With just 1:11 minutes remaining in the third period, York's Rich Kearns’ goal lifted the No. 6 ranked York University Lions men's hockey team to a 3-2 victory over the No. 4 ranked Ottawa Gee Gees in the OUA Queen's Cup Championship on Sunday night in London, Ont. With the victory, York claims its fifth Ontario University Athletics (OUA) title and first since 1987-1988.
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Above: The new OUA Champions, the York mens hockey team
York advanced to Sunday's final and earned a berth in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) National Championship in Fredericton, New Brunswick, March 25-28 with a 3-2 win over No. 3 ranked Lakehead University in the OUA West Final on Saturday. University of Ottawa advanced to the Championship with a 4-2 victory over No. 10 ranked University of Toronto in the OUA East Final.
Jerry Connell and Phil Knapp had the other York goals in Sunday's victory, while Matt Reynolds added a pair of assists. Kearns, a fourth-year forward, also had an assist to go along with his game-winning goal.
The Lions outshot the Gee Gees 40-27. York goaltender Derek Dolson, who stopped 50 shots from Lakehead on Saturday, made 25 saves for the victory versus Ottawa. Both teams were 0-for-4 on the power play.
York (Ontario Champion) joins New Brunswick (host), St. Francis Xavier (Atlantic Champion), Dalhousie (Atlantic Finalist), Alberta (Canada West Champion) and Ottawa (Ontario Finalist) on March 25-28 in the CIS Championship in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
OUA Queen's Cup Championship Results at University of Western Ontario
- March 12 - Tournament Entry Game - Western 4 vs Toronto 5
- March 13 - West Division Championship - York 3 vs Lakehead 2
- March 13 - East Division Championship - Toronto 2 vs Ottawa 4
- March 14 - OUA Queen's Cup Championship - York 3 vs Ottawa 2
York Men’s Hockey - Past OUA Championships
- 2003-04
- 1987-88
- 1986-87
- 1985-86
- 1984-85