FREDERICTON, NB – Captain Matt Cook (Belle Mead, N.J.) scored two third-period goals to give the Union College men’s hockey team a 7-5 exhibition win over the University of New Brunswick at the Aitken Centre Friday evening. Josh Coyle (Brooklyn, Ohio) had a pair of goals and Chris Potts (Phillipsburg, N.J) had a goal and two assists in the game, which was the first time an NCAA team has played New Brunswick at the Aitken Centre.

 

The Dutchmen took an early lead, scoring just 2:51 into the first. Mario Valery-Trabucco (Montreal, Quebec) dug the puck out of the right corner and fed Adam Presizniuk (Calgary, Alberta) just to the right of the crease. Presizniuk slipped the puck toward the net, but missed wide. He regained control of the puck and threw it out across the crease to Stephane Boileau (Blainville, Quebec) who was crashing in down the left. Boileau one-timed it past UNB netminder Michael Ouzas to give the Dutchmen a 1-0 lead.

 

The Varsity Reds took advantage of three power-play opportunities in the first period and knotted the game with the man advantage at 14:18 on a David Bowman wrister from the point that deflected off a player and into the net bewtween Union goaltender Rich Sillery’s (Hyattsville, Md.) extended right leg and the left post.

 

Corey Milan (Great Barrington, Mass.) took to the net to start the middle period which saw the teams trade goals.  Coyle gave the Dutchmen the 2-1 lead at 4:09 with his first of two goals in the frame before UNB tied it up on the power play at 15:12. Coyle responded just over two minutes later to retake the lead, but the Varsity Reds knotted the game at 3-3 with 19 seconds left in the frame.

 

Jason Shaffer (Eagle Creek, Alaska) took feed from Mike Schreiber (Sherwood Park, Alberta) in the slot and fired. His shot was saved by Ouzas but Coyle picked up the rebound and beat the netminder on his right.

 

Hunter Tremblay gave UNB the lead by sinking a rebound into the open right side of the net after Milan saved a shot by Dustin Friesen on the left.

 

Coyle put the Dutchmen up again by potting another rebound, this time into the wide open left side of the net after the original shot by Justin Pallos (Glastonbury, Conn.) bounced off UNB replacement goaltender Derek Yeomans’ pads. John Simpson (Boxborough, Mass.) won the draw that set up the play to earn the second assist.

 

Lachlan MacIntosh tied the game as the period was winding down after breaking in on a two-man rush with Chris Hodgson. Hodgson carried the puck down the right and slid it across the low slot to MacIntosh who flipped it in past Milan’s blocker.

 

The teams traded goals again in the third, with UNB taking a 4-3 lead 3:05 into the period as Rob Hennigar wound up to one-time a pass from below the left circle that came from across the slot by John Scott Dickson, who was across the ice high above the left circle.

 

Simpson knotted the game at 4-4 at 6:55 netting a pass from across the crease by Jason Walters (Renfrew, Ontario) from below the left circle.

 

Chris Potts (Phillipsburg, N.J.) fed Cook deep in the Union zone before the captain carried the puck all the way down the ice. Cook slid the puck between Yeoman’s legs to give Union a 5-4 lead at 11:53.

 

Brad Efthimiou tipped in a shot by Denny Johnston from the left point to knot the game again at 14:16, but Cook threw the puck at the net from below the left circle 44 seconds later to take the lead.

 

Potts made a big block with under three minutes to play and played a key role in Union’s kill of a late six-on-three before scoring a short-handed empty-netter with 37 seconds left in the game.

 

Sillery finished with eight saves in the first period, while Milan stopped seven shots in the second. Mrazek made four saves in the final frame.

 

Union will face the St. Thomas (NB) Tommies on Saturday at 3 p.m. EST in the first round of the Pete Kelly Cup at the Aitken Centre. The Dutchmen will face the winner of Saturday night’s game between New Brunswick and Acadia University at either 12 or 4 p.m. EST.