efforts forced Queen’s rookie Daniel Michaud, ArtSci ’27, into a tripping penalty, igniting the first powerplay of the game.
About five minutes later, Holden Katzaley, Comp ’25, found himself in a match-roughing penalty with a member of Concordia. Concordia was also given a two-minute slashing penalty.
The Gaels were now on their first powerplay of the game but were unable to make a goal happen.
Michaud landed in the box again with under five minutes left in the period on a minor cross-checking penalty. The Stingers were up a player again, and sent more shots towards Queen’s net, but still came up empty-handed.
Back at even strength, the teams finished the second period with a 1-0 score.
Sixteen seconds into the third period, Samuel Marburg, ArtSci ’27, found the back of Concordia’s net, increasing the score to 2-0 in the Gaels’ favour. The goal was assisted by Fowler and Robert.
The extended Queen’s lead led to more aggression from Concordia, and the Gaels weren’t backing down.
“I think we’re a special team,” Fowler said. “We can play the skill game, we can play the hitting game, and we don’t shy down from anything.”
Though Concordia pulled their goaltender with two minutes left on the clock, their timeout proved to be insufficient as Robert scored the Gaels an empty net goal, solidifying the final score at 3-0.
“I think we played a pretty complete game,” Fowler said. “We’re getting pucks in and going on the forecheck and kind of playing the right way. I think it was a really good game for us.”
This wasn’t the end of the entertainment for the night as a few Gaels found themselves in a brawl in front of the Queen’s bench after the time had run out.
Jakob Brahaney, ArtSci ’24, was the only Gael to receive a penalty.
Overall, the Gaels made 33 shots compared to Concordia’s 19 shots on net, with most shots made in the third period.
Gaels goaltender Christian Purboo, ArtSci ’25, made his third shutout of the season and was named U SPORTS Athlete of the Week. He is also the top goaltender in the OUA with a leading 1.72 goals-against average and 0.941 save percentage.
“I definitely can’t take all the credit,” Purboo said. “They’re [teammates] communicating with me when I’m playing pucks, they’re blocking shots for me.”
Gibson emphasized Purboo as a major contributor to their successes, stating that he isn’t credited enough.
“For three years [he] didn’t play for this team and never complained and he’s reaping rewards and it’s the hard work that he’s put in,” Gibson said. “You can say arguably, he might be one of the top goalies in the country right now.”
In their next attempt to break into the U SPORTS top 10 rankings, the Gaels will face off against the York Lions at their next home game on Jan. 31. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. in the Memorial Centre.
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