The Fredericton Red Wings beat the Miramichi Timberwolves in a high-scoring game at the Grant Harvey Centre on Nov. 21.
“It was a great game,” said Red Wings’ forward Declan MacEachern, who scored twice. “I got my chances and I felt like I took advantage of those chances today.”
The action started with a one-timer from the slot. Red Wings’ player Nathan Kelly was able to slide a pass through to find MacEachern in-front, scoring the first goal 52 seconds in.
Fredericton forced the puck into their opponents’ end. Defenceman Cody Van de Sandre earned his first penalty of the afternoon for tripping a Timberwolves’ player the moment they broke out.
With the advantage of having an extra man on the ice, Mirimachi’s William Robinson earned the team’s first power-play goal. Moments later, MacEachern found the loose puck off of a rebound, landing his second goal. At this time, Timberwolves’ Matt Gordon served a call for having too many men on the ice.
Red Wings’ centreman Melikov Slava soon followed with another goal, pushing the score to 3-1 seven minutes in.
Rough play dominated the first period, setting the course for the rest of the game. Fredericton winger Zach Bishop stopped the play after putting an opponent down with a body-check. Van de Sandre then hit another Timberwolves’ player, causing Robinson to drop the gloves with him.
Robinson continued to lead his team, scoring after his five-minute major. The momentum didn’t last long, as Red Wings’ assistant captain Alex Pellerin raced down centre ice, scoring after he shot the puck between two defensemen and Morgan’s legs.
Just more than a minute later, Fredericton defenceman Adam Tracey picked-up a pass from Austin Black, earning his team’s fifth goal from the point. The period ended with penalties for Williams and Red Wings’ Logan Caruthers.
Both the scoring and hitting slowed down in the second period. The first point was seven minutes in, with Gordon scoring another power-play goal after Red Wings’ defenceman Noah Standing received a penalty for tripping. Pellerin earned his second goal two minutes later, bringing the score up to 6-3.
Red Wings’ goaltender Mathias Savoie made multiple glove saves throughout the game, stopping 21 shots by the end of the period.
“There’s always some stuff that repeats, like on the power plays, they always have that Hebert on top,” said Savoie. “It’s stuff [like] that, as a goaltender, you need to realize and be ready for.”
The final period started with another penalty for Gordon, followed by Pellerin and centreman Andrew Gweon receiving two consecutive tripping calls.
The first half was dominated by penalties. Red Wings’ Matt Gauthier, Xander Pierce and Black all sat in the penalty box, along with Timberwolves’ Denis Seiry and Liam Trenholm.
The game closed with Pellerin earning a hat-trick, while Standing scored his first goal of the season two minutes later. Gordon earned the final goal with just under five minutes left.
The Red Wings’ won 8-4.
Three days prior, Fredericton took a seven point loss against Charlottetown.
“I think I speak for everyone [in saying] that we didn’t show up with the effort that we should have,” said Savoie.
MacEachern said their team played a strong game after that past outcome.
“We were coming off a tough loss,” said MacEachern. “We had a lot to prove and I felt like we did that out there tonight.”
