This will be the first time since 2006 the V-Reds have opened their exhibition schedule at home and they will be welcoming a familiar out of conference opponent in the Redmen. It will mark the 10th meeting all-time between the two storied programs - and 6th since 2009 - with UNB winning 8 out of the first 9 match-ups, including the last 6 in a row, and out-scoring McGill 51-22 in the process.
The last time these two played was in pre-season play in 2012 when UNB traveled to Montreal and knocked off the Redmen by a 7-2 score. Of course, the Varsity Reds claimed their 4th University Cup with a 4-0 victory over McGill at the AUC in 2011.
McGill is coming off of another outstanding year as they went 21-5-0 last year, scored twice as many goals as they allowed (102-51), and were ranked in the CIS top ten for the majority of the season. Their season came to a disappointing end, however, as they were swept 2 games to 0 against UQTR in the OUA East Finals and then lost 2-1 in OT to Windsor in the OUA bronze medal game, denying them a 2nd consecutive trip to the University Cup.
UNB has had remarkable success in recent years against CIS teams in exhibition play, especially at home. Here are some numbers:
- The V-Reds have won 38 straight exhibition games as the home team against CIS competition. 35 of these have come at the AUC with 3 games played at a neutral site. Their last loss was a 4-3 shootout loss to Saint Mary's on December 31st, 2005.
- They have currently won 14 straight exhibition games against CIS competition.
The Varsity Reds have also fared quite well against teams from the OUA:
- UNB has won 12 straight games overall (exhibition + nationals) against OUA competition, dating back to a 3-2 loss to Western at the 2012 University Cup.
- They have won 29 straight exhibition games against OUA teams, dating back to a 5-4 shootout loss to Lakehead in 2004.
- The V-Reds have won 27 straight exhibition games at home against OUA teams, dating to 1995.
- They have rattled off 23 straight wins overall against OUA East teams since losing 3-2 to UQTR in the 2003 University Cup in Fredericton.
With information from the indispensable RedSea Database
