The Queen's Gaels Men's Hockey delivered a dominant performance on both ends of the ice, securing a decisive 4-1 victory over the RMC Paladins on Wednesday night at Constantine Arena. 

Liam Tanner led the charge with a multi-goal effort, while goaltender Aidan Spooner stood tall between the pipes, turning aside 32 of 34 shots to backstop the Gaels to victory.

The Gaels came out firing on all cylinders, setting the tone early with an explosive start. Tanner opened the scoring for the Gaels, netting his ninth goal of the campaign by capitalizing on a deflected shot off Paladins netminder Michael Davis.

Less than two minutes later, Ian Lemieux delivered a perfect setup to Kolton Cousins, who found himself wide open in front of the net. Cousins made no mistake, burying his first goal of the season to double the Gaels lead at the 9:05 mark.

Queen's continued to press and took full advantage of a short-handed Paladins squad. With just 15 seconds remaining in the first period, Ethan Larmand extended the lead to 3-0, capping off a dominant opening frame.

The Paladins showed signs of life early in the second period, cutting into the Gaels lead at 6:56. Fischer O'Brien managed to slip one past Spooner off a setup from Dell Welton, narrowing the gap to 3-1.

Unfazed, Queen's reasserted control and capitalized on a power-play opportunity midway through the frame. Tanner struck for the second time on the night, finishing a feed from Owen Lalonde to restore the Gaels three-goal advantage.

The Paladins made a final push in the third period, finding the back of the net at 8:29 as Bradley Blake trimmed the deficit to 4-2. However, the Gaels responded yet again, with Nolan Hutcheson sealing the victory with an empty-net goal, securing a 5-2 win.

With the regular season winding down, Queen's now sets its sights on the final game of the campaign, a road matchup against the UQTR Patriotes on Saturday, Feb. 15, with puck drop scheduled for 4 p.m.

Having clinched a playoff berth and holding the No. 5 national ranking, the Gaels now await their first-round opponent as they prepare for a postseason run.