The Royal Military College Paladins are desperate for a couple of wins in the Ontario University Hockey Association.
The cadets are in a season-long battle to earn a playoff spot in the competitive OUA.
Richard Lim’s club will play two games this weekend at the Constantine Arena in Kingston.
WATCH: Queen’s beats RMC in Carr-Harris Cup
On Friday, they will host the OUIT Ridgebacks from Oshawa. Then on Saturday, they will face-off against the McGill Redmen from Montreal.
“As the season grows, every game gets bigger and bigger,” said Paladins defenceman Liam Murray.
Murray is the only player on the team with Major Junior A experience. He played five years in the OHL with the Windsor Spitfires and Kingston Frontenacs.
“Playing a full 60 minutes is our biggest issue,” Murray said.
“When we do, we can play with any team in the league. We showed that recently when we knocked off the second place Carleton Ravens 5-4. So for us going forward, we will continue to strive to play a 60-minute game.
With a record of 3-7, the Paladins are currently tied with Laurentian for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern division.
“We may be 3-7 but we’re a lot better than our record indicates,” said third-year cadet Matthew Muller, who hails from Kingston and played Junior C hockey with the Napanee Raiders.
“We’ve lost a number of close games,” added Muller, the nephew of Kirk Muller, the assistant coach of the Montreal Canadiens.
“Like Liam said, we can’t play 50 or 55 minutes. If we can play a full 60 minutes, then we stand a chance of winning every night. We’re a good hockey team that prides itself on grit, hard work and determination. The guys have a never-say-die attitude. We know we don’t have as much talent as everybody else, but we pride ourselves on a work ethic and that work ethic will hopefully get us into the postseason.”
Both games on Friday and Saturday will start at 7 p.m.
Comments