(20/11/24) - Kingston, ON.  Wednesday evening, the Queen's Gaels Men's Hockey team faced-off against their long-standing rival, the RMC Paladins, and in an electric game took home the victory.  The Gaels and the Paladins have not seen each other yet this season, making for an intense game of pent up tension from the Gaels past victory at the Lou-Jefferson Memorial Game on September 7th, where the Gaels shut out their rivals 6-0.  With this victory, the Gaels increase their win streak to three games which adjusts their season record to 12-3.  The RMC Paladins, who cannot seem to catch a break on their season so far see their season record move to 1-11.  Special shoutout to Gaels lead goal-scorer no. 19 Nolan Hutcheson (Health Studies) who scored yet another hat-trick.  Hutcheson has scored a league topping 14 goals on the season so far.  The Gaels and Paladins match-up always promises an exciting game for fans, and they did not disappoint with this one.  

The Gaels started off the game strong winning the opening face-off.  Starting off the game with no. 34 Aidan Spooner (Business) in net, the Gaels dominated the Paladins with tight pressure and good puck control.  The Gaels are the first to mark-up the scoresheet with a goal by no. 20 Ethan Larmand (Arts and Sciences), assisted by no. 21 Ante Zlomislic (Applied Sciences), and no. 12 Liam Tanner (Kinesiology), less than five minutes into the opening period (15:16).  With aggression on the ice straight out of the locker room, the Gaels punctured a hole in the Paladins opening confidence.  After a Gaels power play on a Paladin holding call, Hutcheson scored his first goal of the night (8:45), assisted by no. 17 Holden Katzalay (Computing), and no. 10 Cameron Tolnai (Business) - who lead the game in assists (3).  Another Gaels powerplay for a call on cross-checking allows the Gaels to capitalize using their historically strong power play unit to score a third goal (7:15), making the score 3-0.  This goal was scored by no. 27 Michael Renwick (Arts and Sciences), assisted by no. 29 David Michaud (Arts and Sciences) and no. 44 Lucas Peric (Economics).  The Paladins scored a goal with 30 seconds left in the first period after an unlucky shot was tipped in behind Spooner just tapping past his glove.  The first period ended with the score of 3-1.

The second period opened with a slower pace than the first, as the Paladins looked stronger and more strategically successful in their puck handling and plays.  A Paladin power play lead to their second goal of the night, scoring from the point with the help of traffic blocking Spooner's vision (11:45).  Just over 10 minutes into the second half, the Paladins score a goal from quite the length away from the Queen's net (9:19).  With three unanswered goals from the Paladins, the Gaels city rivals climbed their way back to tie up a once three-and-O game.  Trying to change the pace of the game, Spooner exists the game and the Gaels bring in no. 37 Christian Purboo (Economics) to defend the net.  The buzzer goes on the second period with a tied game of 3-3.

The Gaels re-enter the game in a dominant fashion looking like the version of themselves Kingston Memorial Center fans saw in the first.  Renwick and no. 16 Charles-Thomas Larochelle (Arts and Sciences) set up yet another Hutcheson goal, allowing the Gaels to take the lead once again (14:59).  Soon after, Hutcheson is assisted by Tolnai to score a hat-trick on the evening, and increased the Gaels lead to 5-3 halfway through the third period.  With no penalties acquired by either teams this period, the game saw both teams push their stamina-limits using hard-hits and tactful passes to fight for the victory. With a minute ad 56 seconds left in the third, Zlomislic scored an unassisted goal, solidifying a 6-3 victory for the Gaels.  The game saw the Gaels shoot 36 shots on goal compared to the Paladins 26.  Both teams presented strong efforts and effective puck control, although in the end the Gaels took home the win and a continuation of their win-streak.

Catch the Gaels Men's Hockey Team in action next on Saturday, November 23rd, at 6:15 PM as they take on the fourth place in OUA West, TMU Bold.  Fans can watch the game on OUA.TV.