Men’s hockey earned two key points in a midweek victory over their oldest rivals.

On what was its shortest road trip of the season, Queen’s defeated the RMC Paladins 3-0 at Kingston’s Constantine Arena in Tuesday night’s matchup. The victory pushed the Gaels into a tie for first place in the OUA with the McGill Redmen, at 33 points through 22 games.

Head coach Brett Gibson understood the importance of this win in relation to the standings. He said the team “got the points [they] needed” in the victory.

RMC came into the game in last place in the OUA and didn’t present much of a challenge to the Gaels. Queen’s was dominant, putting up 50 shots over the three periods and scoring one goal in each frame.

“A lot of our shots were from the perimeter [early on],” Gibson said. “But then we finally started going down low and things were working for us.”

Netminder Kevin Bailie earned his second shutout for the Gaels, stopping all 15 shots he faced.

The shutout marks the second in a row for the Gaels, following a 4-0 victory over Concordia on Saturday with Chris Clarke in net. Low-scoring games have been a habit for the Gaels this season, as they’ve given up just 44 goals so far — an average of two per game — while remaining first in the OUA.

Yannick Laflamme, Jordan Coccimiglio and Braeden Corbeth all tallied goals for the Gaels. Coccimiglio also added an assist to lead the Gaels in scoring with two points on the night.

The matchup was Queen’s first of the season that didn’t fall on a weekend, and Gibson was appreciative of the change of pace.

“It’s nice to have these midweek games,” he said. “It breaks up the monotony of having four practices in a row.”

The Gaels get back in action tonight for one of their most important matchups of the season.

They’ll travel to Ottawa to face off against the Carleton Ravens, who currently sit just four points back of the Gaels and the Redmen in the incredibly tight OUA East division, with two games in hand.

The first time the two teams met, back on Jan. 10, Carleton beat Queen’s 4-1, the Gaels’ largest margin of defeat to date.

“They’re a great team,” Gibson said. “They exposed us pretty bad [the first time we played].”

The schedule also has an added benefit for the Gaels, as they play just one game this weekend as opposed to the typical two. It’s especially beneficial for the coaching staff, who are looking to rebound from their last outing against the Ravens.

“You can strategize a lot more,” Gibson said. “Having only one game on the weekend now allows us to focus on just Carleton and what we need to do to beat them.”