Vandenberg, Valade lead Huskies to last second 3-2 win over Aigles Bleus
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Mary's (7-3-0, 7-3-0) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
|
Moncton (6-3-0, 6-3-0) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
MONCTON, NB - Saint Mary's forward Reid Valade scored the game-winning goal with five seconds remaining in regulation, while Marcus Vandenberg made 49 saves, leading the Huskies to a thrilling 3-2 win over the Moncton Aigles Bleus in Atlantic University Sport men's hockey action on Friday night at the J. Louis Levesque Arena in Moncton, NB.
The Huskies opened the scoring just 3:49 into the first period, as forward Ben Allison fired a shot that was blocked by Moncton netminder Nathan Darveau, but Huskies defenceman Ethan Ritchie jumped on the rebound to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) November 1, 2025
Ethan Ritchie jumps on the Ben Allison rebound and makes no mistake, giving the Huskies a 1-0 lead, 3:49 into the first period!
��E. Ritchie (2)
��B. Allison
��L. Van Loon pic.twitter.com/VHuqkJoAJ4
Moncton answered several minutes later, with defenceman Denis Toner firing a one-timer slap-shot from the point that beat Marcus Vandenberg, tying the game at 1-1, 9:09 into the first period.
Just over a minute later, the Huskies went on the powerplay and quickly took the lead, with Ritchie cycling the pass to Reid Valade, who then played it over to linemate Ben Allison who fired a point shot past a screened Darveau, giving the Huskies a 2-1 lead 10:30 into the first. Allison's 10th goal and 18th point of the campaign both lead all of U SPORTS.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) November 1, 2025
Ben Allison keeps his scoring streak going with a powerplay goal, giving the Huskies a 2-1 lead 10:30 into the first!
��B. Allison (10)
��R. Valade
��E. Ritchie pic.twitter.com/je6DDo6yRg
The Aigles Bleus outshot the Huskies 11-9 in the first period, but Saint Mary's took a 2-1 lead into first intermission.
The second period was the Marcus Vandenberg show, as the Huskies netminder turned away all 21 shots he faced. Moncton took a 32-16 advantage in shots on goal into second intermission, but thanks to Vandenberg's outstanding play, the Huskies maintained their 2-1 lead through 40 minutes of play.
Five minutes into the third period, the Aigles Bleus finally equalized, as a Vandenberg save took a funny bounce into the air, and landed on the stick of Charles-Edouard Drouin, who snapped a shot past Vandenberg to tie the game at 2-2, 5:07 into the third period.
It appeared the game was destined for overtime until there were five seconds remaining, when Ethan Ritchie intercepted a Moncton breakout pass, and carried the puck across the blueline, firing a shot that went wide and bounced off the end boards directly back to Reid Valade, who stuffed it into goal to give the Huskies a 3-2 victory. Valade's 10th goal of the season ties his linemate Ben Allison for the U SPORTS lead.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) November 1, 2025
REID VALADE WINS IT WITH FIVE SECONDS LEFT! On the last chance of regulation, Ethan Ritchie fires it off the boards and Reid Valade is there to win the game for the Huskies!
��R. Valade (10)
��E. Ritchie pic.twitter.com/BWHvg1neuu
Saint Mary's goaltender Marcus Vandenberg was named Player of the Game, turning away 49 of 51 shots faced. Moncton goaltender Nathan Darveau stopped 21 shots in defeat.
The Huskies win snapped a three game losing streak and brought their record 7-3-0-0 on the campaign, good for first place in the AUS standings. Saint Mary's will be back on home ice next weekend, hosting the STFX X-Men (3-5-0-1) on Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Dauphinee Centre. GET TICKETS
Moncton's loss drops their record to 6-3-0-0 on the season. The Aigles Bleus will hit the road tomorrow, visiting the Acadia Axemen (6-2-1-0) at 7 p.m. in Wolfville, N.S.
Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Normand Leger / Moncton Aigles Bleus Athletics
