Banner Season: Stingers capture first-ever Queen’s Cup Championship

TORONTO (via TMU Bold) – The Concordia Stingers took down the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold 4-1 on Saturday, March 15, to claim the 113th Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Queen's Cup. 

Nikolas Hurtubise was dominant in net for the Stingers, stopping 36 of 37 shots, and was named the Player of the Game.

The Stingers jumped on the Bold early, scoring two goals in quick succession in the opening period. Nicholas Girouard opened the scoring on the power play at 12:45 of the first period off assists from Sean Larochelle and Simon Lavigne. Exactly one minute later, the Montreal-based school doubled their lead with an Alexander Gaudio goal and a Kyle Havlena assist. The Stingers took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

Neither team found the back of the net in the second period as Hurtubise and Bold netminder Kai Edmonds traded big saves on opposite ends of the ice. Edmonds made 22 saves in the contest.

The score remained 2-0 until late in the third period when Bold captain Chris Playfair cut into the lead with a power-play goal off assists from Tyler Savard and Jaden Condotta at 18:31. Desperate to tie the game, the Bold pulled their goalie shortly after Playfair's goal but Concordia took advantage of the open net, scoring twice to seal the victory. Sean Larochelle scored the first empty-net goal, assisted by Mathieu Bizier and Girouard, while Alexandre Nadeau tallied the final goal unassisted.

For Concordia, it's their first-ever Queen's Cup Championship. Both teams will compete at the U SPORTS Men's Hockey University Cup March 20-23 at TD Place in Ottawa.