Five-Goal First Period Lifts REDS Over Mounties

(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB REDS erupted for five goals in the first period and skated to an 8-0 victory over the Mount Allison Mounties on Wednesday night at UNB's Aitken Centre.

Melanie Drost (Nepean, ON) and Lillian George (Nipissing First Nation) scored twice for the REDS while Cassie McCallum made 19 saves for her fifth shutout of the season. Drost was named Tim Horton's Player of the Game after her three-point performance.

"We came out strong, and that was our goal today," said Drost. "We didn't have the best showing last weekend, so we really wanted to come out and prove to everyone that we're one of the top teams in the league. Our goal for the game was to keep it simple, play our style of hockey, and I think we did a really good job of that tonight."

UNB wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as George skillfully maneuvered past her defender and beat Mounties' goalie Hannah Pagdato (Winnipeg, MB) just 49 seconds into the game, giving the REDS an early 1-0 lead.

UNB continued to control possession in the first, and their persistent efforts paid off when April Reiner (Kitchener, ON) stripped a Mountie defender, broke free on a breakaway and beat Pagdato glove side to extend the lead to 2-0.

The REDS then exploded for three more goals in three minutes, establishing a commanding 5-0 lead to end the first period with goals from Sydney Oitomen (Mississauga, ON), Lauren Carter (Milton, ON), and Rylee Strohm (Kingsville, ON).

Drost increased UNB's lead to 6-0 at 7:15 of the second period, jamming home a loose puck in front of the net, beating Skye McDonald (Torbrook, NS), who had replaced Pagdato at the start of the second period.

"We talked a lot about driving to the net from the outside before the game," said Drost. "I thought we were able to do that well tonight and contributed to both of my goals."

In the third period, the Mounties had a chance to end their scoring drought when Mollie Grabe (Carleton Place, ON) forced a turnover at the blue line and went in on a breakaway. However, she could not beat McCallum, who made a fantastic save to preserve her shutout bid.

The REDS added two more goals in the third period as George and Drost scored their second goals of the night, and UNB closed out the game, 8-0.

With the win, UNB moves to 18-5-0-0 (W-L-OTL-SOL) and will travel to Charlottetown on Sunday to face the UPEI Panthers at 3:00 pm.

"I think we need to keep it simple and focus on playing our game, no matter who we're playing," said Drost. "Today's game showed us that if we stick to our style of play and continue driving the puck to the net, good things will come."

The Mounties (2-18-2-1) travel to Halifax to take on the Dalhousie Tigers on Saturday at 7:00 pm.

RECAP BY: Evan Richtsfeld/for UNB Athletics

PHOTOS BY: Fran Harris/for UNB Athletics