UNB crushes UQTR 6-1

The opening ceremonies are a big deal for any team. They mark the beginning of the end. It’s the time where the top teams in the country come together, each with grit, fire and determination to win the University Cup, trying to be the best in the CIS and to show the nation how hard they’ve worked over the course of the year.

For the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds, it’s also a time to show these teams the Reds are here to reclaim their national title.

And after tonight’s 6-1 victory over the UQTR Patriotes their reigning title was evident.

“Coming to the nationals you’re always excited,” said Varsity Red Dane Todd, who would later receive player of the game, after two goals which helped secure their win during the second game of CIS championships.

After the puck drop, UNB was every bit of their former name, the Red Devils. This is because they came onto the ice with hell biting at their heals and they themselves delivered it to the Patriotes.

Todd was the first of the Reds to throw points on the board. He sniped one past UQTR goaltender Guillaume Nadeau at 5:12 with assists from Tyler Carroll and Chris Culligan.

“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time tonight,” said Todd, “[It] worked out well, and good line mates helped too.”

The period was a rough-and-tough kind of game, and UQTR was unable to capitalize. Shortly after Todd’s goal, V-Reds Taylor MacDougal and Antoine Houde-Caron assisted Matt Fillier with the second goal of the period, giving UNB a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission.

In the second period, the Reds were pushing the Patriotes, and at 7:39, Culligan scored, with assists from Todd and Carroll, to lead 3-0.

The Reds would close the period with the lead.

“It’s a staple of our game,” said UNB head coach Gardiner MacDougal, “It’s an important component and I thought tonight we had all four lines and I thought it was one of those nights where we got to play all four of our lines and we’ve got to do that a lot this year and I think that’s so important, especially in a night like tonight.”

Although the scores define the victor, it was a game most hockey fans would have enjoyed, as both teams were fighting for the puck.

However, UNB capitalized sooner than UQTR.

“As the game went on, I think it went better for us but maybe it was a little bit too late," said les patriots forward Maxime Levesque.

UQTR were able to put one point on the scoreboard by the third period, when assists from Felix Lefrancois and Pierre-Luc Lessard, helped Felix Petit secure the one and only goal of the night for the Patriotes.

This was followed with a goal almost directly after, by Todd, his second of the evening, with assists from both Jordan Clendenning and Luke Gallant.

If the 4-1 gap wasn’t hard enough for les patriots to close by the end of the third, it was even harder to capitalize on when Nick MacNeil, with an assist from Jonathan Harty, scored the fifth goal.

By the end of the period, UQTR couldn’t come back from the wide berth the Reds secured.

Antoine Houde-Caron scored to secure the sixth and final goal for the Varsity Reds, finishing the second game of the tournament with a victory.

“It was obviously a great start for us. We wanted to come out and play our best hockey,” said Todd, “We’ll just take the good things out of tonight and not get too over confident.”

The Varsity Reds head to the semifinals on Saturday to take on the Western Mustangs at 4:30 p.m. at the Aitken Centre.