Hawks get shot at revenge in bronze medal game

Two weeks ago the Queen’s Gaels started their playoff run that shocked most of the CIS women’s hockey world. And no one was more shocked than the Laurier Golden Hawks.

The Gaels upset the number-two nationally ranked Hawks in the OUA semifinal, winning two of their six overtime games of the playoffs. That loss ended the Hawks’ streak of seven-straight provincial titles and 11 consecutive appearances in the OUA championship game.

But at 4:00 today, the Hawks will get a shot at revenge as Laurier and Queen’s will face off in the CIS bronze medal game in Waterloo.

The Hawks come into the bronze after a 4-3 loss to St. F.X. in their tournament opener on Thursday followed by a 4-0 blow-out of the Manitoba Bisons on Friday. The win over the Bisons preserved the Hawks’ shot at winning CIS gold on home ice, however when Manitoba couldn’t pull off a win over St. F.X. in a dramatic, back-and-forth game, the purple gold were forced to settle for bronze.

The Gaels, meanwhile, came into nationals as likely the hottest team after upsetting Laurier and then beating Guelph in the OUA finals. They rode that momentum to their seventh-straight overtime win in their first game of the tournament against the Alberta Pandas.

However, on Saturday, the Gaels ran into a team that the momentum of their magical playoff run couldn’t conquer. Queen’s fell 3-1 to the undefeated McGill Martlets, landing them in the third-place game.

Not only do the Hawks have a shot at enacting some revenge for their own sake, they can also avenge a loss to Queen’s for another of Laurier’s team.

In November, Laurier’s soccer team beat Queen’s in the OUA final. A week later, at the national championship in P.E.I., the Hawks and Gaels met again, this time in the CIS finals. And this time around, the Gaels came out on top.

While it may not be the medal they hoped to claim on home ice, a bronze would mark some measure of Laurier revenge on Queen’s. For Golden Hawks of both the ice and field variety.