(FREDERICTON, NB) Six member of the Atlantic University Sport-leading UNB REDS men’s hockey team will be among the conference all-stars taking on national junior team hopefuls in Moncton, Sunday and Monday.
“It’s a huge honour and it’s very exciting,” said REDS’ forward and team captain Jason Willms. “It’s a good opportunity to play against some of the best young players in our country. I’m definitely excited for the weekend.”
Willms will join teammates Austen Keating, Brady Gilmour, Noah Carroll, Ross MacDougall and Adam McCormick on the AUS all-star team.
UNB’s Gardiner MacDougall will serve as the team’s head coach and the REDS’ Chris Becker will serve as equipment manager.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity for our conference,” said MacDougall, now in his 23rd season as head coach of the REDS. “More than 800 players have played in the U SPORTS leagues in the first half and a couple dozen get the opportunity to represent them all, that’s special.”
23 players have been chosen from the Atlantic conference’s seven teams.
They’ll play two games against the players invited by Hockey Canada to the national junior team selection camp, in Moncton.
Those games will take place on Sunday, at 2:00pm, and Monday, at 12:00pm, at Moncton’s Avenir Centre, and are part of Hockey Canada’s preparation for the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship, being held in Moncton and Halifax.
“Christmas is a great time, and the World Juniors always tops it off,” said McCormick, now in his second season with the REDS. “It’s cool that we’re playing against the potential team. I’m looking forward to the experience.”
“We’re going to try to win,” he added. “We’ll do the best we can to make the AUS look good.”
“My coach in junior, Dale Hawerchuk, would always say if they’re keeping score, we want to win,” added Willms. “We’re coming into it wanting to represent our league and, obviously, you want to show well. We want to win, but also push them to get better and have them ready for when the tournament starts.”
This will be the eighth time since 2015 that U SPORTS has fielded teams that have helped in the national junior team’s preparations.
In seven previous years, U SPORTS teams and Canadian junior team hopefuls have played to a 6-6-1 record.
“We’ll be representing our universities, representing our conference, and representing U SPORTS,” said Coach MacDougall. “We know we’ll be going against the very best major junior players, and we want to be a really good opponent for these players that are going to represent our country in a couple of weeks.”
“We are honoured to be invited annually to the selection camp, while simultaneously showcasing some of the best talent in Canadian university hockey,” said Lisette Johnson-Stapley, the Chief Sport Officer of U SPORTS. “We greatly appreciate Hockey Canada’s support in hosting some of Canada’s top university players.”
Gilmour, in his third season as a RED, is among the AUS leaders in scoring, having registered three goals and 16 assists through the first half of the season.
Keating has scored nine goals and nine assists, while Willms has eight goals and 10 assists.
MacDougall, McCormick and Carroll have been contributors to a rock-solid REDS defensive corps that has limited opponents to a conference and U SPORTS best 27 goals against and the top goals against average in the country.
“Individually and as a team I think the first half was pretty good,” said McCormick. “Overall, I’m really happy about it. I think I’ve played with a lot more confidence this year, believing in my abilities and I guess I’m looking forward to carrying the same attitude and headspace into this weekend.”
Coach MacDougall acknowledges the junior team hopefuls will be a tough test.
“Cut to the chase, we’re not going to win this on talent, but you need more than talent to be successful,” he said. “We’ve got to connect. These guys have been bitter opponents for years, but now they need to come together quickly.”
The AUS team will practice together Friday and Saturday, ahead of the games Sunday and Monday.
MacDougall will be joined behind the AUS bench by UPEI’s Forbes Kennedy, Moncton’s Derek Cormier, and Tyler Naugler, from Saint Mary’s.
“Forbie is having his best first half ever, so it’s great to be able to connect with him for the weekend, and Derek Cormier has been a tremendous addition for Moncton and our league and Tyler has paid his dues, look where they’re at in the standings,” said MacDougall, of the AUS staff. “Any time you get good hockey minds together, you want to do the best for the group, but each one of us, hopefully, will be better coaches at the end of the weekend.”
The 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship begins December 26th.
Team Canada will face Czechia in their tournament opener.
The REDS return to AUS regular season action on Friday, January 6th, 2023, at Moncton.
The next UNB home game will be January 7th when the REDS host UPEI. Game time will be 7:00pm.
STORY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
PHOTOS: UNB Media Services