UNB tops Saint Mary's 4-2 in Huskies home opener

(HALIFAX, N.S.) - The Saint Mary's men's hockey team lost their first home game 4-2 against the UNB Varsity Reds on Friday night at the Halifax Forum. The defeat has extended the Huskies' losing streak to three games.

The Varsity Reds wasted little time at the start of this game scoring just 40 seconds into the first period. The goal was set up by former Halifax Mooseheads captain Cam Critchlow, when he found a wide open Chris Culligan who was left unchecked in the slot by Saint Mary's defenders.

Thirty seconds after the first goal of the game, UNB would go on the powerplay after a Huskies' Parker Deighan penalty. The V-Reds capitalized when Cam Braes was left alone by the Saint Mary's defencemen and snapped home a Cameron MacLise pass out of the reach of Huskies netminder Curtis Black.

The Varsity Reds' offensive outpouring did not stop at two goals in the first period as their powerplay converted again on another opportunity after Saint Mary's forward Stephen Johnston committed an offensive zone holding penalty. Critchlow was awarded the powerplay goal after he deflected a Matt Petgrave point shot.

In the second, the home team was able to play more physically which caused several UNB turnovers and the Huskies also managed to stay off of the penalty kill.

Just over halfway through the period, Huskies forward Steven Beyers snuck through the neutral zone unnoticed and took a slick stretch pass from defenceman Michael D'Orazio.  Beyers, all alone, wristed a shot under the crossbar and over the glove of goaltender Charlie Lavigne.

This was the only goal of the period as the Huskies' power play woes remained.  With the man advantage, the Huskies were unable to maintain puck possession while in the offensive zone.

The Huskies extended the trend of feisty play into the third period. UNB's lead was brought to one goal when Michael Strickland parked himself in front of the opponent's net and buried the rebound off a Cameron Wind point shot. 

But Varsity Reds forward Mike Thomas would add an insurance goal for UNB halfway through the third. After blocking a shot at the blue line, he gave himself a one-on-one chance against defenceman Alex Cord. Thomas was able to fend off Cord and slide a backhand shot through the five-hole of Curtis Black.

The goal was more than enough to give UNB its second straight win over the Huskies.

Friday marked the third straight game the Huskies' top goaltender Anthony Peters sat out due to a lower body injury. Peters is expected to return to play next weekend.

Saint Mary's will host the Université de Moncton at the Halifax Forum next Saturday night with the puck drop set for 7 p.m.

Source: Saint Mary's Sport Information