The St. Thomas University Tommies men’s hockey team fell 11-2 against the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds during the battle of the hill at the Aitken Centre Nov. 4.
The game started with an unfortunate lower body injury suffered by Tommies center Zach Hall only 36 seconds into the first period. Hall was helped off the ice by his teammates and trainer and was not seen for the remainder of the game.
Minutes later, UNB’s Tyler Carroll scored the first goal of the game short-handed, giving the Reds a 1-0 lead over the Tommies.
The Tommies struggled to create any real scoring opportunities for the remainder of the period and by the end of the first 20 minutes UNB had a five-goal lead.
The second period started almost identical to the first when Tommies goaltender, Tyson Teichmann, was injured only 33 seconds into play. However, after a few minutes consulting with the STU trainer, Teichmann decided his injury wasn’t extensive and stayed in the net for the remainder of the game.
Thirty seconds later, STU’s center Bryce Milson rushed the net and was able to put his team on the scoreboard earning him his first goal of the season, making it 5-1, UNB.
The Reds soon fell into penalty trouble after receiving back-to-back penalties and leaving their team short-handed for almost four minutes. During this time, STU took control of the game leaving no opportunities open for UNB.
Frustrated, the head coach for the Reds Gardiner Macdougall called a time out to try and re-focus his team. This attempt went unrewarded when 30 seconds later STU leading goal-scorer Matt Macleod went hard to the net and scored a goal off of his own rebound, closing the gap in the score by only three goals, making it 5-2 for UNB. This was Macleod’ third goal of the season.
STU’s domination on the ice was short lived after their second goal, and with only seven minutes left in the second period, UNB managed to score another three goals in a row making it 8-2 at the end of the second period.
The third period started off rough for referee Ted Moffat after he was struck in the face with the puck. Moffat lost four of his teeth as result of the blow and was escorted off of the ice. The remaining three officials finished the game in his absence.
UNB managed to take over the third period leaving STU with no scoring opportunities. With a six goal lead the Reds did not let up and continued to press hard offensively.
Five minutes into the third period UNB’s Francis Beauvillier and Rob Mignardi scored back-to-back goals bringing the score 10-2. It was Mignardi’s third point of the game with two goals and one assist.
At seven minutes remaining in the game, UNB forward Tyler Carroll gave the Reds their seventh penalty of the game due to a high sticking. The Tommies tried relentlessly to capitalize on their one-man advantage but were unsuccessful, making them 0-7 in power play opportunities.
With 1:24 remaining in the third, the Reds Christopher Caissy scored a final goal to finish the game 11-2.
Tommies fan Marty Mathewson said the team just lacks chemistry. “They’re a hard working group of boys and I admire the fact that they never give up,” he said.
“They simply have a rough time putting the puck in the back of the net and keeping it out of their own.”
