Queen's and RMC renew 131-year-old rivalry Thursday in Carr-Harris Challenge Cup

The next chapter in the world's oldest hockey rivalry will be written on Thursday night when the RMC Paladins face the No. 7 ranked Queen's Gaels in the Carr-Harris Challenge Cup.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ont.  Tickets are $10 and are available at the customer service desk in the ARC.  Tickets are also available at the Rogers K-Rock Box office. 

If you can't make it to the Rogers K-Rock Centre, catch all the action live, beginning at 7:30 pm, on OUA.tv.

The Carr-Harris Challenge Cup was initiated in 1986 by the International Hockey Hall of Fame in celebration of the hockey rivalry between Queen's Gaels and the Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins. The rivalry actually dates back to 1886 and this will be the 131^st year that this match has been played.

The rivalry between the two OUA affiliates is the world's longest standing hockey rivalry and both teams are excited to face off in what both sides believe will be a tough game.

Queen's enters Thursday's game in second place in the OUA East Division, three points back of the McGill Redmen with one game in hand.  However, with only four games remaining in the regular season, the Gaels will need to pick up a valuable two points if they are to keep pace.  A win versus the RMC would give the Gaels their 18^th win of the season and establish a new franchise record for wins in a season.

But if you ask the Paladins, they would surely like nothing more than to deny the Gaels this historic feat.  RMC is searching for their 10^th victory since the inaugural Carr-Harris Challenge Cup game back on October 22, 1986.  The Paladins are also looking to snap a two-game series losing streak to the Gaels as they look to hoist the cup for the first time since February 6, 2014 when they beat Queen's 2-1.

"We've had a couple of good games against Queen's so far this year and last year so our guys will be excited," said Paladins head coach Richard Lim.  "It's a date that we always circle."

Leading the way for the Paladins is third year forward Dylan Giberson (Ottawa, Ont.).  Appearing in all 24 games this season for RMC, the Ottawa, Ont. native has five goals and six assists for a team high 11 points.

From one Ottawa native to another, forward Deric Boudreau (Ottawa, Ont.) has been a bright spot this season for the Paladins as the shifty playmaker has a team high eight assists.

To say the Gaels might be at a disadvantage on Thursday might be putting it lightly.  Several key players, as well as head coach Brett Gibson, will be missing the game as they are currently in Almaty, Kazakhstan representing Canada at the FISU Winter Universiade.     

Forward Slater Doggett (Oakville, Ont.) and Eric Ming (Williamstown, Ont.), as well as defenceman Spencer Abraham (Campbellville, Ont.) have traded in their tricolour for the red and white of Team Canada.

But for interim head coach Tony Cimellaro, it's a chance for other players to prove their value on a Queen's squad that appears destined to make a deep run in the Queen's Cup playoffs.

"We're business as usual, just because we are missing some guys it gives others the opportunity to step up and contribute," said Cimellaro.  "That's the message we've sent to our team.  It doesn't matter who's in the lineup we are here to win hockey games and improve on our national rank."

One player Cimellaro will rely on to fill the void offensively is forward Ryan Bloom (Calgary, Alta.).  In 21 games this season, Bloom has 13 goals, which ties him with Doggett for the team lead and ranks third in team scoring with 23 points.

In the absence of Abraham, Queen's will need a big game from defenceman Warren Steele (Williamsburg, Ont.), who ranks second on the team in points by a defenceman with ten.  Steele, who played with the Kingston Frontenacs in the Ontario Hockey League before joining the Gaels, sits five points back of his career high which he set back in 2014-15.

Gaels starting goaltender Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.) is also over in Almaty which means Jacob Brennan (Halifax, N.S.) will likely see the majority of starts down the stretch.  In 10 games this season, Brennan is 9-1 with a 1.74 goals against average and a .938 save percentage, both of which are the second highest marks in the conference.

For RMC, goaltender Matthew Murphy (Rothesay, NB) will likely get the start between the pipes for the Paladins.  Murphy, who has appeared in 19 games this season for RMC, has a 3.72 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.  The Rothesay, NB native has turned aside 556 shots this season, the fourth most by any goaltender in OUA.            

The trophy itself is named in honour of the Carr-Harris family, which has a long-standing connection with both Kingston universities. Robert Carr-Harris was professor of civil engineering at Royal Military College of Canada 1879 and afterward a professor of general engineering at Queen's University. All of Robert's sons and two of his cousins were cadets at RMC.

The Carr-Harris family also enjoyed playing the game of hockey. Robert's son, Lorne Carr-Harris was born in Kingston, but joined the British Army after graduating from the Royal Military College in 1917. Carr-Harris served with the British Army and was posted to India, and was then stationed in the U.K. in 1924. Lorne was a member of the British Army hockey team which formed the backbone of the British Olympic hockey team at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. Lorne played in net, and was a crucial part in helping the team win the bronze medal. He was also member of the British hockey team that won a World Championship bronze in 1924.

The Carr-Harris Challenge Cup trophy itself features the "Lennie" sculpture by Kingston native Joan Belch.  It depicts Lennox Irving, the Queen's player who scored the lone goal in the March 10, 1886 inaugural game between RMC and Queen's. The rivalry is the longest in the world on record, and on Thursday night, the RMC Paladins and the Queen's Gaels will continue to carry on the tradition.

The night will feature many prizes and giveaways including a prize pack at a value of over $250 courtesy of McCoy Bus Service & Tours. During the first intermission, the Queen's Varsity Figure Skating team will be performing their synchro routine. Both the Queen's and RMC bands will also be on hand to ramp up their respective school's fans and alumni.