History Made: Bishop’s University Gaiters Win Their First Ever USports National Championship

On March 23, 2025, the Bishop’s University Gaiters walked into the Woolwich Memorial Centre looking to continue their historic run after winning their first Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Conference Championship a few weeks before. They left with a 3-0 win over the host team Waterloo Warriors and Bishop’s first USports championship in their four-year program history.

It was a Cinderella story through and through, as they entered the post-season with a losing record of 10-11. That was still the second-best record in the RSEQ, but nothing that seemed intimidating, especially to the teams that they had to get through to reach the USports National Championship game. They became giant slayers though, and it started at home.

First, they beat the 20-1 and USports reigning champions Concordia Stingers two games to one in the RSEQ championship series. Then, the Gaiters had to run a gauntlet to the USports Championship game, featuring the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, who came into the post-season with a 25-3 record while also being the number one ranked team in USports. It looked like the Cinderella Run was over before it began when UBC went up 3-2 on the Gaiters. But then Annika Lafreniere tied the game with 32 seconds left in regulation. Seven minutes and 30 seconds later, the Gaiters would add another head on their wall to join the Stingers as Gabrielle Santerre (remember this name) scored the OT winner, sending the Gaiters through to the next round.

It didn’t get much easier there for the Gaiters. The next team in this gauntlet of giants was the Toronto Varsity Blues. They came into this tournament with an impressive resume of a 17-9 regular season record, being the most recent OUA conference champions, the seventh-ranked team in USports, and the 2024 USports National Championship finalists, having lost to Concordia. Two power play goals from Majorie Bolduc and Noemi Fontaine and 25 saves on 26 shots for Ericka Gagnon saw the Bishop’s University Gaiters slay their third giant and once again reach another first in their history: making the USports National Championship Game.

After Concordia, UBC, and Toronto were all swept away by the Gaiters, all that was left between the team from Sherbrooke, Quebec and the biggest first in their program’s history was the tournament host Waterloo Warriors. The tournament hosts were chosen properly as they came into the tournament as a team to be respected and garnered even more recognition as they went through the tournament. They came into the post-season with an 18-8 record and ranked sixth in USports. They left the post-season as the OUA championship finalists, having lost to the Toronto Varsity Blues 3-2 in the championship game. They came into the USports National Championship as the eighth seed, then promptly pushed the Canada West champions, University of Alberta, out of the way with a 3-0 victory. They were then rewarded with having to play the reigning USports champions, the Concordia Stingers. The Warriors left them behind in the semi-final with a 5-1 win.

Now the stage was set. The host team Waterloo Warriors were looking to win in front of a sellout crowd of 1,482 fans, while the Bishop’s Gaiters were looking to slay their fourth and final giant. The first period left both teams scoreless despite three power plays. Then came who else but the tournament MVP, Gabrielle Santerre, to break the deadlock in the second period to give the Gaiters a 1-0 lead headed into the third period. The Gaiters were given a 5-on-3 power play early on in the third but couldn’t extend their lead. Then Waterloo went on the power play to try to tie it and couldn’t, which lead to their defeat. Santerre found Gabrielle Rousseau coming out of the box, and she flew into the zone, finding space over Waterloo goalie Kara Mark to give the Gaiters a 2-0 lead. An empty net goal nearly a minute later and the Gaiters had done it: four giants slayed and a trophy raised. The Gaiters are your 2025 USports National Champions!

Tournament All-Stars:

G: Ericka Gagnon, Bishop's

D: Lynsey Acheson, Waterloo

D: Regan Garreau, Bishop's

F: Gabrielle Santerre, Bishop's

F: Jessymaude Drapeau, Concordia

F: Kassidy McCarthy, Waterloo

Tournament MVP:

Gabrielle Santerre, Bishop's