Queen's opens quarter-final series with 3-1 road win at Concordia

MONTREAL - The third-seeded Queen's Gaels defeated the No.7 nationally ranked and second-seeded Concordia Stingers 3-1 on Wednesday night in Montreal to open their OUA East best-of-three semifinal in men's hockey.

GAME FLOW
The Gaels found themselves in the box early in the period as Ryan Bloom (Calgary) went off for tripping at the 1:24 mark. Queen's was able to fend off the Concordia attack and keep the game scoreless in the early stages. Mid-way through the period, the Gaels were the first to strike. Breaking in on the Concordia net, Peter Angelopolpous (Nobleton, Ont.) took a shot that bounced off of Stingers netminder Philippe Cadorette and right to Harrison Hendrix (Calgary) who potted his first goal of the playoffs to put the Gaels ahead.

Angelopolous continued to have the hot hand for the Gaels, scoring his team-leading third goal of the playoffs at the 16:20 mark of the opening period deflecting a Spencer Abraham (Campbellville, Ont.) point shot into the back of the net. Queen's headed to the intermission with a two-goal lead on the road.

Just 30 seconds into the second period, Concordia was able to beat Gaels starting netminder Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.) to cut the lead in half. Bailie continued to shine for Queen's in the second stopping 17 shots faced in the period. After killing off their third penalty of the game, the Gaels were able to push the pace offensively once again. Off of a scramble play in front of the Concordia net, Darcy Greenaway (Wilton, Ont.) put the puck into the net after the puck popped right to him at the side of the net. The unassisted goal gave Queen's a comfortable 3-1 lead heading into the third period.
 
The Gaels defence stood tall in the third as Concordia continued to pressure the Gaels defence and goaltender. At the 7:55 mark Philippe Hudon was awarded a penalty shot but was denied by Bailie who flashed his glove for a save. Queen's was able to hold on from there thanks to a 49 save performance from Bailie to take the 3-1 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS
49 - Saves for Bailie on 50 shots faced
5 - Points for Angelopolous in the playoffs after recording just four in 19 regular season games
1 - Penalty shot save for Bailie which came at 7:55 of the third period

UP NEXT
The Gaels return home to the Memorial Centre on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. where they will look to eliminate Concordia in game two. For ticket information head to www.gogaelsgo.com/tickets.

Source: Queen's Gaels