No. 9 Gaels coast to 6-1 victory and series sweep of Lakers

KINGSTON, Ont. – The No. 9 Queen's Gaels (2-0) ousted the Nipissing Lakers (0-2) with a dominant 6-1 victory on Friday night. Luke Edwards (Kingston, Ont.) and Jaden Lindo(Brampton, Ont.) led the way for the Gaels with strong offensive efforts. Edwards recorded four points (1G, 3A) while Lindo scored two goals and added an assist.
 
The Gaels got a scare in the first minute of play as Slater Doggett (Oakville, Ont.) fell awkwardly in front of the Lakers' bench and was forced to leave the ice. He was able to return to the game with just under fourteen minutes to play in the opening frame. Queen's controlled the play in the period, holding a 15-8 advantage in shots.
 
Queen's was rewarded for their strong play at 14:16 when Edwards finished off a give and go with Lindo to give the Gaels a 1-0 lead.
 
Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.) came up big with 1:43 remaining when he made a sliding pad save to keep the Gaels lead intact. 

Nipissing would tie the game near the midway point of the second period when at the conclusion of a Queen's powerplay, the Lakers would find Chad Thibodeau right out of the penalty box for a breakaway. Thibodeau made no mistake in firing a wrist shot past Bailie to make the score 1-1.
 
The Lindo-Edwards combination would strike again at 13:06 when Lindo scooped up a loose puck after an Edwards rush and rifled a wrist shot to the top corner of the net to give the Gaels a 2-1 lead. Alex Row (Elizabethtown, Ont.) and Ryan Bloom (Calgary, Alta.) would both have breakaway opportunities late in the period but were turned aside by Lakers' goaltender Brent Moran to keep the score close heading into the game's final frame.
 
Early in the third period, Warren Steele (Williamsburg, Ont.) blasted a rocket past Moran on a one-timer to give the Gaels a 3-1 lead at 8:06. That goal seemed to open the floodgates as the Gaels scored again just 23 seconds later when Lindo scored his second goal of the game, once again from Edwards.
 
The Lakers pulled Moran with just over five minutes remaining in the game as a last-ditch effort to tie the game. Darcy Greenaway (Wilton, Ont.) put an end to the Lakers' hopes when he scored an empty-netter at 17:42 after he won a foot race to the open puck and deposited it into the empty cage. Alex Stothart (Ottawa, Ont.) added his second of the series moments later, as the Gaels were able to finish the game with a commanding 6-1 win.
 
Bailie earned the win in net for the Gaels, recording 28 saves, while Moran was a bright spot in net for the Lakers, making 36 saves of his own.

Source: Queen's Gaels