HBIC's week of coverage continues today as we look at the AUS representatives in the University of New Brunswick Reds and the St. Francis Xavier X-Women!
UNB Reds
U SPORTS Ranking: 4th
Record: 28-4-3
UNB heads west to Montreal after standing atop the mountain in the AUS. They were the best team through the regular season before dismissing the UPEI Panthers 3-1 in their best-of-five semifinals series, and then rallied after dropping the first game to StFX in the AUS Final to win the AUS Championship by a 2-1 series count. UNB comes into the championship on an 8-2 run through their last ten games, and possibly still on a high after their dramatic double-overtime victory against StFX on Wednesday.
UNB was the ultimate mix of offence and defence as they tied for the second-most goals scored in AUS while giving up the fewest. Part of that was due to FISU goal medalists Kendra Woodland and Jenna McLean, but that undersells how good this Reds team was in defending their net. They were the third-least penalized team as well, so they were playing a lot of their games at 5-on-5 or better, but even when they were shorthanded they played well. Scoring is spread out over three lines, so this Reds team can strike from anywhere at any time.
Lillian George led the Reds in scoring with 10 goals and 15 assists, and her work alongside speed demon Frederike Cyr's five goals and 17 assists put those two atop the scoring list for the Reds. Lauren Carter had ten goals on the season, Payton Hargreaves had nine goals, Tamina Kehler scored eight times, and Ashley Stratton had seven goals - goals came from a variety of sources! On the blue line Mackenzie Keenan led the way with 12 points, but Lindsey Smith led the way with three goals. The Reds' blue line will generate shots, but most are tipped or knocked in via rebounds. UNB will score, but they have to have their forwards engaged.
There's no denying that goaltending will be the story for UNB as Kendra Woodland has been one of the best goalies in U SPORTS for the last few seasons. In 17 games, Woodland posted a 14-3-0 record with a 1.10 GAA and a .960 save percentage - absolutely incredible numbers. Her numbers dropped a little in the playoffs as she went 5-2-0 with a 1.40 GAA and a .952 save percentage, but there's no doubt that the strength of this Reds team starts from the crease. If Woodland falters, Cassie McCallum played well enough this year to give UNB confidence in her as she was 8-2-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .951 save percentage. If defence and goaltending win championships, the UNB Reds should be your favorite to win!
If UNB has a weak spot, one could point to their power-play which was second-worst in the AUS this season at 12.1% (15/124), and those numbers carried into the playoffs where they converted at a 12.0% efficiency (3/25). For a team with such good scoring depth, it's hard to fathom those numbers, especially when you consider they gave up three shorthanded goals in the regular season and one more in the playoffs. That yikes aside, the UNB penalty-killing units were tops in the AUS at 91.7% (88/96), but it fell to 84.2% (16/19) in the playoffs. They say that a team's goaltender is a team's best penalty-killer, and that could explain UNB's numbers while playing shorthanded.
If anyone is looking for a way to beat UNB, it comes down to making Kendra Woodland's life difficult in the crease. She sees the puck so well, she moves laterally as well as any goaltender playing professionally, and she has quick hands and feet. What she doesn't have is X-ray vision, so getting bodies in front of her and lots of shots and deflections will keep her busy. Using a high-low setup in the slot might be a good solution, but there's no denying that getting to Woodland will increase a team's odds of winning greatly.
UNB's rebirth in 2018 means we don't have a long history when it comes to this version of the team. UNB was the second-ranked team last season before they were upset 4-0 in the semifinal by the Nipissing Lakers and 2-0 in the bronze-medal game by Saskatchewan Huskies, but they did record a 5-4 win against the McGill Martlets in the quarterfinal game. Running into solid defensive teams shows that the Reds need to find ways to score more than they did, so it will be interesting to see how they fare this year. On top of that, this season is the pinnacle for those players who have been with the program as rookies in 2018, so I'm sure they'll want to write a storybook ending for this season. It's a guarantee that UNB will write some more history into their hockey archives this week, but what will that history read for the 2023 National Championship?
We'll know more about that history on Thursday evening as the hosts and fifth-ranked Montreal Carabins meet the fourth-ranked UNB Reds at 7pm ET. You can catch all the action from Montreal this week for free on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem, and the free CBC Sports app!
StFX X-Women
U SPORTS Ranking: 7th
Record: 24-8-3
The StFX X-Women make their way to Montreal after losing a heartbreaker to the UNB Reds on Wednesday, but they can't dwell on that. They beat the Saint Mary's Huskies 3-1 in their best-of-five semifinal before falling 2-1 to the UNB Reds in the AUS Final. They took Game One of the final by a 2-1 score, but they couldn't find a way to down the Reds again in their best-of-three series. Nevertheless, in their final ten games, they were 7-3 as they embark on another run at the National Championship.
StFX were, by far, the highest scoring team in the AUS as they lit 110 lamps this season in 28 games - a 3.93 goals-per-game average! Defensively, they surrendered 54 goals which was second-lowest in the conference, but it was only 15 goals less than sixth-place Moncton. Clearly, the X-Women scored their way out of a lot of problems this season, and I expect them to continue to look for goals as much as they try to prevent them. If there's a game that turns into a track meet, the X-Women can score with the best of the teams at the championship while playing just enough defence for success.
Maggy Burbidge led all U SPORTS scorers with 25 goals and 22 assists this season, and she added a FISU gold medal to her trophy case. Teammate Lea MacLeod was third in StFX scoring and second on the team with 20 helpers, and she also has a FISU gold medal to her name. Defennder Lauren Dabrowski was the best of both words as she finished second in X-Women scoring with 15 goals and 19 assists, and Chloe Vukosa finished fifth in AUS scoring with 15 goals and 16 assists as StFX held four of the top-five scoring positions in the conference. Dabrowski led all defenders with 34 points with teammate Josie Chisholm being second in AUS scoring from the blue line with 18 points. StFX has never been shy about flexing their offence at any time, so we'll see if they can get that going in Montreal.
Jamie Johnson handled most of the goaltending duties this season, posting a 10-3-0 record with a 1.92 GAA and a .917 save percentage. Her playoff numbers were somewhat better - 4-3-0 with a 1.96 GAA and a .935 save percentage - but Johnson's responsibility seems to be stopping enough pucks to allow the X-Women to outscore their opponents. That idealism worked for Colorado in the NHL playoffs last year, but will it work in Montreal in a single-game knockout tournament? If Johnson slips at any point, it should be noted that goaltending partner Amaya Giraudier was 10-5-0 with a 1.84 GAA and a .926 save percentage, so it's not like they don't have a solid goaltending tandem. If StFX can get their offence going, these two netminders are good enough to win a National Championship.
StFX's power-play, like their offence, was the best in the conference at 22.4% (26/116), and that trend continued in the playoffs where StFX was clicking at a 23.1% efficiency (6/26). Those numbers will certainly help at the championship where special teams can make or break teams. StFX was also second-best when it came to killing penalties as they turned in an 88.5% efficiency (100/113), but they were considerably better in the playoffs where the turned in a 94.7% efficiency (18/19). If StFX can keep their special teams rolling into Montreal, they'll find themselves in good spots with those numbers.
Where StFX struggles is when they make poor decisions. By that, I mean they sometimes lose their checks in the defensive zone and start running around to cover, leaving opposing players open. Because they stress offensive zone pressure, they sometimes make bad pinches at the point, and that leads to opponents having odd-player rushes. Occasionally, they'll make a bad line change, leading to more defensive zone breakdowns. No one is going to match StFX if this tournament was a goal-scoring contest, but hockey requires some attention to defence. StFX would be wise to err on the side of caution rather than pushing for goals in Montreal or they could be playing a lot of catch-up in games.
Historically, StFX wasn't at the tournament last year as the AUS sent the champion thanks to UPEI hosting, but they did defeat the Montreal Carabins by a 3-2 score in 2020 before that tournament was cancelled for pandemic reasons. They missed out on the 2019 tournament, but 2018 saw them record a few games. Unfortunately, they got thumped 8-1 in the quarterfinal game by Concordia in 2018, but they responded by beating Queen's on the consolation side 4-3 in overtime. In the consolation final, though, they got roughed up by the other RSEQ team in Montreal to the tune of a 7-1 score. For all their AUS success, the X-Women are looking to add more wins at the National Championship level as they try to get back to the semifinals.
We'll see if they that happens on Friday afternoon at 3pm ET when the seventh-ranked StFX X-Women meet the second-seeded UBC Thunderbirds. You can catch all the action from Montreal this week for free on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem, and the free CBC Sports app!
That should get you up to speed on the AUS teams playing in Montreal this weekend. We land in Quebec tomorrow for a look at the two RSEQ teams representing to La Belle Province this weekend, and don't forget to read through the OUA information from yesterday!
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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