Reds Take First Battle of the Hill of 2019-20

Reds Take First Battle of the Hill of 2019-20
Box Score

--- Hillary Latham, STU BA '20 --- 

Fredericton, NB - On Saturday the St. Thomas University Tommies faced off against the University of New Brunswick Reds in their home opener.  

The Tommies were looking to get a win after a close game in Moncton, where they lost 1-0 the night before. However, the Reds were the ones to take home this win, they defeated the Tommies 3-0. 

 The Tommies had a slow start in the first ten minutes of play where the Reds managed to score their first goal of the game, as Myah Bowal (Terrace, BC) got her first goal of the season. After the Reds goal the Tommies picked up the pace and killed off a penalty thanks to some great saves from goalie, Marandee Hunter (Chatham, Ontario).  

The first period ended with a score of 1-0 in favour of the Reds. 50 seconds into the second period the Reds extended their lead to 2-0 as Lillian George (Garden Village, ON) got her first of two on the night. Near the end of the second the Tommies were on the penalty kill back to back, but they didn't falter, killing off both and the score stayed at 2-0 for the Reds.  

In the third and final period the Tommies came out stronger than previous periods. Showcasing effective passing and cycling in the Reds end. The Tommies had several power play chances in the third period. However, the Reds managed to fend off the Tommies and they were unable to capitalize. With two minutes left in the third, the Tommies decided to pull Hunter from the net. Not long after the Reds dumped the puck into the empty net from centre ice, solidifying them the win. "The first 10 minutes we weren't very good," head coach Peter Murphy said. "The second and third, they were okay periods."  

Murphy noted that the team's penalty kill was good, but their power play struggled. "We shuffled the power plays up a bit, and our last couple power plays looked better than our first ones." 

The Tommies next game will be on October 11th at 7:00pm at the Grant Harvey Centre when they'll be facing off against St. Francis Xavier University. The Reds will host the UdeM Aigles Bleues on October 9th.