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Champions! Gaels down Mustangs 5-4 for OUA Title
Posted by: Shawn MacDonald (Sports Information Officer) and Dylan Plain (Sports Information Writer)

3/1/2013 8:58:00 PM
KINGSTON, Ont. (March 1, 2013) -The Queen's Gaels women's hockey team was able to complete the sweep of the rival Mustangs and claim the Judy McCaw Memorial Cup and OUA Championship title. The Gaels were diligent offensively wasting no time firing shots on the Western goaltenders and finding the back of the net, outshooting the Mustangs 45-18--with 19 of those shots coming in the first.

Morgan McHaffie (Guelph, Ont.) got the first good chance for the Gaels early in the first period. The Guelph native stepped over the blue line on a two-on-one and fired a wrist shot just wide of the low corner of the net. Queen's continued their offensive pressure with defenseman Danielle Girard (Sarnia, Ont.) showing her offensive touch, putting three chances on Mustang's goalie Kelly Campbell (St. Thomas, Ont.) in the opening ten minutes.

A defensive breakdown for the Gaels a few minutes later resulted in a two-on-none for the Mustangs. Stacey Scott (London, Ont.) went cross bar and in on Gaels starting goaltender Mel Dodd-Moher (Stittsville, Ont.) for a 1-0 Western lead.

Queen's caught a break shortly after with Western recording their second and third penalties of the game to give the tricolour a minute of 5-on-3 action. On the power play, a beautiful set-up by the Gaels Katie Duncan (Kitchener, Ont.) from the point on a slap-pass went to a wide open Girard who made a great play to deflect the hard pass up off the cross bar and in. Just after their power play ended the Gaels struck again with Kristin Smith (Toronto) netting a deflection from a Mary Coughlin (Amherstburg, Ont.) shot. A Casey Rosen (Toronto) interference penalty for Western closed out the first frame, with the Gaels leading 2-1.

With the Mustangs suffering an injury to starting goalie Campbell after the first, Olivia Ross (Huntsville, Ont.) took the helm heading into the final two periods of the do-or-die game.

The Gaels wasted no time firing shots on Olivia Ross, with Brittany McHaffie (Guelph, Ont.) buring her fourth goal of the playoffs off a rebound shot from Girard under 30 seconds into the period. Girard was named the Gaels player of the game for her efforts, finishing the game with two points--a goal and assist.

Three minutes later Gaels rookie forward Courtenay Jacklin (Regina) was able to find the twine off a snapshot from a Chelsey Verbeek (Beiseker, Alta.) pass to give Queen's a commanding 4-1 lead early in the second period.

Despite the two early goals from the Gaels, Western was able to regain some momentum and rally behind their goalie change. A Mustangs power play five minutes into the period sparked some Western offence, with Stacey Scott (London, Ont.) netting a rebound goal past Dodd-Moher. A Duncan penalty allowed the Mustangs to score their second power play goal with Cassidy Gosling (London, Ont.) netting the puck as the result of a scramble which left Dodd-Moher out of position. The goal gave Western some much needed momentum heading into the third trailing Queen's 4-3.

Early in the third the Gaels found themselves on a power play as the result of a Kryshanda Green (Caledon, Ont.) face-off interference penalty. Despite not being able to convert on the power play the Gaels were able to find the score-sheet early in the third with Taryn Pilon (Peterborough, Ont.) capitalizing on a rebound over a sprawled out Ross with an assist coming from Brittany McHaffie.

Unfortunately for the Gaels they found themselves in the box again with Verbeek recording a minor for hooking. On the power-play rookie forward Katelyn Gosling (London, Ont.) was able to convert, netting a slap hot past a screened Dodd-Moher.

An exciting final five minutes of regulation ensued, with Western turning up the tempo and keeping the puck deep in Gaels territory. The Queen's defenders were able to stand tall however, led by veteran net minder Dodd-Moher, and close out the game with a 5-4 victory. The victory marks the second Judy McCaw Memorial Cup for the Gaels in the past three years, with their last one coming in the 2010-2011 season.

The Gaels veteran goaltender Mel Dodd-Moher, who shared her duties this season with fellow veteran Karissa Savage (Calgary), had the following to say about Queen's impressive home victory.

"Western gave us all they had. They could have just given in, but they didn't, so it was a tough game for sure. In the last few minutes I just knew I had great teammates and we could pull out the win"

The Queen's Gaels women's hockey team now advances to the 2013 CIS Women's Hockey Championship in Toronto, which starts on March 7th.