UNB Over Acadia

(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB Varsity Reds continued their four-game homestand with a 5-1 win over the visiting Acadia Axemen.

Two goals from forward Cam Braes(Shawinigan Lake, BC) led the VReds (7-0-2) to the victory, along with a 19-save performance from goalie Alex Dubeau(Mascouche, QC) and three second period goals, one of them from Braes.

"It feels great," said Braes. "Our lines are clicking really well right now, so hopefully we carry that confidence into the game against Saint Mary's tomorrow(Saturday)."

Mike Thomas(New Maryland, NB) picked up a loose puck halfway through the Acadia zone, off a turnover at the hashmarks, and fired it past Axemen netminder Brandon Glover(Victoria, BC) at 3:31 of the first period to get UNB on the board.

Thomas' goal came on the VReds' first shot of the game.

That goal held up as the lone first period goal.

"I liked a lot of the things we did defensively tonight," said Darren Burns, head coach of the Axemen.

"There were a lot of good things we did, but they have a lot of talent, and they're a hard team to come back against."  

Both teams came out firing early in the second period.

Forward Cameron Brace(Markham, ON) gave the Varsity Reds a two-goal lead with a low wrist shot that beat Glover on a power play while Acadia defenceman Matthew Pufahl(Saskatoon, SK) served a minor penalty for crosschecking.

Much like the first period, Brace scored on the first UNB shot of the middle frame.

Rearguard Alexander Lepkowski(Buffalo, NY) cut the deficit in half for the Axemen, just past the two-minute mark after Dubeau stopped the initial shot.

Stephen Anderson(Morell, PE) fired home a rebound at 6:35 of the second, to put UNB up 3-1.

Anderson, forward Philippe Maillet Terrebonne, QC) and Braes went tic-tac-toe in front of the Axemen net almost 17 minutes into the period, with Braes burying a low shot on Glover's blocker side for his second of the game.

That offensive spree came on the tail end of a six-minute span in which the Axemen failed to record a shot on net.

At 8:43 of the third period, Braes buried his second of the game after taking a pass from Maillet and splitting the Acadia defense to beat Glover, low blocker side and seal Acadia's fate.

"We had another really good opponent," said UNB head coach Gardiner MacDougall. "We're getting the ingredients we need as a hockey club, and our identity is starting to come together."

The VReds host the Saint Mary's University Huskies (3-5-1) Saturday at 7PM, at the Aitken University Centre.

RECAP BY: Nathan Delong, for UNB Athletics

PHOTOS BY: Brian Smith, for UNB Athletics