Gaels topple Paladins in Carr-Harris Cup

Eric Ming, Patrick McGillis stand out in annual Kingston rivalry game at the K-Rock Centre

Kevin Bailie made 41 saves in the victory.
Image by: Kendra Pierroz
Kevin Bailie made 41 saves in the victory.

Gaels forward Eric Ming’s goal two minutes into the first period set the tone for an unsurprising result in the 2016 Carr-Harris Cup on Thursday night.

A record 3,363 fans from both Queen’s and RMC packed the K-Rock Centre for the annual game. The Queen’s-RMC rivalry match up, the oldest standing hockey rivalry in the world, dates back to 1886. In 1986, the Carr-Harris Challenge Cup was initiated by the International Hockey Hall of Fame, named in honour of the Carr-Harris family, which has connections to both Kingston schools. It was Queen’s 20th victory in the event.

In Thursday night’s game, Ming added two more markers to complete his hat trick and earn MVP honours in the 6-2 game.

“I just wanted to shoot as many pucks on net as I could,” Ming said. “Fortunately I got lucky on a few shots.”

Though RMC’s picked up just three wins this season, the Paladins’ 2-1 victory in 2014 remained in the minds of many third and fourth-year players.

“They come out hard,” Ming said of RMC. “The intensity that’s in this building, you’ve got to be ready right off the start.”

After Ming got the scoring started early, a rogue bounce off the end boards landed right in front of the Gaels net, which was slotted in after a goalmouth scramble. 

After the score was tied, a pair of first-period goals by Patrick McGillis then put Queen’s up 3-1 entering the second period.

Ming added another goal early in the second period, and completed his hat trick in the third period.

Additionally, Alex Stothart scored the Gaels’ fifth goal in the second period, his second of the year.

Queen’s record moves to 15-8 this season as they sit just a point out of fourth place in the OUA East.

For McGillis, the game adds special meaning, as it’s his final Carr-Harris Cup. He looks to graduate this year, alongside Joseph Luongo, Taylor Clements, Andrew Wiebe and Yannick Laflamme, who were honoured post-game.

“This was a good way to go out with a bang,” he said. “You never want to end your career with a Carr-Harris Cup loss.” 

The Gaels head off on a road trip this weekend to play Waterloo and Laurier, before matching up against RMC again next Wednesday night in their most packed stretch of the year. And while the schedule is already tough, there are other hurdles on the team’s plate. 

“We’ve got midterms coming up next week, but we try to keep getting to the gym and doing recovery workouts, while having short light practices. Hopefully we’ll be ready and rested,” McGillis said.

Tags

brett gibson, Carr-Harris Cup, Eric Ming, Kevin Bailie, Men's hockey, Patrick McGillis

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Skip to content