V-Reds look to eliminate Axemen in AUS hockey semifinal

V-Reds look to eliminate Axemen in AUS hockey semifinal
March 3, 2011

Game 3 of the Atlantic University Sport Men's Hockey Conference semifinal series between the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds and the Acadia Axemen goes tonight at 7 p.m. in Wolfville.

Or is it Game 4?

The Varsity Reds lead the best-of-five semifinal series 2-0 - but it's taken them the statistical equivalent of three games to get there. V-Reds opened the series with a 4-0 victory over the Axemen Saturday night and followed up, eventually, with a 3-2 quadruple overtime victory over the Axemen Sunday night that wasn't settled until rookie Nick MacNeil snapped Chris Culligan's pass past the blocker of Acadia goaltender Kristofer Westblom at 11:03 of the fourth overtime period.

It ended the longest game in UNB hockey history: 61:03 of extra time. That's on top of the regulation 60 minutes, in which the teams battled to a 2-2 tie: MacNeil and Josh Kidd connecting on the power play for the V-Reds, Dustin Ekelman and Andrew Clark connecting for the Axemen.

MacNeil, who was the only rookie among the V-Reds until defenceman Marc-Antoine Desnoyers signed on after Christmas, has previous experience in marathon matches. He and Culligan - coincidentally or otherwise, the guy who fed him the pass on the game winner - had been down this road before.

Both were part of the second longest game in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff history in April, 2009 when the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles beat the Quebec Remparts 3-2 on a goal by Robert Slaney at 12:57 of the fourth period, past Remparts goaltender Charles Lavigne, who now plays for the St. Thomas Tommies. V-Reds coach Gardiner MacDougall's son Taylor opened the scoring in that game 5:29 into the first period.

But that was then, and this is now.

V-Reds can complete the sweep with a victory tonight over a bruised and battered - and now a tired - bunch of Axemen (CHSR-FM, 97.9). Already goal-challenged with the loss of Jonathan Laberge in their quarterfinal series against UPEI and the absence of Ryan Graham due to concussion, they lost Chris Bruton early in the first game due to a shoulder separation and Nathan Welton to a separated left shoulder midway through the third period. all of which makes the prospect of an Acadia comeback against the V-Reds even more unlikely.

Should the Axemen succeed in staving off elimination, Game 4 would be Friday night. The teams would return for a fifth game here next Tuesday night, March 8 at 7 p.m. at the AUC.