RECAP: Tourigny terrific, men’s hockey wins crucial matchup with Gaels as playoffs loom

With his father flying in overnight from California for the game, Jean-Philippe Tourigny turned in one of his most clutch performances as a Gee-Gee.

The netminder turned aside 26 shots to secure a 3-1 win over the Queen's Gaels in a playoff-like atmosphere at the Minto Sports Complex Sunday afternoon. Jean-Robin Mantha, Max Grondin and Adam Kim got the goals for Ottawa. 

"I think it was the first time he's seen me play a game since COVID," said Tourigny of his father, Andre, who coached the Arizona Coyotes to a 2-1 overtime loss in Anaheim Saturday evening. "I'm really happy he got to be here for this one. It meant the world."

Tourigny was solid throughout. The lone blemish on his record was a seeing-eye shot from Jack Duff that eluded the screened goaltender.

Mantha got the scoring started on the powerplay in the second period in what was perhaps his final game at the Minto Sports Complex. Grondin scored early in the third with Kim adding an insurance marker with five minutes to go. 

"It was 60 minutes of concentration," said Tourigny. "The guys did a great job clearing away any rebounds I let out. We ended up being the better team – good defensively and good offensively. It was one of our biggest games of the season."

The win is a critical one for Ottawa. There are essentially two playoff spots remaining in the OUA East, and Ottawa, Queen's and Carleton are vying for the two spots. With the first tiebreaker being head-to-head record, the win has extra meaning, as the Gee-Gees now own a 2-1 record against both the Gaels and Ravens in 2022-23.

As it stands, Carleton is on 27 points, Ottawa's on 26 and Queen's has 22. The Gee-Gees have two games to play (at Concordia Feb. 3 and at McGill Feb. 9). Carleton and Queen's both still have three games on their schedule.

Ottawa were in Trois-Rivières for a Friday evening affair. The number three team in the country flexed their muscles, defeating the Gee-Gees 7-1. Kaden Bryant scored the lone goal for Ottawa, his first in OUA action for the Garnet and Grey. 

Prior to Sunday's game, the Gee-Gees honoured their graduating seniors; Anthony Poulin, Nicolas Ouellet, Jérôme Gravel, Daniel Hardie, Adam Kim and Jean-Robin Mantha.