By Mia Ines
 
The No. 6 ranked Lancer men's hockey team will host the 111th Queen's Cup this Saturday, March 11th against the No. 3 ranked, and defending national champion, UQTR Patriotes.
 
It was another dominant season for the Lancers as they finished atop the OUA western conference, tied only with the Lakehead Thunderwovles. The team will be vying for the OUA title for the first time since the 2013-14 season and with a roster full of talented performers in all aspects of the game, the blue and gold are prepared to battle it down to the wire.
 
In addition to the prestigious Queen's Cup, the Lancers are also gearing up for a U SPORTS national championship appearance. The blue and gold qualified for the tournament by capturing the OUA western conference title last week against the Thunderwolves.
 
"We have had tremendous secondary scoring this year. If you can spread your offense out, a team becomes very difficult to play against. Clearly, our senior players have a major role in our success but that may be true for every team. Our entire group has had special moments," said head coach Kevin Hamlin when sharing his insights on the regular season and how the team feels heading into the championship.
 
"Winning a two out of three series against any team at this time of year is special. Lakehead and Brock before them, were two extraordinary opponents on course to do something special themselves. To win in front of sell-out crowds in Thunder Bay was something our guys will always remember."
 
The Lancers are backstopped by the OUA west division goaltender of the year Nathan Torchia. Torchia currently has a 1.78 GAA and a 0.944 save percentage in the post season, and discussed how the blue and gold are looking to approach this weekend meetings with UQTR.
 
"Our teams mindset against UQTR is to play hard, gritty Lancer hockey and have a team first mentality," said the second year Lancer. "By that it means doing whatever it takes on the ice to ensure that we are successful and make it as tough as possible for them (Patriotes) to beat us at our rink."
 
In order to claim the OUA title, the squad is looking to maintain the form they have seen leading up to this point. The defending champions Patriotes continue to raise their game showcasing their speed and special teams that can be a problem for anyone. Coach Hamlin expresses the team's mindset to prepare for them and execute in a manner they have been all year. The Lancers depth makes them a team that holds nothing in reserve and in Coach Hamlin's exact words, "we will leave it all out there on Saturday and may the best team win."
"We are feeling great heading into the championship series," explains Torchia. "This is something we worked really hard to accomplish and we are definitely feeling ready to make all of Lancer nation proud. We have been very positive over the past couple days and will continue to bring that positive energy into Saturday. We couldn't be more excited!"
With the blue and gold earning the opportunity to host the Queen's Cup, Coach Hamlin asserts, "When we recruit our prospective student athletes, we talk about the exposure to moments like this. Our guys will remember this for a life-time and for the University of Windsor to be in on that is incredibly special."
 
Championship Details
Who: UQTR Patriotes @ Windsor Lancers
When: Saturday, March 11, 2023
Where: Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex
Livestream & Updates: OUA.tv. Fans can also follow along our social media pages including Twitter for in-game updates