Huskies defeat #2 ranked REDS 4-2 for fifth straight win
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Mary's (20-9-0, 20-9-0) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
|
UNB (22-5-2, 22-5-2) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
FREDERICTON, N.B. - The Saint Mary's Huskies scored three times in the first period on route to a 4-2 win over the U SPORTS No. 2 ranked UNB REDS in Atlantic University Sport men's hockey action on Saturday night.
"We expected to get four points this weekend, we're fighting for second place and that's just the effort we expected and the result we expected. It was a good team effort," said Huskies' goaltender Matt Welsh (Halifax, NS) who was named Subway Player of the Game.
The Huskies jumped on the REDS early, scoring three goals in a span of less than six minutes.
Nathan Dunkley (Campbellford, ON) opened the scoring. Sprung on a breakaway, he beat UNB's starting goaltender Samuel Richard (Ste. Catharine, QC) five-hole.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 4, 2023
Nathan Dunkley continues his red hot play, scoring a breakaway goal for his ninth of the season and extending his points streak to five games! @SMUMensHockey
��N. Dunkley (9)
��C. Dafonseca
��K. Getson pic.twitter.com/UJ7JdTPAqM
Less than two minutes later, the REDS were searching for an equalizer on the powerplay when Huskies forward Joel Bishop (St. John's, NL) stole the puck and scored a beauty shorthanded breakaway goal for his seventh of the campaign, extending the Huskies lead to 2-0.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 4, 2023
Joel Bishop with a beauty shorthanded breakaway goal to extend the @SMUMensHockey lead to 2-0!
��J. Bishop (7) pic.twitter.com/ImLXnkA2PQ
The Huskies would score their third goal in just over five minutes, as Cedric Ralph finished off a scramble in front of the REDS goal, chasing Richard from the net as Griffen Outhouse (Williams Lake, BC) took over in goal.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 4, 2023
Cedric Ralph capitalizes on a scramble in front of the REDS goal! @SMUMensHockey lead 3-0!
��C. Ralph (5)
��A. Coxhead
��C. Olson pic.twitter.com/6JycevPpO0
In the second period, with Richard back in the REDS goal, Saint Mary's added to their lead, when forward Charlie Dafonseca (Thornhill, ON) sniped a powerplay goal to make it 4-0 Huskies.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 5, 2023
Charlie Dafonseca with a powerplay snipe to put @SMUMensHockey up 4-0 in the second period!
��C. Dafonseca (9)
��N. Dunkley
��J. MacPherson pic.twitter.com/4Sy4Yu5yIL
Austen Keating (Guelph, ON) finally got the REDS on the board at the 15:55 mark of the second period, UNB scoring their first goal of the game on their 32nd shot.
Keating would score another with 20 seconds to play in the third, too little and too late for the REDS.
The Huskies fifth straight win improved their record to 19-9-0 on the campaign, and strengthened their hold on second place in the AUS standings.
"We won the season series against them, and we feel like we have a good shot this year," said Subway Player of the Game Matt Welsh, who stopped 43 of the 45 shots he faced. "We definitely want to keep doing the right things going into playoffs. That game is just another stepping-stone toward our goal."
Up next for the Huskies, a Friday evening home game against STFX, with puck-drop scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Dauphinee Centre. GET TICKETS
The REDS loss dropped their record to 22-4-1-1. They'll host the UPEI Panthers on Friday at 7 p.m.
RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
PHOTOS BY: James West/for UNB Athletics
