FREDERICTON (U SPORTS) - The host UNB Varsity Reds defeated the No. 5-seeded Queen's Golden Gaels 5-1 in the second quarter-final of the 2017 U SPORTS Cavendish Farms University Cup men's hockey championship in Fredericton, N.B. A capacity crowd of 3,374 saw Philippe Maillet pick up a hat-trick to lead the hosts into the semifinal round and earn Player of the Game honours.
University Cup website: www.universitycup.ca
The Gaels, who only arrived in Fredericton on Thursday afternoon after a two-day bus odyssey through this week's blizzard, were first on the scoreboard, as Spencer Abraham found the net at the 2:21 mark, assisted by Eric Ming and Slater Dogget. Abraham was named Player of the Game for Queen's.
The Varsity Reds responded less than a minute later, on Maillet's first of the game, and Christophe Clappet scored with two minutes left in the period to put UNB up for good.
UNB extended their lead in the second period with three goals in less than five minutes midway through the frame. Goals by Maillet at 7:43 and 12:11 sandwiched Philippe Halley's first goal of the tournament at 11:49.
UNB went 0-for-5 on the power play, while Queen's went 0-for-6. The Varsity Reds outshot Queen's 40-15.
For UNB, Etienne Marcoux picked up the win, making 14 saves, while Kevin Baillie took the loss for Queen's, making 31 saves on 36 shots in 50:50. Jacob Brennan played the final 9:10 of the game for Queen's, stopping all four shots he faced.
With the win, the No. 4-seeded Varsity Reds advanced to Saturday's national semifinal, where they will play the No. 8-seeded Acadia Axemen, who defeated top-seeded Alberta earlier Thursday. The Acadia-UNB semifinal is set for noon (Atlantic time) on Saturday.
Official Boxscore:
http://en.usports.ca/championships/mice/2017/boxscores_champ/20170316_cd09.xml
Source: U SPORTS Communications