49 Sports previews the East Division semifinals ahead of puck drop
Toronto, Ont. (via 49 Sports / Richard Coffey) - A couple of sweeps later and the first round of the east side of the Queen’s Cup Playoffs has come and gone.
The No. 3 Ottawa Gee-Gees 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 No. 5 Concordia Stingers upsetting the No. 4 Queen’s Gaels with a sweep of their own.
With the final four of the East Division set to get underway on Wednesday, 49 Sports previews the next round.
No 1. McGill Redbirds vs No. 5 Concordia Stingers
Perhaps it was a bad idea to count out the Concordia Stingers. After predicting a win by Queen’s here last week, the Stingers proceeded to take a 3-1 victory in Game 1 off of a pair of powerplay goals while blowing a 3-1 lead in Game 2, but ultimately taking the 4-3 triumph in double overtime.
That gives Concordia a date with their crosstown rivals, the top-seed 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 night 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, Alexis Shank picked up the 44 save 1-0 shutout win with just a second-period goal from Charles-Antoine Dumont as 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 1 and hung on through 85 minutes in Game 2 to win the series.
For the Redbirds, the biggest question heading into Game 1 might be the effect of time off. McGill hasn’t played since February 10 at Carleton, and 10 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 series win over Queen’s. Whichever team gets out of it though will be a formidable matchup down the line.
No. 2 UQTR Patriotes vs No. 3 Ottawa Gee-Gees
The Ottawa 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 the opener before cruising to an 8-0 shutout victory at home against Ontario Tech in Game 2 to sweep the series.
All of that now gives Ottawa 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 to 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 boasting 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 in the series, they actually don’t have the top goaltender, as Ottawa’s rookie sensation Franky Lapenna, after posting the top save percentage and GAA in the OUA in the regular season, continued to impress in the opening round, allowing a single goal and finishing Game 2 with a 23-save shutout.
Out of all of it, though, if the 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 2 against Ontario Tech.
“I think they [UQTR] 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.”
