Moncton got three goals from three different players in the first period and then held on to defeat Vermont, 6-4, in an exhibition game Friday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
Moncton got on the scoreboard first when David Bilodeau fired a shot from the right point that went through a screen in front and eluded Vermont goalkeeper Scott Sortal at 7:42 of the first period. Marc Lomantagne assisted on the goal, which came at the end of a long shift for the Catamounts.
The Blue Eagles took a 2-0 lead at 12:18 of the opening period when Oliver Dubuc scored on a rebound of a shot from J.F. Beliveau. Alexandre Vigneault also assisted.
The Blue Eagles made it 3-0 at 16:44 of the first when leading scorer Tomas Baluch scored from a sharp angle to the right of Sortal, beating him high to the stick side.
Midway through the second period, Moncton took a 4-0 lead when Steve Castonguay scored from the right wing, taking advantage of a Vermont defensive miscue and slotting a shot low to Shawn Conschafter’s glove side. Beliveau made it 5-0 1:16 later when he scored an unassisted tally from the left side.
Vermont got on the board when Gerard Miller fired a shot from the left point while the Cats were on the power play at 16:11. Ryan Cox and Thomas Hajek assisted on the goal, that went through a maze of players in front before eluding Moncton’s Jonathan Pelletier.
The Catamounts closed to 5-2 early in the third as Cox scored on a breakaway just 18 seconds in. John Longo and Scott Mifsud assisted on the play. Cox broke in between the Moncton defensemen and slid the puck underneath Pelletier as the goalie drifted back into the net.
Chris Hills made it 5-3 at 8:39 of the third when he banged in his own rebound after a nice play by freshman Steve Dusich. Dusich took a pass from Gerard Miller, broke in over the blue line and ripped a shot that Pelletier stopped. Hills swept a rebound on net that was saved, but the Vermont assistant captain stayed with it and knocked in the rebound.
The Cats closed to within a goal at 11:35 of the third when Patrick Sharp scored on a wrist shot from the top of the left circle. Jeff Miles and Brady Leisenring assisted on the goal.
Carl Prudhomme scored shorthanded into an empty net with 20 seconds left to make for the final margin.
Pelletier finished with 27 saves for Moncton, while Sortal had 10 saves and Conschafter stopped 13 for Vermont.
“We made some big mistakes in the neutral zone in the first and second periods,” Vermont coach Mike Gilligan said. “We only played 20 minutes of intense hockey. We just dug too big a hole for ourselves.
“After the third period, we can feel a little bit better about life,” he added.
