REDS Record Pair Of Pre-Season Wins
(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB REDS women's hockey team scored a pair of pre-season victories on the weekend.
"I thought it was a good weekend for us," said REDS' head coach Sarah Hilworth. "We want to change our game a little bit and I thought we did a good job of starting to see the things we're trying to change and the execution of it all."
On Friday, the REDS got a first period goal from veteran forward Olivia Eustace and a second period marker from last season's AUS scoring champ Katelyn Scott to beat the Alberta Pandas 2-0.
Cassie McCallum and Hannah LeClair split the shut-out. McCallum made 11 saves on 11 shots in 40 minutes of work while LeClair stopped all six shots she faced in the third period.
In Sunday's 3-1 win over Queen's, Hailey Jackson, Eustace, and Mya Headrick scored for the REDS while Payton Hargreaves and Raine Murdoch each had two assists.
"I'd like to see us score more goals," said Coach Hilworth following Sunday's game. "We put up almost 40 shots and we only get three. I'd like at least four there. Even against Alberta, I thought we had a few opportunities to bury a few more and I think, down low, there's a few things we want to execute a bit better."
LeClair surrendered a single goal on eight shots over two periods. First-year RED Taya Christie worked the third period of Sunday's game, stopping all five shots she faced.
The REDS will wrap-up their pre-season schedule on Friday when they visit their cross-campus rivals St. Thomas. Game time is 7:00pm at Fredericton's Grant-Harvey Centre.
"We're starting to see the maturity of that large third-year group and starting to become an older team," said Coach Hilworth. "I still think we're not an old, old team, but we're not a young team anymore. They're starting to make some smart plays, so now it's just about consistency and seeing if we can get more people over that hump and we started to see it this weekend."
UNB begins the 2025-2026 regular season on Saturday, October 4th, at UPEI at 3:00pm.
The REDS' home opener is Friday, October 10th, when the Dalhousie Tigers provide the opposition. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm.
STORY BY: Andy Campbell/UNB REDS
PHOTO BY: Fran Harris/for UNB REDS