(FREDERICTON, N.B.) – UNB put on an offensive show on a busy night at the Aitken Centre taking the first game of the 2015 Subway AUS final series over the Acadia Axemen by a score of 8-2 in front of a paid attendance of 3,119.
"We've been close, but it's nice to break through," said UNB's head coach Gardiner MacDougall on the goal-scoring outburst.
Acadia won the opening faceoff but things would go down-hill quickly for the Axemen as UNB would score on their first two shots of the game.
The first, a backhand shot from Philippe Maillet (Lachenaie, Que.) on the power play and the second from Cam Brace (Toronto, Ont.) who slid the puck under the pad of starting goalie Brandon Glover (Victoria, B.C.).
UNB added another power play goall to tally eight minutes into the first period as Maillet scored his second goal in as many shots.
Goalie Robert Steeves (Moncton, N.B.) stepped in for the Axemen at that point and went on to play well in relief. Acadia turned up the intensity after the goalie change and managed to capitalize on one of many UNB turnovers in the period with a goal from Travis Randall (Twillingate, N.L.) that would bring Acadia within two goals.
From that point, the Axemen had momentum on their side and they were able to produce several nice scoring chances. UNB, however was able to grab it back when Dana Fraser (Tatamagouche, N.S.) got into the opposition zone on an odd man rush where he fed Jordan Murray (Moncton, N.B.) for the Varsity Reds' fourth goal of the game.
It was more of the same for UNB in the second frame as they scored in the very first minute of play. The goal, posted by Tyler Carroll (Strathroy, Ont.) on a one-timer shot from the slot, was setup by a nice pass from Cam Braes (Shawnigan Lake, B.C.).
Acadia answered with a power play goal from Remy Giftopoulos (Ancaster, Ont.). Acadia ended the period with a series of penalites, one of which Maillet would capitalize on to score his third goal of the game, giving UNB a 6-2 lead going into the final period.
Acadia had a hard time staying out of the penalty box in the third period and UNB took advantage, scoring two more in the frame. Maillet, who would go on to be named Subway player of the game, tallied his fourth of the contest on one of UNB's five power plays in the period.
"I just played my game and good things happened tonight," said Maillet on his four goal performance. "They have played us well all season long, tonight was just one of those nights."
Acadia will look to bounce back in game two as they head home to Wolfville, N.S. The game will be played Wednesday, March 4.
"There's not much separation between these two teams, we expect it to be our toughest challenge of the year," said MacDougall on playing game two against Acadia at their home rink in Wolfville.
The three stars of the game were:
1st: Philippe Maillet, who scored four goals on six shots.
2nd: Cam Brace, who scored a goal and had three assists, and
3rd: Jordan Murray, who also had a goal and three assists
UNB's David Shantz had a good game as well, making big saves when called upon. He allowed two goals on 21 shots.
Source: Rob Trites for UNB Sports Information