Posted: Feb 23, 2024
REDS defeat Huskies 4-2 in game one of AUS semifinal
Saint Mary's
(2-2-0, 2-1-0)
2
UNB
(2-0-0, 1-0-0)
4
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Mary's (2-2-0, 2-1-0) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
|
UNB (2-0-0, 1-0-0) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
FREDERICTON, NB - The UNB REDS scored on their first and third shots of the game and then hung on to beat the Saint Mary's Huskies 4-2 in the opening game of their best of five Atlantic University Sport men's hockey semi-final, Friday night at UNB's Aitken Centre.
Isaac Nurse (Hamilton, ON) tipped a Kale McCallum (Rothesay, NB) point shot past Huskies' netminder Jeremy Helvig (Kingston, ON) just 42 second into the opening period.
At 5:12 of the first, Nurse scored again to put the home team up 2-0.
"I think our first was our great period today and we kept rolling with it from there," said Nurse, named Tim Horton's Player of the Game. "We knew we had to come out flying. They're warm, they played a series, had a few games, so we knew we had to come out fast and we did that."
Huskies' forward Ben Boyd (Dartmouth, NS) cut UNB's lead in half with a goal at 9:28 and the teams went to the first intermission with the REDS up 2-1.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 23, 2024
Ben Boyd gets the Huskies on the scoreboard with his first goal of the playoffs! REDS lead 2-1 midway through the first period.
�� B. Boyd (1)
�� D. Busby
�� D. McDonnell pic.twitter.com/XmC5fK2JvE
The Huskies tied the game 2-2 early in the second period when Ben Allison (Halifax, NS) scored as the REDS were attempting to kill a too many men on the ice penalty.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 24, 2024
Ben Allison ties it up! A powerplay goal ties it at 2-2, 5:22 into the second period!
�� B. Allison (1)
�� B. Roger
�� J. MacPherson pic.twitter.com/sl3pyRoY9B
"Being down a goal or being down by two hasn't affected how we've played the very next shift," said Huskies' head coach Tyler Naugler. "I think it was a pack mentality where it didn't start the way we wanted, but we continued to push in the right direction."
With time winding down in the second, REDS' captain Jason Willms (Kitchener, ON) redirected a Justin Nolet (Mississauga, ON) shot to restore UNB's lead.
In the third period, with just under 12 minutes to play, SMU's Walter Flower (Lunenburg, NS) forced a turnover at his own blueline and broke in alone on the UNB net. REDS' goalie Samuel Richard (Ste. Catherine, QC) made the initial save and another on a rebound to preserve UNB's lead.
About three minutes later, Benjamin Corbeil (Granby, QC) scored an insurance goal for the REDS, with McCallum drawing his second assist of the game.
"They're fighting for their lives, just like we are," said Nurse. "This will be a hard series for both teams. We knew if we played our game right and came out flying and were hard on the forecheck and hard on the net we'd get the outcome we wanted today."
Emotions ran high as time expired with a number of players on both teams picking up misconduct penalties.
UNB outshot the Huskies 25-21.
The REDS 4-2 win gives them a one game to none lead in the best of five series.
"We came in and held them to 25 shots and gave ourselves a good opportunity to win," said Naugler. "There's belief in our room."
Game two goes Saturday night, at UNB's Aitken Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm.
RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
PHOTOS BY: James West/for UNB Athletics
