Axemen comeback falls short in 4-3 loss to hometown Reds

(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB Reds rallied after a rare home ice, regulation time loss on Friday, beating the Acadia Axemen 4-3 on Saturday afternoon.

Tyler Boland (St. John’s, NL) scored a pair of goals in the win, including with winner, with just 47 seconds to play. He was named the Subway Player of the Game. 

“They tied it up and the building kind of lost a bit of life,” said Boland. “So just to get that one for us and get the building going again was pretty special.” 

James McEwan (Chatham, ON) opened the scoring with his second goal of the season at 8:29 of the first period. 

Cristiano Digiacinto (Hamilton, ON) tied it 1-1 at 14:53, but Boland’s first of two followed 54 seconds later and UNB led 2-1 after 20 minutes. 

The Reds led the Axemen 3-1 heading into the third period, but an early goal by Maurizio Colella (Tottenham, ON) cut the Reds lead. 

From there, both teams were fighting hard for two points. 

Garrett McFadden (Kincardine, ON) scored for Acadia with 3:30 to play, tying the score 3-3. 

“They’re a great team. It was a tough one for our guys that did battle back hard,” said Axemen head coach Darren Burns. “I loved the way our team battled back.” 

There were great scoring opportunities for both teams throughout the game, but great goaltending at both ends kept the game close. 

Acadia’s Logan Flodell (Regina, SK) stopped Matthew Boucher’s (Quebec, QC) breakaway with his right pad after Boucher flew past the Axemen defenders late in the first period. 

“He made some great saves today,” said Burns. “He’s been outstanding for us.”   

At the opposite end, Reds goaltender Rylan Parenteau (Saskatoon, SK) made a show-stopping save mid-way through the second, diving across his crease and deflecting the puck high and wide, stopping Acadia’s most promising opportunity of the second period. 

McEwan had a chance for a second goal in the opening minutes of the second period. On a 2-on-1, he had a sure goal evaporate when his stick exploded in his hands in the midst of his shot. 

With the win, the Reds are now 9-and-3 and own a share of 1st place in the Atlantic University Sport standing. Acadia is also 9-and-3. 

The Axemen next see action on Friday, when they travel to St FX, while the Reds will host Moncton on Friday. Game time is 7:00pm. 

RECAP BY: Lauren Kelly/for UNB Athletics 

PHOTOS BY: James West/for UNB Athletics