March 15, 2014
Windsor beats McGill 3-2 to claim first Queen's Cup title since 1998
WINDSOR, Ont.- For the first time in 16 seasons, the Windsor Lancers have taken their place on the OUA men's hockey throne after defeating the McGill Redman 3-2 in the 103rd Queen's Cup Final, presented by ArcelorMittal Dofasco, at South Windsor Arena on Saturday evening.
On a day when the women's basketball team earned a spot in their fifth-straight CIS Finals a few kilometers up Huron Church Road at the St. Denis Centre, it was the Cinderella men's hockey story that took the spotlight in the evening to conclude a historic date in Windsor Lancers athletics history.
The Lancers first OUA banner since the 1997-98 season didn't come easy, as their opponents from McGill put together a substantial late third period run after going down by three goals, and nearly sent the game into overtime with under a minute remaining in regulation.
However, an incredible 50-save performance by Queen's Cup player of the game Parker Van Buskirk and a two-goal outburst in the second period of play proved to be enough for the Lancers to win their second OUA banner in their last three trips to the Queen's Cup Final. Van Buskirk back-stopped his team to conference gold by holding a formidable .952 save-percentage in eight post-season matches where he averaged just over 35 shots against per game.
Few had predicted Windsor's run at the outset of the post-season, as the Lancers came into the playoffs ranked fourth in the OUA West division with a 17-11-0 record but had played .500 hockey throughout the second-half of the season. However, after earning a victory over the bitter rival and top-seeded Western Mustangs in the division semi-finals where Windsor came back from one-game down to win the best-of-three, it was full-steam ahead for the Lancer men. They dominated the division finals against Lakehead, another higher seed in the West, winning the series by a combined score of 13-3 in two-straight games.
Their efforts came full-circle on Saturday evening in front of a sell-out crowd that packed the intimate stands, rails and boards of South Windsor Arena to capacity to share in the moment. Windsor also defeated McGill, one of the behemoths in the CIS men's hockey circuit who had claimed four of the last six OUA banners heading into Saturday night's contest.
Both the Lancers and Redmen will head to the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon next week for the 2014 Potashcorp University Cup, presented by Co-op. The Carleton Ravens earned the final OUA berth in the national championships by defeating Lakehead in the conference bronze-medal match which also took place on Saturday.
The Lancers wasted no time in opening the scoring as Evan Stibbard lit the lamp just 17 seconds into regulation to put Windsor up 1-0. That would stand as the only goal through the first 20 minutes of play.
After a strong 16-save first period, Van Buskirk was stellar throughout the middle stanza, making several key saves that kept the Lancers up by one before Windsor broke out offensively. The hometown native robbed the Redmen with a goal-line pad save a few minutes into the second and continued turning away several shots as McGill pressed for the equalizer. He would turn aside 36 Redmen shots by the second intermission.
This proved crucial as the Lancers capitalized on a rare chance early in the second period to double their lead. After Spencer Pommells did some hard work on the forecheck to get the puck towards the Redmen goal, it squeaked out to an open part of the net. Mac McDonnell jumped on the loose puck, and snuck it in beside the far post before Redman goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard could recover.
McGill then took a cross-checking penalty just over a minute after Windsor's second-goal, giving the Lancers an opportunity to take a stranglehold on the contest. The hosts did just that as Kenny Bradford snuck in from the point and took a feed in the slot from captain Drew Palmer. The St. Catharines, Ont. native had his first shot stopped by Gervais-Chouinnard, but he jumped on the rebound which poked out to the right of the McGill goalie's left pad. Bradford shoveled it in to give Windsor a commanding 3-0 lead heading into the final period.
It looked as though Windsor would stroll to a Queen's Cup win, as McGill couldn't garner any substantial chances through the first three quarters of the final period. However, after the Redmen got one back on a short-handed goal from Vincent Barnard at the 14:32 mark, the Lancers took a penalty, which seemed to rejuvenate the OUA East division-winners.
Van Buskirk made a tough save on a cross-ice one-timer, but McGill converted their next opportunity as David Rose completed a give-and-go play, and suddenly a seemingly safe three-goal game turned into a tight one-goal contest with 3:43 left in regulation.
The Redmen came to life throughout the ensuing couple of minutes and earned a face-off in the Lancer zone with 1:08 left on the clock. After a McGill timeout, Van Buskirk was called into action once again, making a glove save through traffic and following with a tough save on a low angle shot from the left side-board in which he did not surrender a rebound opportunity with the Redmen crowding his crease.
Those were the best two opportunities for McGill, as a final defensive stand allowed the Lancers to clear the puck from danger and claim their second Queen's Cup in program history.
The Lancers and Redmen both went 1-for-2 with the man-advantage. Gervais-Chouinard had a solid game in net for McGill, stopping 35 of 38 shots in a losing cause.
The Lancers will travel to Saskatoon, Sask. for the national championships that run from March 20-23.
Source: Windsor Sports Info
On a day when the women's basketball team earned a spot in their fifth-straight CIS Finals a few kilometers up Huron Church Road at the St. Denis Centre, it was the Cinderella men's hockey story that took the spotlight in the evening to conclude a historic date in Windsor Lancers athletics history.
The Lancers first OUA banner since the 1997-98 season didn't come easy, as their opponents from McGill put together a substantial late third period run after going down by three goals, and nearly sent the game into overtime with under a minute remaining in regulation.
However, an incredible 50-save performance by Queen's Cup player of the game Parker Van Buskirk and a two-goal outburst in the second period of play proved to be enough for the Lancers to win their second OUA banner in their last three trips to the Queen's Cup Final. Van Buskirk back-stopped his team to conference gold by holding a formidable .952 save-percentage in eight post-season matches where he averaged just over 35 shots against per game.
Few had predicted Windsor's run at the outset of the post-season, as the Lancers came into the playoffs ranked fourth in the OUA West division with a 17-11-0 record but had played .500 hockey throughout the second-half of the season. However, after earning a victory over the bitter rival and top-seeded Western Mustangs in the division semi-finals where Windsor came back from one-game down to win the best-of-three, it was full-steam ahead for the Lancer men. They dominated the division finals against Lakehead, another higher seed in the West, winning the series by a combined score of 13-3 in two-straight games.
Their efforts came full-circle on Saturday evening in front of a sell-out crowd that packed the intimate stands, rails and boards of South Windsor Arena to capacity to share in the moment. Windsor also defeated McGill, one of the behemoths in the CIS men's hockey circuit who had claimed four of the last six OUA banners heading into Saturday night's contest.
Both the Lancers and Redmen will head to the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon next week for the 2014 Potashcorp University Cup, presented by Co-op. The Carleton Ravens earned the final OUA berth in the national championships by defeating Lakehead in the conference bronze-medal match which also took place on Saturday.
The Lancers wasted no time in opening the scoring as Evan Stibbard lit the lamp just 17 seconds into regulation to put Windsor up 1-0. That would stand as the only goal through the first 20 minutes of play.
After a strong 16-save first period, Van Buskirk was stellar throughout the middle stanza, making several key saves that kept the Lancers up by one before Windsor broke out offensively. The hometown native robbed the Redmen with a goal-line pad save a few minutes into the second and continued turning away several shots as McGill pressed for the equalizer. He would turn aside 36 Redmen shots by the second intermission.
This proved crucial as the Lancers capitalized on a rare chance early in the second period to double their lead. After Spencer Pommells did some hard work on the forecheck to get the puck towards the Redmen goal, it squeaked out to an open part of the net. Mac McDonnell jumped on the loose puck, and snuck it in beside the far post before Redman goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard could recover.
McGill then took a cross-checking penalty just over a minute after Windsor's second-goal, giving the Lancers an opportunity to take a stranglehold on the contest. The hosts did just that as Kenny Bradford snuck in from the point and took a feed in the slot from captain Drew Palmer. The St. Catharines, Ont. native had his first shot stopped by Gervais-Chouinnard, but he jumped on the rebound which poked out to the right of the McGill goalie's left pad. Bradford shoveled it in to give Windsor a commanding 3-0 lead heading into the final period.
It looked as though Windsor would stroll to a Queen's Cup win, as McGill couldn't garner any substantial chances through the first three quarters of the final period. However, after the Redmen got one back on a short-handed goal from Vincent Barnard at the 14:32 mark, the Lancers took a penalty, which seemed to rejuvenate the OUA East division-winners.
Van Buskirk made a tough save on a cross-ice one-timer, but McGill converted their next opportunity as David Rose completed a give-and-go play, and suddenly a seemingly safe three-goal game turned into a tight one-goal contest with 3:43 left in regulation.
The Redmen came to life throughout the ensuing couple of minutes and earned a face-off in the Lancer zone with 1:08 left on the clock. After a McGill timeout, Van Buskirk was called into action once again, making a glove save through traffic and following with a tough save on a low angle shot from the left side-board in which he did not surrender a rebound opportunity with the Redmen crowding his crease.
Those were the best two opportunities for McGill, as a final defensive stand allowed the Lancers to clear the puck from danger and claim their second Queen's Cup in program history.
The Lancers and Redmen both went 1-for-2 with the man-advantage. Gervais-Chouinard had a solid game in net for McGill, stopping 35 of 38 shots in a losing cause.
The Lancers will travel to Saskatoon, Sask. for the national championships that run from March 20-23.
Source: Windsor Sports Info
