Host Gee-Gees earn dream finish with third 1-goal win of nationals, capture first Canadian crown

By Isabella Disley

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees completed their Cinderella story on home ice to win the first men’s hockey national championship in program history with a 3-2 triumph over the Concordia Stingers on Sunday night in the 2025 BioSteel U Cup final.

“We’re champions, and no one’s ever gonna take that away from us,” smiled Gee-Gees goalie Franky Lapenna, fresh off singing the Queen classic We Are the Champions in the team’s locker room.

Lapenna was named player of the game in the championship final as well as tournament MVP after back-stopping the bottom-seeded Gee-Gees to three straight upset wins at the Mar. 20-23 event at TD Place.

The Gee-Gees were outshot every game – 44-22 against top-seeded University of New Brunswick in the quarterfinals, 33-29 against Toronto Metropolitan in the semis, and 33-14 against Concordia – but won each contest by one goal.

Lapenna posted a .936 save percentage over the course of the tournament to earn his second major championship of 2025. The second-year student-athlete was a FISU World Student Games gold medallist with Team Canada in January, although he noted that he was scratched for five of eight FISU games and battled a personal slump this season as well.

“I hold myself to a high standard. I wanna be the best in every game I play in, and it was hard for me to not be the best for a good little stretch,” indicated Lapenna, who was lifted by his teammates’ support through his struggles.

“These guys are my family. It’s really special to share this with my brothers,” he underlined, as his teammates chanted ‘MVP’ down the hallway.

“This is what I mean when I say I’m lucky,” Lapenna explained. “We’ve got an awesome group of guys, and I couldn’t imagine anyone else I’d want to share it with. We created 26 new winners.”

Earning a championship and multiple accolades was particularly meaningful for Lapenna since he had many family and friends in the stands, including old billet families who drove over 12 hours to see him play.

“I’m grateful and thankful,” signalled the Gatineau Olympiques product from Laval, QC. “It’s a lot easier to be there in big moments when you have someone behind you pushing you. I was so happy to win in front of these guys.”

Facing the Ontario-champion Stingers, the Gee-Gees never trailed in the championship final, but had to survive a late Concordia surge.

Ottawa native Vincent Labelle opened the scoring just before the 10-minute mark, while Bradley Chenier doubled the lead four minutes later. Luka Verreault added an insurance goal for the Gee-Gees three minutes into the second period, which they wound up needing.

With their goalie pulled, the Stingers scored twice with 2:29 and 1:24 left in the third period to force a hectic finish, but uOttawa managed to hold on.

“It’s an amazing feeling. All the hard work we put in this year is a big reward, and we’re extremely happy,” said Charles-Antoine Roy, a senior forward from Gatineau. “We’re a really tight team, and I think it showed (Sunday) night, and that’s why we won.”

The heart-stopping finish to the final was nothing compared to the cardiological scares several Gee-Gees endured this year. In October, Mitch Martin had open-heart surgery to correct a valve problem, but the towering rookie forward wound up scoring the game-winning goal in the last minute of the semi-final, and then added two assists in the championship game.

Read More: Half a year removed from open heart surgery, Mitch Martin sends host Gee-Gees to first national men’s hockey championship final with last-minute winner in semis

Defender Jacob LeGuerrier also dealt with heart-related issues after battling COVID, while the nationals were forward Luka Verreault’s first games played since October, after dealing with complications of a broken hand.

“We’ve been through a lot together, and we’ve always battled through it,” noted veteran defenceman Peter Stratis, a former Ottawa 67. “I think this entire week has been a testament to how close we are and all the work we’ve put in.”

The team began the season with a trip to Germany in August and ended the campaign as national champs.

“It was incredible, some of the best memories of my life. This entire year has been so special, and I’m super proud of this team,” added Stratis, who will return next season for his final year of teacher’s college.

For eight senior Gee-Gees, their first taste of university hockey came on the Rideau Canal when COVID forced them outdoors for conditioning and cancelled their 2021 season.

“I knew this was my last time putting on the garnet and grey, and I’m so happy and so proud to be a Gee-Gee,” emphasized senior forward Bradley Chenier while sporting a cut on his cheek and a black eye.

“These are my brothers,” he illustrated. “I would go to war for these guys. I love every single one of them to death.”

After being eliminated by Queen’s in the Ontario playoff quarter-finals, the Gee-Gees were long-shots at nationals, particularly as they drew the two-time reigning national champions in the first match.

Skunked in the All-Canadian awards, the Gee-Gees wound up with two selections to the tournament all-star team – Lapenna and forward Marc-Antoine Séguin, who scored two goals including the overtime winner over UNB on a wild opening night.

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

“We embraced the underdog mentality, but for us, we knew we could compete and win,” signalled fourth-year forward Mathieu Desgagnés. “There’s no better feeling. To finish the season like this, there’s no words for it.”

Granted a berth in the nationals as tournament hosts, the Gee-Gees enjoyed a big energy boost from a packed TD Place crowd for the final.

“Going on right before the national anthem, hearing everyone, it was like, ‘oh, my, god, this is crazy right now,’” Desgagnés highlighted. “That’s what pushed us through, so we really appreciate it.”

Gee-Gees head coach Patrick Grandmaître celebrated the second Canadian university title of his career. He was previously captain of the St. Francis Xavier University 2004 national champions.

“I won’t lie to you, this is pretty selfishly pretty neat for me to win one as an athlete and then win one as a coach,” said Grandmaître. “It’s indescribable. I’m so happy for the guys. This is what we dreamed of.”