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

March 22, 2025

By Isabella Disley

Mitch Martin (right) scored the first and last goals for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees men’s hockey team in a 4-3 semi-final victory over Toronto Metropolitan at the U Sports national championships on Mar. 22 at TD Place. Photo: Greg Mason / uOttawa Gee-Gees

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees will play for their first-ever Canadian university men’s hockey championships Sunday thanks to Mitch Martin’s game-winning goal with 42 seconds left in the third period of their 4-3 semi-final triumph over the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold on Saturday at TD Place.

Martin opened and closed the scoring for the Gee-Gees, earning player of the game honours. His starring role was unexpected as a rookie forward, but even more so because he’d missed over half of the season after having open heart surgery in October.

Mitch Martin. Photo: Derek Mellon

“If I wanted to keep playing hockey, I needed to get opened up and they fixed everything,” recounted Martin, who was born with a defective aortic valve. “This is, without a doubt, the closest team I’ve been a part of. They were very positive in helping me get back. It took a while.

“There were a lot of hurdles to jump over, but I’m just very grateful and blessed to be able to have a performance like that.”

Seeded at the bottom of the eight-team national tournament after losing in the Ontario playoff quarterfinals, the host Gee-Gees upset the two-time reigning national champions from the University of New Brunswick in the quarterfinals.

Ottawa’s victory over the Bold wasn’t quite as unexpected, having won the teams’ only previous meeting 6-3.

“We’ve been saying, underdogs are hungry dogs, and hungry dogs get to bowl first,” Martin highlighted. “We couldn’t come here and be a charity case just because we’re hosting. We believed the whole way through. No one really had us coming out of our side, but we knew the whole time.”

It was a back-and-forth game with Martin scoring on the powerplay at 14:04 of the first period. Jordan D’Intino evened it up for the Bold at 11:52 in the second period. Two minutes later, Ian Martin got the Bold’s first lead in the tournament, making it 2-1.

Vincent Labelle celebrates his second-period goal with Charles-Antoine Roy. Photo: Derek Mellon

But 40 seconds later, Gee-Gees senior forward Bradley Chenier responded with the tying goal. Vincent Labelle gave the Gee-Gees a 3-2 lead with under a minute left in the second period.

With five minutes left in the third period, TMU’s Tyler Savard tied the game, setting up Mitch Martin’s dramatic finish.

“In playoff, tight games, you need big guys like (Martin),” Gee-Gees head coach Patrick Grandmaître said of the 6’4″, 205-lb. player from Sudbury. (Guys) that can play physically, push off people and be a menace around the net.”

The Gee-Gees are fully basking in the opportunity to play in the nationals at home. They are also remembering the uOttawa team that was in Halifax set to compete in the 2020 nationals when COVID forced the cancellation of the championships.

“(The fans) are fuelling us, especially the alumni,” Martin explained. “We’re doing it for them too.”

For Charles-Antoine Roy, a senior Gee-Gee, playing at TD Place was electric.

“Home ice advantage is a real thing and I think we’re seeing it right now. Honestly, the crowd has been amazing. They’re in the game, they’re giving us energy even though we had a little rough patch in the third,” indicated the forward from Gatineau. “We dialled in, and we had confidence in each other. It’s about who has the heart and wants to win. We got it done so we’re extremely happy.”

Roy’s veteran experience and presence on the ice earned him the game puck.

“This was his best game in five years,” Grandmaître said. “He contributed in all phases and he created a couple of things that led to those important goals, so I’m really happy for him.”

TD Place crowd for the uOttawa Gee-Gees’ national men’s hockey championships semi-final on Mar. 22. Photo: Derek Mellon

Grandmaître, who was hired to rebuild the men’s hockey program after it was suspended in 2014, reflected on the 10-year journey to reach this all-time height for uOttawa.

“I’ve never not been supported. The university, alumni, and the people that surround our program have been tremendous in making this a top-10 program quickly and sustained,” he noted. “I remember doing my job interview and Jacques Martin was there, and I told him we’re going to win one within eight years. I’m two years behind but there was COVID in there.”

There will be a first-time national champion regardless of the victor Sunday thanks to the Concordia Stingers’ 3-0 win over the Saskatchewan Huskies in the other semi. Like uOttawa, Concordia has never won the Canadian title. The Stingers last played in the championship final in 1984. The gold medal game goes at 5 p.m. Sunday at TD Place.

Grandmaître has been impressed with his troops’ performance on the big stage.

“I’m happy that everybody’s contributing, from special teams to goaltending to depth guys,” he stated. “Even the players that aren’t playing are doing everything they can to motivate the guys.”