In spite of Eric Ming’s pair of goals, men’s hockey was unable to hold onto what would’ve been a historic win.

After Ming’s second goal gave his team a 2-1 lead with just over nine minutes to go in the third period, the Gaels fell 3-2 after a last-minute goal by the McGill Redmen, a team they haven’t beaten since 2004.

After the Redmen’s David Rose scored an equalizer in the third, it appeared the Saturday game was heading for an extra frame. That all changed when Rose beat Queen’s goaltender Kevin Bailie again with 50 seconds to go to steal the game for the Redmen. A long, high-arching pass into the offensive zone landed on Rose’s stick and led to the final goal, which was his second of the game after tying the score minutes earlier.

“To get beat on a bad bounce in a game, you never want to do that,” Gaels head coach Brett Gibson said. “It’s a sickening feeling”.

Bailie registered 29 saves in the loss. 

With an 8-4 record, Queen’s sits sixth in the OUA East, though they’ve played the least games in the league.

Despite the loss, Gibson had praise for Ming, who had his second multi-goal game of the season. 

“Ming’s a top-notch player,” he said. “It was good to see him show up tonight. He was a huge factor to our on ice performance.”

The game also functioned as a fundraiser for Carley’s Angels and Princess Margaret foundations, in honour of Queen’s student Carley Allison. She passed away earlier in the year.

Forward Jordan Coccimiglio, who served as one of the event’s primary organizers, was pleased with the crowd turnout and the fundraising results. 

“It was a great atmosphere tonight for a good cause,” he said. “We were also able to raise $2,100 in two hours. Not many people can say they can do that, so that is a win for us”.

Coccimiglio said that he felt like Queen’s played one of their best games of the season against a team with the country’s best record. 

“It’s a huge statement towards the entire league.”