V-Reds Make It Three In A Row

Fredericton (October 24, 2010)

Saturday night in a game closer than the final score, the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds defeated the opportunistic Acadia Axemen men's hockey team 5-2 before 2225 fans at the Aitken University Centre. The score was 3-2 for UNB after two periods, with the V-Reds scoring two goals late in the the game to 
finally secure the win.

Like the night before, UNB came out strong and dominated the early play.  At 8:07 defenceman Josh Hepditch (Fredericton, NB) pinched in along the boards to keep the strong cycle going and fired the loose puck to Jeff Lee (Calgary, AB) who passed it to linemate Dion Campbell (Melville, SK) who then beat Acadia goaltender Kristofer Westblom (Meadow Lake, SK). The physical play increased at the period continued until Acadia captain Chris Bruton (Calgary, AB) went too far and picked up a two minute minor for contact to the head and automatic ten minute misconduct for a late hit along the boards at 18:30. UNB only took 31 seconds to take advantage of the situation, with UNB captain Kyle Bailey (Ponoka, AB) hitting Hunter Tremblay (Timmins, ON) with a perfect pass on the rush, and Westblom had little chance to make the save.  Shots in the first period favoured UNB 10-3.

UNB increased their lead to 3-0 at 4:29 of the second period when they won the draw in the offensive zone and rookie Nick MacNeil (Creignish, NS) picked the top corner for his first goal as a Varsity Red. Acadia 
got back into the game on a great individual effort by Joe Gaynor (Goderich, ON), as he fought off UNB defeneman Bretton Stamler (Edmonton, AB) on a near breakaway, and somehow put the puck up and 
over Travis Fullerton (Riverview, NB) and under the crossbar for a highlight reel goal.  Acadia almost drew within a goal at 10:24, when the shorthanded Axemen took advantage of a UNB turnover and Scott 
Tregunna (Mt. Forest, ON) rifled a shot that went along the ice and through Fullerton's pads, hit the iron at the back of the net, and came back out so quickly that it fooled the goal judge, referee Scott Lockhart and the Acadia bench. With no video replay in the AUS, there was no chance for the apparent goal to count.  At 18:12 the Axemen did get a goal that counted, and another highlight reel goal, when Jacob Dietrich (Deloraine, MB) tipped a Spencer Jezegou (Oshawa, ON) pass just under the UNB crossbar. UNB outshot Acadia 12-8 in the middle period.

The third period saw chances at both ends but no scoring until late in the period.  At 12:01 Ryan Graham  (Mount Pearl, NF) hammered Josh Hepditch into the boards in front of the Acadia bench, and was assessed a five-minute major for checking from behind and an automatic game misconduct. UNB wasn't generating many scoring chances on the power play until they had a five-on-three man advantage when Leo Jenner (Mossley, ON) was called for elbowing Luke Gallant (Bedford, NS). Gallant and Josh Kidd (Sundridge, ON) passed the puck back and forth on the points looking for the perfect one-timer opportunity before Gallant finally unloaded on Westblom at 16:04, much to the joy of the antsy fans. UNB added a late goal with 28 seconds to go, when after some strong and sustained forechecking Ryan Seymour (Fredericton, NB) was able to muscle the puck into the net. Shots in the final period were 13-9 in favour of UNB.

UNB outshot Acadia 35-20 in the 5-2 victory. UNB was 2-for-6 on the power play while Acadia was 0-for-4. The three stars of the game were: 1. Jonathan Harty 2. Joe Gaynor 3. Kyle Bailey. The V-Red finish the weekend in second place in the AUS; the undefeated StFX X-Men are two points ahead for first place in the standings. 

By David Kilfoil for the UNB Varsity Reds.