The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team will travel to Kingston, Ont., this Saturday (Mar. 15) at 7:30 p.m. to face the Queen's Gaels in the OUA Bronze Medal Game, with the winner not only earning the OUA bronze medal but also the final spot at the U SPORTS national championships in Ottawa, Ont.

This season, the Blues finished second in the OUA West with a 17-11-0 (W-L-OT) record and carried the momentum of winning five of their final six regular season games into their quarter-final match-up against the Windsor Lancers, who they swept in two games. Setting up an all-Toronto semifinal versus the OUA West top seeded TMU Bold, the best-of-three series featured physical and emotional play with all three games being decided by one goal, but the Bold came out on top to end the Blues hopes of an OUA championship.

Despite the defeat, the Blues still showed promise that they can carry into the bronze medal match-up. After making eight regular season appearances, third-year goaltender Rayce Ramsay has taken the reigns in the Blues crease with authority, playing all five playoff games. Ramsay owns a .922 save percentage and 2.61 goals against average in the playoffs and made at least 30 saves in all three games against the Bold, including 46 this past Saturday.

On offence, Owen Robinson led the OUA in regular season scoring with 38 points and has not showed any signs of slowing down. The fourth-year forward has four goals and six points in four games, including a last-minute game-winning goal in Game 1 of the TMU series. Robinson's linemates Billy Moskal and Nicholas Wong have five points each, while Julian Recine tallied four points in the first two games of the semifinal. The Blues offence was flying high in the regular season, scoring 3.75 goals per game and they had the fifth-best power play at a 23.6% rate. These trends have continued into the playoffs, with the Blue and White scoring 3.40 goals per game, ranking fourth among all playoff teams, while Ramsay's play has them fifth in goal prevention.

The Queen's Gaels recorded an impressive 22-6-0 record in the regular season, placing second in the OUA East. The Gaels benefit from strong goaltending courtesy Christian Purboo, brother of former Blues captain Cole. The younger Purboo won 15 of 20 regular season starts this year, putting up a 2.25 goals against average and .927 save percentage in the process. Backup Aidan Spooner also provided ample relief when needed, winning six of eight starts and sporting a 1.84 goals against average and .928 save percentage, putting the Gaels in the top two in the OUA in those metrics.

Special teams is a major strength of the Gaels, who rank atop the OUA for both their power play (24.1%) and penalty kill (89.6%). Nolan Hutcheson was one of three players to score 20 goals this season, and his 29 points tied for the team lead with Cameron Tolnai, making them two of five Gaels to record 20-plus points. Holden Katzalay has been a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs, leading the OUA with seven points in four games.

The Blues and Gaels met just once this season, a 5-2 Queen's win at Varsity Arena early in the campaign on Oct. 12. These teams last met in the playoffs 21 years ago, with the Blues sweeping the Gaels in two games in the 2004 playoffs. The historic playoff rivalry between Toronto and Queen's began with a total goals series in 1895, and these teams will meet for the fourth time this millennium with Saturday's bronze medal match-up.

All OUA hockey playoff games can be streamed online via oua.tv.

SCHEDULE
Saturday, Mar. 15 | 7:30 p.m.
Memorial Centre (Kingston, Ont.)
Live Stats
Watch
 
2024-25 REGULAR SEASON STAT LEADERS
Toronto
Goals: Owen Robinson | 15 goals
Assists: Mark Cooper | 26 assists (OUA leader)
Points: Owen Robinson | 38 points (OUA leader)
Wins: Jordan Fairlie | 10 wins
 
Queen's
Goals: Nolan Hutcheson | 20 goals
Assists: Owen Lalonde | 23 assists
Points: Nolan Hutcheson, Cameron Tolnai | 29 points
Wins: Christian Purboo | 15 wins
 
HISTORY
Last Five Games:
Oct. 12, 2024 | Queen's 5, Toronto 2
Jan. 19, 2024 | Queen's 3, Toronto 0
Nov. 8, 2019 | Toronto 3, Queen's 0
Oct. 20, 2017 | Toronto 2, Queen's 1 (OT)
Jan. 28, 2017 | Queen's 2, Toronto 1