REDS Win, No Treats For Aigles Bleus
(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB REDS scored three times in the third period on route to a 5-2 win over the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus on Wednesday night, in Atlantic University Sport men's hockey action at UNB's Aitken Centre.
Emmett Sproule (Collingwood, ON) led the REDS with a pair of goals and an assist and was named the Tim Horton's Player of the Game.
"We knew Moncton was a fast team that would drive the net hard and get under our skin," said Sproule. "I thought, first of all, our goaltender, Sammy, was amazing. I thought all lines were going. We were a little sloppy at the start of the third and they capitalized, but at the end of the day we closed it out, so that's all that matters."
The game began quietly, in stark contrast to the way it finished, with the teams trading goals in the first period.
UNB's Kale McCallum (Rothesay, NB) scored at 10:42 of the opening frame, but Moncton's Michael Horth (Ste. Catherine, QC) drew the visitors even at 19:04.
The teams played a tightly checked second period that saw more opportunities than goals.
REDS goalie Samuel Richard (Ste. Catherine, QC) read a Moncton 3-on-1 to perfection, sliding across his crease to stop a shot in the early going.
A short time later, Sproule scored his first of the night to restore UNB's lead.
Moncton's Olivier Adam (Drummondville, QC) was forced to scramble more than once to hold his team's deficit to one and UNB went to the second intermission up 2-1.
Just three minutes into the third, Jeremy Jacob (Dieppe, NB) pulled the Aigles Bleus even again and the game remained tied until Sproule's second, at the 12:20 mark.
"My linemates, Peter (Reynolds) and Benny (Corbeil), were great, to get that last one, it was a huge one," said Sproule. "Great pass by Petey."
Benjamin Corbeil (Granby, QC) added an insurance marker for UNB with just 61 seconds to play and Macauley Carson (Midhurst, ON) added another nine seconds later to make the final score 5-2.
With the win, the REDS are now 8-0-1-0 (W-L-OTL) and continue to hold down first place in the AUS standings.
Moncton is now 6-2-1-0 and still second in the AUS.
Both the REDS and the Aigles Bleus see their next action against UPEI.
Moncton hosts the Panthers on Friday while the REDS welcome them on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 7:00pm starts.
"We're going to practice hard on Thursday and Friday, regroup, and take it to PEI hard, looking for another win," added Sproule.
Prior to Wednesday's game, former REDS head coach Gardiner MacDougall was presented with a King's Coronation Medal by New Brunswick's Social Development and Housing Minister Jill Green, a Fredericton-area Member of the Legislative Assembly.
RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
PHOTOS BY: Seth Murphy/for UNB Athletics