Dream on, underdogs: Host Gee-Gees take down top-ranked UNB on epic opening night of U Sports men’s hockey nationals

By Isabella Disley

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees sent home the back-to-back defending men’s hockey national-champion University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds in an electric overtime contest in the quarterfinal round of the 2025 BioSteel University Cup at TD Place.

Marc-Antoine Séguin scored his second goal of the game 16 minutes into a nail-biting extra session that stretched into the wee hours of Friday morning.

“The most important thing is that we believe – that’s what makes a difference,” the second-year forward from Gatineau underlined. “I gotta be honest. I was nervous about this game. I went in with some butterflies. It was stressful, but we executed.”

The start of the Gee-Gees and Reds’ game was delayed by just over two hours when the previous 1 p.m. quarter-final match between the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold and Mount Royal went to quintuple-overtime.

The longest game in U Sports men’s hockey history finally finished on a goal by Spencer Sugrue 83:33 into OT as his Bold emerged with a 5-4 victory.

TMU goalie Kai Edmonds of Ottawa was named the player of the game after making 38 consecutive saves in overtime and 66 overall.

Gee-Gees goalie Franky Lapenna also earned player of the game honours after turning back 41 shots from UNB, the top-seeded winners of five of the past seven Canadian university titles.

“No one believed in us but us, so it’s pretty special to prove everyone wrong and win against the dynasty,” highlighted Lapenna, whose team was outshot 43-22. “It’s nothing but pride for us, but we work our bags off.”

Granted a berth in the nationals as hosts, the Gee-Gees had earlier lost to Queen’s in the Ontario playoff quarter-finals, which gave them the bottom seed at the Mar. 20-23 event in Ottawa.

“It was really disappointing for our group. We bag-skated every day and it was really tough to stay positive and aligned, but we did,” signalled Lapenna, who shed a few tears on the ice after his team pulled off the upset in front of the hometown crowd of 1,650.

“It was awesome – the fans, the alumni hitting on the glass,” Lapenna added. “We brought the thunder (last) night and we felt the support and it was honestly one of the best feelings in my life to beat those guys in front of our fans and our school.”

Earlier this year, Lapenna won a gold medal alongside Edmonds at the 2025 FISU World Student Games in Italy.

Read More: HIGH ACHIEVERS: Gee-Gees goalie Franky Lapenna gets first taste of FISU Winter Games for Canada

“(Lapenna) was emotional because I don’t think there’s a person who works harder on our program than him and wants to win,” said Gee-Gees head coach Patrick Grandmaître. “He wants to do well for not only his teammates but the program.”

The delayed start time and even later finish caused some players to cramp up for the Gee-Gees, who finished the game with three defencemen and one forward playing defence.

“We had really good energy preparing for this game a couple of days ago and this morning leading up to the game. But the longer it got, the more we felt like the magic was starting to fade away,” Grandmaître noted.

Reds forward Benjamin Corbeil opened the scoring in the first period. Seguin capitalized on the powerplay, tying the game 15:39 into the second period. Cody Morgan answered back with a powerplay goal, giving the Reds a 2-1 lead in the final period.

Peter Stratis then scored the tying goal for uOttawa with under two minutes left in the third period. The veteran fourth-year defenceman immediately went to the bench to celebrate, as the TD Place crowd erupted while the clock struck 12.

“I love all those guys,” Stratis grinned. “We’ve been grinding for the past three weeks. We got it done and it’s pretty special for this group, especially the guys that have been here a long time. We’re thrilled and excited for the next couple of games.”

The Gee-Gees and Bold will fight for a spot in the championship game during their 1 p.m. semi-final on Saturday at TD Place. Ottawa has a chance to earn its first-ever appearance in a national men’s hockey final.

“We beat the king of the hill. We still gotta climb the hill to get there,” Lapenna indicated. “Why not us? Everyone said we couldn’t do it. Why not do it again and again?”

Aerosmith’s song Dream On echoed throughout the Gee-Gees’ locker room and the players sported T-shirts with a graphic of Rich Strike, the Kentucky Derby-winning horse who was not supposed to be in the race 24 hours before.

“We’ve been milking the underdog story for three weeks,” Grandmaitre smiled. “We knew we would have to survive at times (against UNB) because they’re so good and the amount of pressure they put and how hard they work. They’re the best for a reason, but they make you better as well.

“I’m telling you what I think all the other teams are thinking: UNB is out and this is anybody’s now.”

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