Toronto, Ont – A couple of sweeps later and the first round of the OUA East side of the Queen’s Cup Playoffs has come and gone.
The No. 3 Ottawa Gee-Gees pretty convincingly took care of business against the No. 6 Ontario Tech Ridgebacks, sweeping both games with a combined score of 13-1. On the other side, it was Npo. 5 Concordia Stingers, upsetting the No. 4 Queen’s Gaels with a sweep of their own.
Just four teams remain in the OUA East with two tight series to come.
No 1. McGill Redbirds vs No. 5 Concordia Stingers
Well, perhaps it was a bad idea to count out the Concordia Stingers. After predicting a win by Queen’s the previous week, the Stingers proceeded to take a 3-1 win in Game One off of a pair of powerplay goals while blowing a 3-1 lead in Game Two but taking the win in double overtime.
That gives Concordia a date with their crosstown rivals, the McGill Redbirds. Concordia lost the season series between these teams 1-1-1, but all three games were about as tight as you could get.
Opening day back in October saw the teams trade goals all night before Emile Hegarty-Aubin picked up the winner in the middle of the third to give the Stingers the 4-3 win. In their second matchup at the end of November, it was Alexis Shank picking up the 44 save, 1-0 shutout win with just a second-period goal from Charles-Antoine Dumont the only icebreaker.
Finally, in their third matchup on the final day of January, the Stingers came back from two goals down in the final 180 seconds to tie it at 4-4 before William Rouleau ultimately won it in overtime to give the Redbirds the 5-4 win.
One of the biggest questions for the Stingers came in who they would hand the net to, and they found it in Niklas Hartubise, who stopped 33 in game one and hung on through 85 minutes in game two to win the series.
For the Redbirds, the biggest question heading into game one might be the effect of time off. McGill hasn’t played since Feb 10 at Carleton, and ten days marks their longest time away from the ice since the winter break. Granted, they came back from winter break and proceeded to win ten of eleven games, so it may also help them to have gotten some extra rest.
This series is tough to predict as McGill is the inherent favourite, but Concordia is riding the momentum of their double-overtime series win over Queen’s.
No. 2 UQTR Patriotes vs No. 3 uOttawa Gee-Gees
The uOttawa Gee-Gees did not have as difficult a time in their opening round series as Concordia. The Gee-Gees took a 5-1 win in game one before cruising to an 8-0 shutout victory at home against Ontario Tech in game two to sweep the series.
All that now gives uOttawa a matchup with the two-time defending Queen’s Cup Champion UQTR Patriotes who are looking to be the first three-peat since McGill between 2010-2012.
With powerful teams on the west side in Brock and TMU and the McGill Redbirds leading the division in the east, the defending champs have almost slid under the radar. Still, the Patriotes enter this series on a hot streak, winning six of their final seven, along with the top scorer in the league.
Simon Lafrance officially made history by becoming the first player in over 25 years to win the OUA scoring title in back-to-back seasons for the UQTR Patriotes with 45 points in 26 games.
While UQTR may have the top offensive weapon, they actually don’t have the top goaltender, as uOttawa’s rookie sensation Franky Lapenna, after posting the top save percentage and GAA in the OUA in the regular season, continued to impress, allowing a single goal and finishing game two with a 23-save shutout.
Out of all of it, though if the uOttawa Gee-Gees have one thing going for them in this series, it is a little bit of history. It was back in the 2020 Queen’s Cup Playoffs that the Gee-Gees took down the Ridgebacks, the Patriotes, and then the Concordia Stingers (who they could feasibly play next round) en route to losing to Guelph in the Queen’s Cup.
“You always work on previous experiences and what can lead you to a bit of an upset,” Gee-Gees coach Patrick Grandmaître said following Game Two vs Ontario Tech.
“I think they will be the favourite team. They’re hard to beat in their home rink, but we’re flying high right now, so hopefully, there is that momentum that carries over.”
The OUA East division second round kicks off with Game One’s at UQTR and McGill on Wednesday before returning to Ottawa and Concordia respectively for Game Two on Friday night.