Gardiner MacDougall, second left, gives a thumbs up during after the UNB Reds won their fifth Atlantic University Sport Men’s Hockey Conference championship in a row on March 9. MacDougall, from Bedeque, P.E.I., is the head coach of the Reds and will lead the team into its eighth consecutive appearance at the Cavendish Farms University Cup at Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, March 16-19. - James West/UNB AthleticsCHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I.
“We’ve been really fortunate to have a great team that continues to get better and responded to some adversity and tough games in the playoffs. The group has learned some lessons.”MacDougall, the son of Evelyn and the late Charlie MacDougall, is in his 23rd season coaching the Reds, which includes the 2020-21 campaign when teams were only able to practice and there were no games because of COVID-19.
UNB Reds defenceman Chris McQuaid, 27, looks to release a shot on goal during an Atlantic University Sport Men’s Hockey Conference game against the Dalhousie Tigers at the Aiken University Centre in Fredericton earlier this season. McQuaid, from Charlottetown, is excited for this week’s Cavendish Farms University Cup at Eastlink Centre in his hometown.
In the playoffs, the Reds eliminated the Moncton Blue Eagles 3-1 in a best-of-five semifinal and defeated the Saint Mary’s Huskies 4-1 in the third and deciding game of the AUS final before over 3,300 fans in Fredericton on March 9.“On AUS TV broadcasting the final series, they called us a veteran team and I said, ‘We are lucky; we have 12 first-year veterans that made a big impact on our team this year.
MacDougall is grateful for a return to a normal year after the two previous seasons were impacted by COVID-19.