To start off, it was a busy week for the #4 ranked UNB Varsity Reds, starting with the first regular season installment of the Battle of the Hill in Fredericton at the Lady Beaverbrook Rink (LBR), home ice of the St. Thomas Tommies. STU usually plays well on home ice, and they did in this game, but the final result was all about power plays. UNB scored on two of their three power plays in the first period and held on for the win, notching an empty netter with less than a minute to go to seal the 3-0 shutout for goalie Reg Bourcier. STU was 0 for 9 on their power play opportunities in the game, and outshot the V-Reds 40 -31 as they furiously tried to come back.
On Friday, UNB was back on home ice for their first meeting against the Acadia Axemen. This night was to be the Troy Stonier Show, as the speedy forward set up four goals and potted one of his own for a career-high five points. UNB was up 3-0 after one period, and then seemed to coast a bit and allowed Acadia to score two goals by the seven minute mark of the second. Then at 8:20 Axeman d-man Kane Ludwar went down on the ice after awkwardly checking a V-Red player. Concerned about a possible neck or back injury, both teams' trainers worked on the fallen player for several minutes before he was carried off on a back board. The unexpected time-out gave UNB time to re-group, and 30 seconds later Stonier sprung J.M. Boisvert on a breakaway for a pretty goal and a big momentum shift. Boisvert scored another in the third period, and then on a sloppy UNB power play, Acadia's Brandon Benedict converted a perfect two-on-one with Robbie Sutherland for the short-handed tally. This woke up UNB again, and Stonier worked a give and go to score on the same power play for his own goal. UNB scored their last goal less than a minute later for the 7-3 final score.
On Saturday it was the St. Mary's Huskies first match against UNB this season. This was to be a different game, as the dominant V-Reds of the night before saw themselves outdone at their own game by the Huskies. After SMU goalie Cory Roberts weathered the UNB storm in the first half of the period with several point-blank saves, momentum shifted to the Huskies. Their forwards did a great job of getting behind UNB's defence to create odd-man rushes for a goal in each of the first two periods. UNB was outworked and out-chanced most of the night. UNB got one goal in the second to pull within one, but in the rare position this season of having to pull their goalie late in the third they gave up an empty netter to SMU's Dan Rudisuela for the 3-1 loss. It was poetic justice for Rudisuela who had an under-the-crossbar-and-out goal waved off earlier in th
Meanwhile, recovering from their midweek loss to UNB, STU traveled to Halifax and stole a win from the Dalhousie Tigers on Friday night. The Tommies scored one goal in each period for the 3-1 win, but were outshot 40 to 28 on the night. The Tigers' only goal was on the power play, for which they had 23 shots on eight advantages. They also gave up a shorthanded goal. Ouch.
The following night the Tommies were in Antigonish to play the smarting StFX X-Men, who got thumped the night before 6-1 at the hands of the visiting UdeM Aigles Bleus. X was up 3-1 on STU after one period, and 5-1 by the midpoint of the game. Then the STU comeback began late in the second period with two power play markers in less than a minute. Midway in the third STU's Matt Seymour scored to bring the score within one, and then with the goalie pulled Chris Cook scored the tying goal with 40 seconds left to force overtime. No one scored in the extra period, but the defending national champion X-Men cannot be happy with their weekend.
Elsewhere in the league, UPEI's Paul Drew stood on his head in nets again as the Panthers won 4-2 over visiting SMU on Friday. The next night Acadia and UPEI battled to a 2-2 overtime tie. Back in Halifax, Dalhousie was finally rew