Two student-athletes who grew up in Midhurst are turning heads while playing hockey some 1,500 kilometres away in Fredericton, N.B.
Mackenzie Keenan, who plays for the University of New Brunswick (UNB) Reds women’s hockey team, and Macauley Carson, a former Ontario Hockey League captain who now skates for the men’s hockey team, have been named Papa John’s Pizza athletes of the week.
Keenan, who is in her first year studying chemical engineering, patrols the blue-line for the Reds and has played a "crucial role" as UNB opened the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) women’s hockey championship series against St. Francis Xavier.
In Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the X-Women, UNB's athletics department says Keenan was a "play stopper and shot blocker," holding St. FX to the slimmest of margins of victory.
“We felt Mack had a strong game where she played solid defensively,” Reds head coach Sarah Hilworth said in a news release. “She’s been playing a bigger and bigger role as the season has progressed, and has really taken some major strides as a first-year player.”
Keenan and her UNB teammates look to bounce back tonight (March 6) in the second game of the best-of-three series in Antigonish, N.S.
The Reds have already qualified for the U SPORTS women’s hockey championship tournament, which is being held March 16-19 in Montreal.
Keenan has one goal and 11 assists for 12 points in 28 games this season with UNB. She also has a plus-17 rating and four minutes in penalties.
On the men's side, Carson is in his third year of the business administration program. The Reds forward played a critical defensive role as the Reds eliminated the University of Moncton in the AUS semifinals and was an offensive force in the opening game of the loop's championship series against Saint Mary’s on Sunday.
Carson scored once and assisted on another goal as the Reds beat Saint Mary’s, 4-2, in the opening game of the conference final.
“Macauley is playing his best hockey of his UNB career right now,” Reds head coach Gardiner MacDougall said. “He’s a key part of our penalty kill, adds a physical element, and is contributing with big goals.”
Carson and his UNB teammates look to win the conference title when the series resumes on Tuesday in Halifax.
The men's team has already qualified for the U SPORTS University Cup, which is set for March 16-19 in Charlottetown, PEI.
Carson has two goals and 14 assists for 16 points in 30 games this season with UNB. He also has a plus-13 rating and 74 minutes in penalties.
The 22-year-old played five seasons in the OHL, all with the Sudbury Wolves. In 304 regular-season games between 2015 and 2020, Carson scored 85 goals and added 97 assists for 182 points. He also had four goals and two helpers in 14 post-season games during two playoff runs.
The UNB Reds men's hockey team also includes several OHL alumni, including former Barrie Colts defenceman Kade Landry and captain Jason Willms. Willms played for the local OHL team from 2016-17 to 2019-20 before being traded to the London Knights to close out his junior career, while Landry was in Barrie from 2015-16 to 2017-18.
