The StFX X-Men lost their third game in the past four attempts as Justin Munden scored the game-winning goal for Saint Mary’s halfway through the third period as the CIS ranked No. 9 Huskies skated away with a 4-2 win in front of just under 1500 fans at the StFX Keating Centre.

The X-Men and Huskies each exchanged first period goals and sat in a 1-1 deadlock after 20 minutes of play. Phil Mangan opened the scoring early on as he beat Huskies netminder Neil Conway through the five-hole on the X-Men’s first shot of the game. Josh Day and Bryce Swan assisted.

The lead didn’t last long, however as Shawn O’Donnell tied it for the Huskies at 2:55 with an unassisted marker. Shortly after the O’Donnell goal, StFX goaltender Joey Perricone left the game with an apparent injury after he was shaken up on a collision with a SMU player. Bryan Gillis stepped in and played well in the X net, stopping a couple of good scoring chances on the part of the Huskies.

Nick Pageau had the best scoring chance for the X-Men late in a hard-hitting and intense first period as he rang the puck off the post, but the score remained 1-1 after one.

The Huskies were the first to draw blood in the second period as Cody Thornton scored a power play goal at the 3:55 minute mark, jumping on a rebound in front of the X net. The X-Men had a 55 second 5-on-3 powerplay opportunity but could not capitalize. Veteran forward Ryan Desrosiers also had a couple good shot son net but was turned aside by Conway.

X-Men Bryce Swan finally solved Conway as he scored with just over two minutes left in the second period off a Spencer McAvoy pass. The 2-2 tie held until 10:14 of the third period when Munden scored the go-ahead goal for SMU, shoveling a rebound past Gillis into the StFX net.

Desrosiers had another good chance for X as he was in alone in front of Conway, who was able to block the front of the crease with his stick and prevent the tying X goal.

As the X-Men continued to pressure for the equalizer, Cody Thornton sealed the deal for the Huskies as he scored his second goal of the game with 1:14 left. Conway had 20 saves for the Huskies, who improved to 11-5-4, while Gillis took the loss for the X-Men, who fall to 9-9-3.

The X-Men will try to rebound this evening as they travel to Wolfville for a 7:00 pm game against the CIS ranked No. 4 Axemen (13-4-2).

Game note:  Newly acquired Mike Danton did not dress for the Saint Mary's Huskies but did travel with the team to Antigonish.

StFX Sports Information