TORONTO, ON—The crowd rocked louder than ever for the TMU Bold through double overtime in the 112th OUA Queen’s Cup, but the UQTR Patriotes needed just one bounce to send a vacuuming hush over the fervorous cheers.
Seventy seconds into the second overtime period, rookie forward Maverick Gauthier rushed over the blueline and into the TMU zone, firing a shot off goaltender Kai Edmonds, only for 5th-year Vincent Milot-Oullet to barrel in the rebound, taking the energy out of the crowd, save for a small section of travelling UQTR support.
For the third season in a row, the UQTR Patriotes were crowned OUA champions, this time with a group featuring 12 rookies buoyed by critical veterans. For Milot-Ouellet, Simon Lafrance, goalie Alexis Gravel and several others, Saturday’s overtime win marked the third time they had won a trophy in extra hockey.
Lafrance, who was named the OUA East MVP for a second straight year ahead of puck drop, scored the U SPORTS Championship winner in 2022 and played his final OUA game in the 2024 final. At the same time, Milot-Oulette’s goal marked his first OT winner, having been a part of the past victories.
“It felt good for sure, especially since it’s my fifth year, and we worked hard right until the end of the game,” Milot-Oullet told 49 Sports post-game, singling out Saturday’s win as the best. “This is the best way you can finish this ride and these five years, and you can’t really describe the feeling.”
Both teams had several opportunities to win in the extra frames, with TMU forcing a Chris Playfair deflection off the crossbar while dynamic defenceman and Arizona Coyotes prospect Artem Duda dangled his way through defenders before forcing Gravel into a tough backhand save.
At the other end, Edmonds stood strong for the Bold through the five periods, stopping 48 shots of UQTR 51, including sprawling saves throughout overtime and a pair of breakaways in the third period.
“Kai is an outstanding goalie, and he proved it tonight again, so we knew it wasn’t going to be a beautiful goal,” Lafrance said. “We just wanted to stay focused on what our goal was through overtime and bring as many pucks to the net as we could.”
The Patriotes came out firing early in the 112th Queen’s Cup Final, finding the back of the net on their first shot of the game after the TMU Bold took a too-many-men penalty in early moments, silencing the crowd of nearly 2,000 as Pier-Olivier Roy squeaked a puck past Edmonds at the 3:37 mark of the first period.
Although the early penalty showcased the Bold’s nerves early in the matchup, they responded quickly on their first-man advantage, with Connor Bowie’s snapshot from the low circles eluding Gravel’s grasp at 10:49 of the opening frame after a slick passing play off the faceoff.
The Bold took their lone lead of the night at the 16:08 mark of the second period, as Carson Gallagher, a second-year forward, picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and dangled past UQTR veteran blueliner Jordan Lepage before finishing on the backhand past Gravel.
Conor Frenette netted UQTR’s tying goal just before the halfway mark of the third period before Milot-Ouellet found his eventual winning goal at the 1:10 mark of the second overtime.
“Amazing, three-peats are not something you see coming these days, and to do it with these guys, they played the best game again, and it’s the best feeling again,” Lafrance added. “I thought about scoring, but everyone on this team can score goals, and we showed that tonight; it’s so fun to win with these guys.
With the win in their back pocket and another OUA gold medal around their necks, the Patriotes and Bold move on to the University Cup also hosted in Toronto. UQTR will stay around the city in preparation for the tournament.
As OUA runners-up, the Bold have also clinched the fourth seed at the University Cup and will play the late puck drop on March 14. The official tournament draw will be confirmed in the coming days.
“Staying in Toronto is going to be a big help for us,” Lafrance said. We’re just going to enjoy it tonight, and then tomorrow, we’re going to rest and get ready to play eight great teams at the U CUP.”