The Queen's Gaels took on the RMC Paladins in the world's oldest hockey rivalry Thursday night. The Gaels bagged the victory and the Carr-Harris Challenge Cup 6-0.

The game marked the fourth time that the Gaels and the Paladins have faced off this season—Queen's has emerged victorious each time.

Before the game, Queen's forward Alex Robert and RMC's Chris Paquette received the J.W (Bill) Fitsell Memorial Award in honour of their outstanding performance as graduating student-athletes.

"It was definitely a big honour to win that award. I've worked as hard as I can for the past five years in this program to build myself as a person. I feel like I've really grown and to get this award it made the hard work worth it," Robert said.

Both teams showed early on that it would be a gritty game. Their blue-collar style of play was on display from the puck drop.

"We played the style of play that we've been playing for a while. It doesn't matter who you're facing, that style of play has proven to be successful for us," Head Coach Brett Gibson said in a post-game interview. "There was a lot on the line tonight. I challenged the guys to finish the season the right way and they did tonight. It's one of those nights where you can really celebrate being at Queen's."

Midway through the first, Dharan Cap found the back of the net, with a goal assisted by Lucas Peric and Kolton Cousins.

Shortly after, Dalton Duhart—assisted by Hayden Fowler—added one for the Gaels, bringing the score to 2-0.

Duhart leads the Gaels in goals, points, and assists; he also sits in the OUA top ten for all these metrics. Duhart's efforts in the game earned him MVP.

"This was a big game for us. I think an atmosphere like this is great for us to showcase ourselves to the school," Duhart said.
 
Duhart opened the second with another goal five minutes in, assisted by Jack Duff and Derek Hamilton

The Paladins fought to close the gap through the second, however were unable to get past Christian Purboo in net.

The third started off quickly, with a shot from Johnathan Yantsis, assisted by Jacob Paquette, nailing the back of the net 27 second in.

The Gaels added another point to the board with Daniel Michaud firing one into the net. His goal was assisted by Holden Katzalay and Jakob Brahaney.

Yantsis amassed a final goal for the Gaels with two minutes left, bringing the final score to 6-0.

"This game means a lot to the guys and all the alumni that come down. It's huge in itself. When kids come out and support us it really brings a lot of energy to the team. Hopefully going into playoffs we can keep that momentum, keep people coming to our games," Yantsis said.

With the 6-0 win, Purboo recorded a shutout - his first against RMC this year - saving all 16 of the Paladins shots.

"It means a lot to get a shutout. Just to finish it off I'm really satisfied. I think the preparation was really good before the game," Purboo said. "I don't think we've ever shut out RMC. This being our first time means a lot."

Purboo has been a standout player for the Gaels this year, with a 93.2 save percentage, the third highest in the OUA.

The win marks the third year in a row that Queen's has seized the Carr-Harris Challenge Cup. The Gael's victory also improves their season record to 18-9-0 and secures home ice for their playoff series against the Concordia Stingers.

Looking ahead to the weekend, the Gaels host the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks on Saturday, February 10 at 7:30pm to round out the OUA regular season. A Saturday night victory would result in the team tying the program record for regular season wins.