No. 1 UNB looking for first 28-0 season in CIS history

V-Reds need wins on Friday and Saturday to cap perfect regular season

OTTAWA (CIS) – The top-ranked University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds look to write CIS men’s hockey history this weekend as they could become the first team to post a perfect record over a 28-game regular season schedule.

Five teams have previously completed unblemished seasons in conference play since 1962-63, the first year of the University Cup national championship. Western Ontario went 24-0 in 2002-03, Saint Mary’s was 21-0 in 1972-73, Toronto posted a 17-0 mark, also in 1972-73, Laurentian went 10-0 in 1970-71, and St. Francis Xavier skated to a 14-0 record in 1965-66.

The Varsity Reds, who captured a second CIS title in three years last winter in Thunder Bay, will go for win No. 27 Friday against StFX (10-12-4) and could make history Saturday versus Dalhousie (8-14-4). They get to play both duels in front of their home crowd at Fredericton’s Aitken Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. Atlantic on both nights.

While the V-Reds have “owned” Dalhousie this season, winning the first three meetings 5-1, 7-1 and 4-1, they have been tested twice in three match-ups against StFX.

Back on Nov. 6, UNB tied the game with less than five minutes left in regulation before Alex Aldred scored 1:14 into overtime for a 4-3 victory. The X-Men gave the V-Reds all they could handle again last Friday, when UNB erased a 2-1 deficit midway through the second period and was leading by a goal with 86 seconds to go before scoring into an empty net to prevail 5-3.

UNB dominated the other head-to-head contest 9-3 on Nov. 13.

As impressive as their 26-0 record is, the V-Reds have had their share of close calls this season in the always-competitive AUS conference but have always found a way to come out on top. Their win streak includes seven one-goal victories, with four of them occurring in extra time.

“It’s an exciting challenge for our hockey club,” said head coach Gardiner MacDougall, in his 10th season behind the UNB bench. “One of the keys to our success is the team’s ability to play in the ‘now’. We’re looking forward to that opportunity on Friday.”

Since he was hired to lead the Varsity Reds prior to the 2000-01 campaign, MacDougall has guided his troops to three AUS titles and two CIS crowns, claiming a pair of AUS coach-of-the-year honours along the way. In 2007-08, UNB went 26-1-1 in conference play to set AUS records for most wins and points (53) in a season.

This year’s V-Reds have dominated each of the 13 national media polls and have been a unanimous selection at No. 1 for 12 consecutive weeks.

UNB is led by third-year forward Hunter Tremblay of Timmins, Ont., who tops the nation in scoring with 51 points, is tied for first in goals (22) and is tied for third in assists (29).

Tremblay, who finished third in AUS scoring in each of his first two university campaigns, thanks to back-to-back 50-point outputs, is the first player in team history to record three consecutive seasons of 50 points or more and has reached the 150-career-point plateau faster than any skater in UNB history (79 games).

Tremblay joined the Varsity Reds following five productive campaigns with the OHL’s Barrie Colts. He tallied 30 or more goals in each of his final three junior seasons and had a career-high 89 points in his last year with the Colts in 2006-07.

NOTES: The Atlantic conference first experimented with a 28-game schedule for two seasons in 1996-97 and 1997-98. The AUS schedule was then reduced to 26 matches for two campaigns before going back to 28 games permanently in 2000-01... In the two other CIS conferences, Canada West teams have played 28 contests since 1985-86, while the OUA moved to 28 games in 2006-07... Of the five teams that have previously kept perfect conference records in CIS men’s hockey, only the ’72-73 Toronto Varsity Blues went on to capture the University Cup, edging Saint Mary’s 3-2 in the national final (which was the Huskies’ first loss of the season)... Western was upset in its first OUA playoff series in ’02-03... Laurentian entered the 1971 University Cup tournament with an 11-0 record after defeating York in the single-game OIAA final but settled for bronze at the Canadian championship... StFX advanced directly to the 1966 University Cup tourney as AUAA (now AUS) regular season champion but also settled for third place at the Nationals...

2009-2010 regular season results UNB Varsity Reds

Oct. 16 (home): UNB 10, UPEI 0
Oct. 17 (home): UNB 9, Moncton 3
Oct. 23 (away): UNB 3, Acadia 2
Oct. 24 (away): UNB 7, Saint Mary’s 4
Oct. 28 (away): UNB 2, St. Thomas 1 (OT)
Oct. 30 (home): UNB 7, Acadia 3
Nov. 6 (away): UNB 4, StFX 3 (OT)
Nov. 7 (away): UNB 5, Dalhousie 1
Nov. 13 (home): UNB 9, StFX 3
Nov. 14 (home): UNB 7, Dalhousie 1
Nov. 20 (away): UNB 2, UPEI 0
Nov. 27 (away): UNB 7, Moncton 5
Nov. 28 (home): UNB 3, St. Thomas 2 (OT)
Dec. 4 (home): UNB 7, UPEI 0
Dec. 6 (home): UNB 2, Saint Mary’s 1 (OT)
Jan. 8 (home): UNB 4, St. Thomas 3
Jan. 9 (away): UNB 5, UPEI 3
Jan. 15 (away): UNB 6, Saint Mary’s 1
Jan. 16 (away): UNB 2, Acadia 1
Jan. 22 (away): UNB 3, Moncton 1
Jan. 23 (away): UNB 9, St. Thomas 4
Jan. 29 (home): UNB 3, Saint Mary’s 1
Jan. 30 (home): UNB 5, Acadia 2
Feb. 3 (home): UNB 5, Moncton 1
Feb. 5 (away): UNB 5, StFX 3
Feb. 6 (away): UNB 4, Dalhousie 1
Feb. 12 (home): StFX at UNB
Feb. 13 (home): Dalhousie at UNB

Perfect regular season records since 1962-63 (first year of University Cup championship)

Western Ontario, 2002-03 (24 wins, 0 loses, 0 ties)
Saint Mary’s, 1972-73 (21-0-0)
Toronto, 1972-73 (17-0-0)
Laurentian, 1970-71 (10-0-0)
St. Francis Xavier, 1965-66 (14-0-0)

Undefeated regular season records since 1962-63 (first year of University Cup championship)

Alberta, 2003-04 (26 wins, 0 losses, 2 ties)
Western Ontario, 2002-03 (24-0-0)
Western Ontario, 2001-02 (22-0-2)
Toronto, 1981-82 (18-0-4)
Concordia, 1975-76 (19-0-1)
Toronto, 1973-74 (18-0-1)
Saint Mary’s, 1972-73 (21-0-0)
Toronto, 1972-73 (17-0-0)
Laurentian, 1970-71 (10-0-0)
St. Francis Xavier, 1965-66 (14-0-0)

SOURCE: Steve Knowles, CIS men’s hockey Top 10 coordinator


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