Payton Hargreaves Leads the UNB Reds to Historic Finish

Rebecca Labaj

Payton Hargreaves left her mark as the Captain of the UNB Reds, leading the team to a historic finish in her final season. 

Leading up to the historic run, Hargreaves made three national appearances, as a three-time AUS Champion. Hargreaves has been a cornerstone for the Reds contributing all over the ice, finishing her career with 51 goals and 56 assists in 129 games with an overall +56. 

The Reds opened Championship weekend facing the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the quarter-final round, in a tightly contested match that went to a shootout, where Hargreaves found a goal in the fifth round to punch the Reds ticket to the semi-finals, keeping UNB’s medal dreams alive.

In the semi-final the Reds fell to the Montreal Carabins who went on to win it all. But, that wasn’t the end of the road as they headed to the bronze medal game where they met the Guelph Gryphons in a historic 2-1 win bringing back the first medal in program history. 

Prior to her time with the Reds, the Whitby native played in the U22 Elite with the hometown Whitby Jr. Wolves and Durham West Lightning. She ended her U22 career with the Lightning after transferring from the Wolves, where she put up her best season with 20 points in 38 games, including 3 game-winning goals. 

With the Reds historic run in the books Whitby’s own, Payton Hargreaves looks towards the PWHL draft.