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  ShareMcGill and Trent Clinch Top Two Spots in East Division with Wednesday Wins2017-10-20
 Adam Kitchen contributed a goal as Trent downed Queen's. (Photo: Caitlin Lewis)
McGill clinched first place and Trent second place in the East with home wins Wednesday.By Stephen Stamp
Heading into Wednesday night, there were still a number of possibilitlies for how the top three teams in CUFLA's East Division could finish in the standings. After all three played, the top three spots are locked in.
Because McGill had beaten Trent twice, Trent had beaten Bishop's twice, and Bishop's had beaten McGill once, another Gaiters' win over the Redmen at McGill Thursday would have left open the chance for a three-way tie at 10-2 atop the division and necessitated tiebreakers to settle.
McGill (10-1) put that chance to bed by taking care of busines and downing the Gaiters 10-7. You can read about the game on the McGill Athletics web site here. That game clinched first place for McGill and unsured they will play at home against the fourth-place team (either Ottawa or Nipissing) in the division for a berth to the Baggataway Cup November 3-5.
In Peterborough, the Excalibur (10-2) faced a stiff challenge from the Queen's Gaels but prevailed 9-5 thanks to a 3-0 fourth quarter in which Trent's Garrett Eddy scored all of the goals. That win, combined with Bishop's loss, ensures Trent will finish second and play host to the Gaiters in the playoffs next week.
Queen's dropped to 2-8 and sits in sixth place in the East but gets an automatic entry to the Baggataway Cup Final Six weekend as the tournament host.
While they lost, the Gaels acquitted themselves well against Trent. After the Excalibur scored the game's first three goals, Queen's responded with a pair to pull within one at half time.
Peterborough native Dylan Hutchison stunned the home crowd when the Queen's captain scored less than a minute into the third quarter to tie things up 3-3.
Nick Karam restored Trent to the lead at the 3:30 mark of the third then Trent extended the lead less than a minute later on a crushingly bad break for Queen's. Jeff Fernandes lobbed a pass towards an Excalibur teammate near the crease. Neither the teammate nor Gaels goalie Thomas Asma ever appeared to see the ball as it floated into the Queen's net.
That goal was standing as the difference when the team's went to the third-quarter break with Trent ahead 6-5 after Alex Bulla and Riley Venton scored the final two goals of the quarter.
Eddy, who seems to score three goals every game, had been held off the score sheet to that point but he found his shot in the fourth. The three goals he potted in the final 20 minutes give him 36 in 12 games.
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