Forward feeling better as X-Men look to square best-of-5 AUS final series
Courtesy The Chronicle Herald

St. Francis Xavier X-Men head coach Brad Peddle said Bryce Swan is "feeling a whole lot better." But the sophomore forward is questionable for Game 2 of the Atlantic University Hockey Conference championship tonight in Antigonish.

Swan collapsed in a frightening scene during Game 1 against the Saint Mary’s Huskies in Halifax on Sunday night.

Late in the second period, the backchecking Swan fell to the ice untouched near the Huskies’ blue-line. The 22-year-old lay motionless on the ice for a few minutes as he was tended by the team’s bench staff. Many of the 3,800 in attendance sat silent at the Forum.

A wobbly Swan was eventually assisted off the ice but he was clearly ailing. After the game, Peddle said Swan had been suffering from flu-like symptoms and he fainted from dehydration and fatigue.

Following practice on Monday, Peddle said Swan’s condition had improved. He underwent tests on Monday and will have more done today. Swan, the team’s leading scorer during the regular season, did not practise.

"He’s feeling a whole lot better and there’s no long-term issues," Peddle said. "It was severe dehydration. He’ll be fine. He’ll see the doctor again on Tuesday and we’ll see how he is after that. He’s questionable for Tuesday’s game."

Aside from that alarming scene, the rest of the game was headlined by the Huskies as they routed the X-Men 7-1 in the opener of the best-of-five final series. Colby Pridham had a hat trick, Mike Danton tallied twice and Brad Smith and Andrew White added single markers for the Huskies, who held a 35-24 shot advantage.

Phil Mangan, the X-Men’s leading scorer in the post-season, answered in the second on a slick individual effort. But that was all St. F.X. had to cheer about on this night.

"We have to forget about this game," Peddle said following Sunday night’s contest. "For the first 30-plus minutes, it was pretty close. We got the goal that made it 3-1 and it gave us a little bit of life. But all of a sudden, in a blink of an eye it’s 5-1. That’s how playoffs go."