Hargreaves Leads REDS On Milestone Night

(HALIFAX, NS) Payton Hargreaves scored all three goals as the UNB REDS beat the Saint Mary's Huskies 3-2 in Atlantic University Sport women's hockey action, Friday night in Halifax.

The hat-trick lifts Hargreaves into a tie atop UNB women's hockey's all-time scoring list. Hargreaves and Lily George (2018-2024) both have 47 regular season goals as REDS. It also pushed Hargreaves' career point total to 100, just one point back of George's program mark of 101.

"It's an incredible achievement and I'm so proud to have accomplished 100 points in my career so far," said Hargreaves. "To do it with a hat trick, I wouldn't have guessed it!"

The Huskies opened the scoring mid-way through the first period on a powerplay goal by Kara MacLean.

Hargreaves' first goal came with the REDS working on the powerplay about six minutes later and she put the REDS up 2-1 with less than a minute remaining in the opening period.

After a scoreless second, Hargreaves completed her hat trick just 1:18 into the third.

The Huskies' Mia Faseruk scored with less than two minutes remaining in the game, but the REDS held on for the victory.

Cassie McCallum made 21 saves on 23 shots to record the win in the REDS' net.

SMU's Ridleigh Hansen also faced 23 shots and took the loss.

"It's bittersweet to be tied with Lily and one short of her marks for assists and points," said Hargreaves. "I always thought those were out of reach for me, so I'm stoked be so close. It's a cool connection to make knowing that most of both our points have come from each other, so I greatly admire her as a player, former teammate, and person. She's paved the path for me and the next players to reach this standard."

With the win, the REDS are now 13-4-0-0 (W-L-OTL-SOL) and remain tied for first in the AUS standings.

The Huskies' record falls to 7-8-0-2.

The REDS skate back into action on Saturday night when they take on the Dalhousie Tigers. That game, scheduled for a 7:00pm face-off, will be played at the Dauphinee Centre, on the Saint Mary's University campus.

"I couldn't have done it without the women by my side or the ones that came before us," said Hargreaves of her achievements Friday. "I'm excited to see what the rest of the season holds for me and our team and what is left to be achieved."