(TORONTO, ON) The top seeded UNB REDS scored twice in the first period and twice more in the third period on route to a 4-0 win over the No. 8 Brock Badgers in the quarter-finals at the U SPORTS men's hockey championship tournament, in Toronto.
Benjamin Corbeil led the REDS with two goals and was named UNB's player of the game.
"It made for less pressure on the boys, less pressure on the team," said Corbeil, of the first of his two goals. That goal gave UNB a 3-0 lead with less than three minutes to play. "After that, we were just rolling with that. The confidence was topped up and we just closed the game after that."
UNB's Cody Morgan opened the scoring, at 6:01 of the first period.
He took an errant Brock clearing pass in the slot and rifled a shot past Badgers' goalie Connor Ungar.
"It's huge to score first," said REDS' associate captain Kade Landry. "One of our goals is to come out flying and try to get as many shots as we can early in the game. We dictate the pace, and we dictate our work ethic right away. I thought we did well, we were on track and then Cody got above a puck on a great forecheck and found a lane to the net and lucky enough it went in for us to give us the lead."
While the REDS moved into the Badgers zone in waves in the opening period, Brock struggled with possession and didn't register their first shot on the UNB net until after the 14:00 mark.
At 17:12, with the REDS working 5-on-3, Landry fired a shot from just inside the blue line that beat Ungar to put the REDS up 2-0.
"This date has been marked on my calendar since September 1st when we met, so any time you can contribute and help the team win, it feels really good," said Landry.
While UNB dominated play in the second, outshooting the Badgers 14-5, they were unable to add to their lead.
Ungar made big saves on at least two REDS' scoring opportunities.
At the other end of the ice, Samuel Richard came up big when called upon.
With about three minutes left in the period, a pair of Brock forwards pushed through the slot and managed to get a shot off, but Richard squared to the shooter and made the save.
The third period was much the same until Corbeil's goal 17:02.
He added an empty-net goal at 18:07.
"The first period, we got the lead, usually we like to extend it in the second, but it was good for our team to play a third period where every shift counted," said REDS' head coach Gardiner MacDougall. "Full credit to their goaltender. He, and lefty and righty post really helped, he had a fantastic game."
The REDS now advance to the semi-finals where they'll face the host Toronto Metropolitan University Bold. TMU beat the Calgary Dinos 2-1 in double overtime in Thursday's second quarter-final.
Saturday's semi-final game will go at 1:00pm Eastern/2:00pm Atlantic.
"The one advantage of the Thursday game is you get to prepare for another top-notch opponent, probably an even a better opponent in the second round," said MacDougall. "You get one day of practice and get ready to go at the same time again."
STORY BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
PHOTOS BY: Toronto Metropolitan University Athletics