Gaiters take a hometown win against McMaster
The Bishop’s Men’s Hockey club took to the ice on Saturday night in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the W.B. Scott Arena. The men did not disappoint, putting on a great show for the fans, putting up 7 goals to beat McMaster with a final score of 7-3.
Before hitting home ice on Saturday, the team traveled to Brockville to compete in the Ninth Annual St. Lawrence College River Dogs Men’s Hockey Tournament on Thursday and Friday.
Led by head coach Kevin Gagnon, assistant coaches Tim Steele Moore, Andrew Manouk, and Matt Purdy, as well as trainer Roberto Menezes, the men faced off against Sudbury’s College Boreal for their first game on Thursday. The men finished the first period with a 1-1 tie. Gagnon stepped in with a new game plan for the team, leading Bishop’s to a huge recovery, outshooting Boreal 35-10 and finishing with a 6-1 win.
Bishop’s went on to play McMaster in their second game of the tournament. Leading 1-0 until the final minutes of the game, McMaster put away a bouncing puck in front of the BU net to tie the score.
The game went to a four-man shootout to determine the win. Gagnon had Justin Taylor shoot first with Chris Mathews, Mike Dube and Luke Armstrong following. A goal from Mathews and a game winning five-hole shot from Armstrong secured the win for BU.
In the deciding game for first place in their division, Bishop’s went up against Humber College on Friday afternoon. Despite outshooting them 22-10, the Gaiters ended their tournament with a 2-1 loss.
“The boys played defensively stellar; all the guys were definitely on board with the game plan”, said Gagnon.
Upon their return to Lennoxville, the Gaiters matched up for the second time against the tournament winner, McMaster, at the W.B. Scott Arena.
The Gaiters produced a great turnout thanks to the efforts of Devin Maule who organized the event for the team.
“The fans were awesome. I was surprised by the great turnout and extremely happy with the enthusiasm for hockey shown by the school.”
Bishop’s dominated the game with two goals from Squire and Mathews, and singles from Armstrong and Fendler, leading the team to a healthy 6-1 score. McMaster showed with a valiant final effort in the last minutes with two fast goals but was unable to make any real comeback. Bishop’s sealed the win with first-year Sean Bacon’s goal, making the final score 7-3.
“All in all it was a huge success, I was nervous going into it. We went into Brockville not knowing what the others teams were going to be like. For playing together for the first time, they adapted quickly and gelled well as a team while sticking to the game plan. I’m proud of what we accomplished this past weekend”, said Gagnon about the team’s overall weekend performance.
Along with Saturday’s game, Maule also put together an opportunity for local elementary school children to come out Sunday morning for a skate with the BU players after a third match up against McMaster.
After a 5-2 win on Sunday morning, the Gaiters stayed on the ice for a skate with the local children. Even the BU mascot participated in the event.
Gagnon noted, “The kids were really excited; they were even asking the guys for autographs.”
After an exciting debut, the team will be working hard to pose as an even bigger threat in February’s tournament taking place in Brantford, Ont.
