Reds hand Axemen 6-1 loss in Fredericton

Harper with the lone Acadia marker

FREDERICTON, NB – The UNB Reds scored fourΒ power-play goals on route to a 6-1Β win over the AcadiaΒ AxemenΒ on Saturday.Β 

Chris Clapperton (CapΒ d’Espoir, QC)Β and Tyler Boland (St. John’s, NL) eachΒ scored twice for the Reds, whileΒ Kris Bennett (Brampton, ON), and JoeΒ GatenbyΒ (Kelowna, BC) each had threeΒ assists.Β 

Matthew Boucher (Los Angeles, Calif.) had a goal and an assist for UNB, while Samuel Dove-McFallsΒ (Montreal, QC) also scored.Β 

Acadia actually struck first, when Stephen Harper (Burlington, ON) scored, on the power-play, at 5:42 of the first period.Β 

Kyle Farrell (HowieΒ Centre, NS) won aΒ face-off right back to Harper, who’s shot eluded Reds netminder Alex Dubeau (Mascouche, QC).Β 

UNB countered with their first power-play goal about two-and-a-half minutes later.Β 

Boucher’sΒ shot from the face-off circle was kicked out byΒ AxemenΒ netminder Dawson Carty (Burlington, ON) butΒ Dove-McFallsΒ was right there to fire the rebound home.Β 

That goal sentΒ almost 1300Β stuffed animals flying onto the Aitken Centre ice and brought the game to a temporary halt.Β 

It was the Reds 3rdΒ annual Teddy Bear Toss.Β 

1295 stuffed animals were collected and will be distributed by the Salvation Army to less fortunate children during the upcoming holiday season.Β 

The Reds erupted for three goals, all on the power-play, in the second period.Β 

At 5:11, with UNB working 5-on-3, Clapperton tookΒ a Stephen AndersonΒ pass and one-timed it, short side, past Carty.Β 

The assist was the 50thΒ of Anderson’s Atlantic University Sport career.Β 

45 secondsΒ later, and with the Reds working 5-on-4, Boucher scored on an Anderson pass to give UNB a 3-1 lead.Β 

At 18:51, and with the man-advantage once again, Clapperton scored his second of the game, a pretty re-direct of a BolandΒ slap-pass to make it a 4-1 game.Β 

Boland scored the game’s first even strength goal at 9:07 of the third period.Β 

He rounded out the scoring with his second of the night, a rocket of a one-timer off a Boucher drop-pass, with just 2:00 to play.Β 

Dubeau earned the win in the UNBΒ net, stopping 26 of the 27 shots he faced.Β 

Carty took the loss, stoppingΒ 42 of 48 shots.Β 

“We are young,” admittedΒ AxemenΒ head coach Darren Burns. “They’re working as hard as they can, but just to get acclimatized to this league, it’s tough.”Β 

With the win, the Reds improve to 13-0-3.Β 

They wrap up the first half of the season next weekend with visits to Saint Mary’s, on Friday, and Acadia, on Saturday.Β 

TheΒ Axemen, now 4-9-2, host UPEI on Friday, before Saturday’s re-match with the Reds.Β 

RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB AthleticsΒ 

PHOTOS BY: James West/for UNB AthleticsΒ