Stingers 1, Gaels 0: Concordia sweeps Queen’s in OUA semifinal

The Stingers advance to their first-ever Queen’s Cup final

SportsJared Lackman-Mincoff — Published March 8, 2025 0 minutes

Concordia found twine in the first period, thanks to forward Édouard Charron taking a drop pass from captain Gabriel Proulx, and unleashed a wrist shot over the glove of Gaels netminder Christian Purboo. The Stingers took a 1-0 lead mid-way through the opening period, and it proved to be enough to carry them to victory.

Masterful defence and stout goaltending from Nikolas Hurtubise secured the win, but not without a late-game scare. With only five seconds remaining in the final frame, Gaels forward Cameron Tolnai found a loose puck in the slot with Hurtubise down and out. He fired the puck on the open net, but rang it off the crossbar. Time ran out, and the Stingers emerged victorious.

After nearly 40 years as a member of the OUA, the Stingers have qualified for their first Queen’s Cup final. Concordia will face the winner of the OUA West final between the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold and the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, which is headed to a winner-take-all Game 3 on March 9. 

Despite the Stingers finishing the regular season with a better record than both teams, the Queen’s Cup final must be played in Ontario per OUA regulations. The Stingers will have to hop on a bus and head down the 401, but will still have the last line change in the championship game as the “home” team.

With the win, the Stingers also punched their ticket to their third-ever U Sports Championships, hosted by the University of Ottawa from March 20-23. As a top-two team in the OUA, the Stingers have a good chance at being one of the top-four seeds in the tournament.

But for now, Concordia sets its sights on its first Queen’s Cup championship. The winner-take-all clash will take place on March 15 in Toronto.