Gaels reach conference semifinals

Gaels reach conference semifinals

February 21, 2017

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[Men's Hockey]
Queen's Gaels goalie Kevin Bailie tracks the puck during Saturday's OUA playoffs game against the Ottawa Gee-Gees at the Memorial Centre. The Gaels won 2-0 to take the series 2-1 and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals. (Photo by Ian MacAlpine.) 

A quick roundup of Queen’s Gaels teams in action over the weekend.

MEN’S HOCKEY

The No. 10 Queen’s Gaels men’s hockey team defeated the Ottawa Gee-Gees 2-0 in OUA men's playoff hockey action at the Memorial Centre to win the series 2-1.

The Gaels opened the scoring late in the first period frame when Spencer Abraham’s point shot was deflected by Ryan Bloom. The Gaels made it 2-0 in the second period as Peter Angelopolous fired a wrist shot over the glove of Ottawa goalie Graham Hunt.

Gaels goalie Kevin Bailie finished with 24 saves, including 13 in the third period, for the shutout.

The third-seeded Gaels now advance to the OUA East semifinal where they will meet the second-seeded Concordia Stingers.

On Friday night, the Gee-Gees forced a deciding third game with a 3-2 win in double-overtime. Bloom and Eric Ming scored for the Gaels.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

The Queen’s Gaels women’s hockey team (9-5-8-2) sealed a 2-1 overtime win against the Brock Badgers (8-3-9-3) on Friday afternoon as the Gaels hosted a school day game at the Strathcona Paper Centre in Napanee with over 500 kids in attendance from local schools.

Nadia Larocca opened the scoring in the first period and Addi Halladay scored the overtime winner.

On Saturday the Gaels came out the losers in overtime and lost 3-2 to the Western Mustangs (10-4-9-1)

The Gaels got the jump on the Mustangs early in the opening period as Bryce Desa scored her first career goal for Queen's. After the Mustangs tied it up, Halladay scored her 13th of the year to give the home side the lead. However, Western evened the score with 1:31 left in the third and scored again in overtime.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The U SPORTS No. 5-ranked Queen’s Gaels women's basketball team finished its regular season with a convincing 76-52 win over the York Lions at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC) on Friday.

With the victory, the Gaels clinch the top-seed in the OUA Eastern Conference and earn a bye through to the quarterfinals next weekend. Their 18-1 regular season record is the best in program history.

Fifth-year seniors Emily Hazlett , Robyn Pearson, and Gemma Bullard were honoured following the contest for the great contributions they made to the Gaels basketball program over their post-secondary tenure. Pearson finishes her regular season career as the fourth-highest rebounder in OUA women’s basketball history, and the first overall for Queen's with 866 rebounds.

Bridget Mulholland finished the game with a career-best 17 points and nine rebounds.  

"It's been a heck of a run,” head coach Dave Wilson said after the game. “When we came in the fall and put the lineup together, we knew something like this was possible. We saw the depth that we had and thought we could do some really great things and that’s what we challenged our players to do. They responded exceptionally well.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Sukhpreet Singh had a game-high 21 points, and the Queen's Gaels men’s basketball team (7-12) picked up a crucial win in the playoff race in their final regular season match, topping the York Lions (4-15) 70-60 at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC) on Friday night.

With the win the 11th-seed Gaels will face the sixth-seed Nipissing Lakers (9-10) in an OUA preliminary playoff on Wednesday in North Bay.
 
Fifth-year seniors Singh and Richard Iheadindu were honoured before the game for their contribution to the program. Singh, the all-time points leader for Queen's, shot 9-of-13 from the field, and picked up eight rebounds and six assists. 

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

The Queen’s Gaels (9-7) fell in straight sets to the York Lions (12-3) at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC) on Saturday 26-24, 25-20, 25-22

The Gaels honoured their three graduating athletes Will Hoey, Austin Payne, and Jamie Wright prior to the match. The Gaels saw a strong effort from Dylan Hunt who finished with 11 points, picking up five blocks and eight kills in the match.

On Sunday the Gaels lost in straight sets to the Nipissing Lakers (11-5) 25-22, 25-23, 25-19. Jamie Wright finished with 35 assists.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

The Queen's Gaels (9-8) swept Nipissing Lakers (8-9) in straight sets 26-24, 25-18, 25-13 on Sunday to strengthen their playoff picture heading into the final weekend of the OUA regular season.

On Saturday the Gaels took five sets to top the York Lions (7-9) 27-25, 23-25, 25-15, 16-25,15-9. Caroline Livingston led the way for the Gaels with a career high of 25 kills.

MEN’S FENCING

The Queen’s men’s fencing team captured sixth place in the OUA Men’s Fencing Championship hosted by Brock University on Saturday and Sunday, with rookie Kenneth West taking the bronze in the individual sabre.

The Toronto Varsity Blues took the overall title.