With two tough losses last weekend to the Windsor Lancers behind them, the men’s hockey team pulled off an 8-6 victory against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and finished the weekend with a 4-2 win over the Concordia Stingers Saturday night.
Head coach Brett Gibson said he wouldn’t allow Friday night’s 8-6 victory to go to the Gaels’ heads.
“I told the team that I didn’t like the Friday win,” he said. “They were must wins. With the University of Ottawa and Concordia’s teams behind us in the standings, we needed to put them away.”
Seven different Gaels scored against the Gee-Gees. Forward David Chubb led the charge with two goals.
The Gaels had a 5-1 lead going into the second period, but it was anything but safe. The Gee-Gees rallied and tied the Gaels midway through the third on two back-to-back shorthanded goals. Gibson called a timeout to help settle his team.
“We played like individuals rather than a team, which is what makes us successful,” he said, explaining the timeout.
Without delay, forwards Joey Derochie and Jonathan Lawrance scored 19 seconds apart to restore the Gaels’ lead. Forward Jeff Johnstone added a power-play goal. Forwards Brock Ouellet, Payton Liske and Jordan Mirwaldt scored Queen’s other goals in the first period.
Captain Jonathan Lawrance, who had five points in the game, said he recognized the team’s weaknesses against Ottawa.
“On Friday night, it came down to special teams,” he said. “With two shorthanded powerplay goals for Ottawa, we had to bear down and build some momentum. We gave up four more goals than we wanted to.”
Gibson emphasized the importance of the weekend’s wins.
“We now have the possibility at a third place standing in our game against Carleton on Friday,” he said. “The first half of the season has been very successful. A 7-6-1 record… has given us a chance to make the playoffs.” On Saturday night against the last-place Concordia Stingers, the Gaels’ only problem was with Concordia’s goaltender Maxime Joyal as they peppered him with 39 shots. With a goal from Derochie in the first, the game was tied at 1-1 after Concordia scored on an early second period power play.
The lead, however, was never out of the team’s reach. With two goals from Liske and the game-winner from defenceman Brendan Bureau, the Gaels wrapped up their successful weekend with a 4-2 win.
Gibson said he was more impressed on Saturday with his team’s efforts.
“Today was the most complete game we’ve played,” he said. “Our goalie played well, the players sacrificed their bodies. Tonight was a good win.”
The Gaels travel to Ottawa next weekend to face the Carleton Ravens and the Ottawa Gee-Gees.
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].