Varsity Reds shut out X-Men

(FREDERICTON, NB) In a game between the top two teams in U Sports Canada Hockey, the No. 1 UNB Varsity Reds blanked the No. 2 StFX X-Men 6-0.

Rob Mignardi (Richmond Hill, ON) and Cam Braes (Shawnigan Lake, BC) each scored twice to lead the Varsity Reds, while Etienne Marcoux (Terrebonne, QC) stopped all 13 shots he faced.

"I think that was, probably, our most complete game of the season," said Mignardi, the game's first star and the Subway Player of the Game. "For me personally, I just got some great passes, tried to put the puck on net and fortunately they went in tonight."

It took a while for both teams to get going.

Matt Boudens (Pembroke, ON) opened the scoring at 12:24 of the first, on a wrap-around which eluded X-Men netminder Brandon Hope (Canton, MI).

Mignardi's first came less than four minutes later, a power-play goal that sent the Varsity Reds into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.

Braes, Marcus McIvor (Whitby, ON), and Mignardi with his second, scored in the second period.

Braes scored the only goal of the third, UNB's third power-play goal of the game.

Matt Petgrave (Brampton, ON), Jordan Murray (Riverview, NB, Philippe Maillet (Terrebonne, QC), and Chris Caissy (Campbellton, NB) all had two assists.

Petgrave was named the game's third star.

"They play man on man, so you've got to out-man them all over the ice, so I thought that allowed our D to jump in more and create more opportunities for our forwards," he said.

The lopsided win came a week after the X-Men beat the Varsity Reds 5-4, in overtime, in Antigonish.

"We got outplayed. It's simple, start to finish," said X-Men head coach Brad Peddle.

"We came out flat," said StFX captain Eric Locke (Toronto, ON). "They scored a couple of quick ones and we've been having some trouble getting the momentum back after falling down a couple. Every game we've lost we've kind of fallen down in the first and haven't been able to get the game back."

The X-Men were held to a single shot on goal in the first period, six in the second, and six more in the third.

A couple of those third period shots came late, and from close range, but Marcoux stood his ground.

"If you don't get a lot of shots, you need to stay focused, it's harder mentally," said Marcoux. "I think I stayed sharp tonight, all game long, and that's why I was able to make those saves at the end."

"We were hungry right off the bat tonight, and that's what you have to be, especially in this league," said Varsity Reds head coach Gardiner MacDougall.

With the loss, X sees its record fall to 5-3. They host Dalhousie in a 7:00 pm game on Friday.

The Varsity Reds remain unbeaten in regulation time, with a 6-0-2 record. UNB welcomes Acadia to the Aitken Centre on Friday. Game time is 7:00 pm.

Courtesy UNB Sports Information