KINGSTON, Ont. (February 1, 2018) - The No.9 Queen's Gaels defeated (17-5-3) the RMC Paladins (6-14-5) in front of a record crowd of 3,524 at the Rogers K-Rock Centre on Thursday night. In the 32nd installment of the Carr-Harris Cup, both teams treated the fans to an offensive explosion. Darcy Greenaway (Wilton, Ont.) ended the game with a beautiful end-to-end rush at 1:21 of overtime to send the Gaels home with their third Carr-Harris win in the last four years.
The Carr-Harris Challenge Cup trophy features the "Lennie" sculpture by Kingston native Joan Belch. It depicts Lennox Irving, the Queen's player who scored the lone goal in the inaugural game between RMC and Queen's on March 10, 1886.
GAME FLOW
The two teams skated out to a raucous crowd before the opening faceoff, as the fans chanted back and forth in support of their teams. Queen's got things started early in the frame, as
Ryan Bloom (Calgary, Alta) ripped a wrist shot past Paladins netminder Austin Hannaford at 2:38 to open the scoring. RMC would answer right back as the  OUA's leading goal scorer Riley Brandt notched his 18th of the season past Gaels goalie
Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.). A great rush up ice by Greenaway would culminate in a
Luke Edwards (Kingston, Ont.) goal at 12:14 to give the Gaels a 2-1 lead.
Slater Doggett (Oakville, Ont.) would extend the Queen's lead to 3-1 late in the period when he wristed his 14th goal of the season past Hannaford.
Eric Ming (Williamstown, Ont.) recorded an assist on the play, which marked the 100th point of his career. The Gaels would skate into the first intermission leading the Paladins 3-1.
RMC gave the Gaels all they could handle to begin the second period, coming out with a frenzy of action in the Gaels end of the ice. The Paladins were given an early power play and would take advantage when David Savery walked in from the blue line and scored a five-hole goal past Bailie to cut the Gaels lead to 3-2. The Paladins domination of the period would continue with a power play midway through the frame. Brandt added his second of the game on a tipped shot that beat Bailie to even the game at 3. Queen's was able to salvage the period in the final moments when a mad scramble in front of the RMC net resulted in
Alex Stothart (Ottawa, Ont.) banging home his second goal of the campaign at 18:59. The goal would allow the Gaels to enter the third period holding a slim 4-3 advantage despite being outshot 22-17.
It didn't take RMC long to answer back in the third period as their power play stayed red hot when Rhett Wilcox tied the game on another Paladins man advantage just 4:40 into the final frame. The back and forth battle would continue as Doggett recaptured the Gaels' lead with his second goal of the night. After Ming rang a shot off the post, a scramble ensued, and Doggett was able to wrist a shot to the top part of the net to put Queen's up 5-4. As was the story all night, RMC battled back and for the fourth time, tied the game when Dylan Giberson beat Bailie with a wrist shot glove side. Despite plenty of pressure by the Queen's attack in the final moments, the Paladins were able to hold the Gaels off and force an overtime period.
In a game that saw plenty of scoring chances, the overtime period did not disappoint as both teams were gunning for the game-winning goal. About a minute in, Greenaway took the puck behind his own net and darted up the ice. After skating past one Paladins defender and beating another with a nice move, he was able to score a spinning shot past Hannaford to send the Gaels home with their 20th Carr-Harris Cup.
Bailie earned the win in net for the Gaels, making 29 saves while Hannaford took the loss for the Paladins, recording 22 saves.
Doggett was named the Gaels MVP for his two-goal performance while Brandt earned the nod for the Paladins with his three-point effort.
FINAL SAY
"It sure was great to watch for the fans, it wasn't our prettiest effort, but this team never gives up, so we really showed that tonight and fortunately enough we were able to pull out the win. We want to solidify home ice, and we also want to be peaking at the right time, and we have three more games to get ready for playoffs." - Gaels forward
Darcy Greenaway
BY THE NUMBERS
5 - Tonight marked the fifth overtime game in Carr-Harris Cup history
20 - Queen's victory tonight marked their 20th Carr-Harris Cup
100 -
Eric Ming notched his 100th career point tonight (2 assists)
3,524 - Tonight's attendance of 3,524 marks a Carr-Harris Cup record
1 - Point earned by RMC in the OT loss which puts them in the 8th and final playoff position
UP NEXT
The Gaels are back in action on Saturday when they pay a visit to the Carleton Ravens in Ottawa. Puck drop is set for 7 pm and the game can be seen live at OUA.tv.
