X-Men clinch playoff berth with shootout win over SMU

The StFX X-Men  clinched the sixth and final AUS playoff spot with a 5-4 shootout win over the Saint Mary’s Huskies Friday night in Antigonish, N.S. StFX forward Michael Kirkpatrick scored the first goal in the shootout, then X-Men goaltender Joey Perricone stopped three consecutive Huskies shooters en route to the win for the blue and white.

The first period saw a lot of scoring. The X-Men opened the flood gates early as Bryce Swan fed Michael Kirkpatrick in the slot and he roofed a shot over Huskies goaltender Neil Conway’s shoulder 52 seconds into the game. Saint Mary’s was able to capitalize less than four minutes later when Cory Tanaka scored on a nice passing play from Colby Pridham and Brad Smith while on the power play at 4:17. 

X-Men forward Kevin Undershute was able to put the X-Men back up by one goal when he batted a loose puck home in front of the net on passes from Spencer McAvoy and Jarod Struthers at the 15:46 mark. With only sixteen seconds left in the first period, StFX was able to score the insurance marker as the number one ranked power play in the AUS went to work and Scott Brannon wired home a one timer off a couple of dishes from Michael Kirkpatrick and Josh Day. Even though the X-Men held the 3-1 lead on the scoreboard after the first period, the Huskies outshot StFX 13-7 in the opening frame.

The first intermission was a good time for both teams to settle down and get back to their game plans. Saint Mary’s started the second period with a new goalie, as Anthony Peters came in for relief for Conway after he allowed three goals on six shots. The pace slowed down in the second frame as both StFX and Saint Mary’s were waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

Saint Mary’s was able to cut the lead to one when Tanaka netted his second goal of the game off solid puck movement from Patrick O’Keefe and Cam Fergus at the 10:32 mark. The back and forth game continued as the X-Men responded less than two minutes later at 12:04 when Brennan Wray wrapped a backhander under Peters’ legs. The play was created off a Derek Claffey pass to a streaking Murdock MacLellan who drove the net hard, only for Wray to clean up the garbage. 

Shots were 31-19 in favor of Saint Mary’s after two periods as the score was 4-2 in StFX’s advantage heading into the third frame. 

The third period was played defensively, as each team mustered only seven shots a piece. Saint Mary’s was the team that was able to make the most of their opportunities however, as Pridham closed the score to 4-3 when he buried the puck past Perricone at the 3:29 mark from O’Keefe and Tyler Cuthbert.  Lucas Bloodoff was than able to complete the comeback for the Huskies as he put a low shot under the pads of Perricone at the 7:05. Tanaka assisted on the play for his third point of the night. The Huskies continued their third period pressure late in the game, but Perricone held his ground and guided the X-Men into overtime as the 4-4 deadlock remained after regulation. 

Ten minutes of four-on-four overtime was unable to solve anything. Shots were 6-4 in favor of the X-Men in the extra period.

As the shootout ensued, Saint Mary’s selected Cam Fergus, Colby Pridham and Brad Smith as their three shooters while the X-Men chose Michael Kirkpatrick, Jason Bast and Kevin Undershute. Kirkpatrick was able to start the shootout with a pretty goal, netting one high over an outstretched Peters.  

Fergus skated down and misfired on Perricone, while Bast was unable to solve Peters on the X-Men’s second attempt. Huskies second shooter Pridham couldn’t get one past Perricone, so it gave Kevin Undershute the chance to seal the victory for the X-Men. He skated down ice but was unable to score as Peters made the save. Huskies Brad Smith needed to score to keep the shootout going, but his shot was turned aside from Perricone as the X-Men won the game and the two points that punched their ticket to the AUS playoffs in exciting fashion. 

Overall shots in the game were 42-32 for the Huskies. Subway Player of the Game Joey Perricone played very strong in nets for the blue and white, making 38 saves. Neil Conway and Anthony Peters combined for 28 saves for the Huskies. 

With the win the X-Men (9-14-4) clinched the sixth and final playoff spot. They play their final regular season game tomorrow night in Halifax against the seventh place Dalhousie Tigers (7-17-3). The Tigers were eliminated from playoff contention with the X-Men victory, combined with their 4-2 loss to Acadia.

The Huskies (17-7-3) picked up a single point in the overtime/shootout loss and currently sit tied with Moncton for second place with 37 points apiece. They will host the fifth place Acadia Axemen (16-9-2) tomorrow night in Halifax as they fight for the other for first round playoff bye. UNB clinched a bye with a win over St. Thomas. Three points separate the Huskies and Aigles Bleus from both Acadia and UPEI, who each have 34 points as the final playoff positions will be decided after Saturday’s games.