Michael Kirkpatrick, with his second goal of the game, was the overtime hero as the StFX X-Men (2-3) edged the Dalhousie Tigers (0-5-1) in AUS hockey action Friday night at the Keating Centre in Antigonish.

At 4:27 of the extra session, the third-year forward from North Sydney, NS, deposited the rebound off a Spencer McAvoy shot behind Tiger goaltender Bobby Nadeau.

The unassisted marker came after Kirkpatrick led a three-on-two rush into the Dalhousie zone.

Nadeau made a stellar pad save on an initial slap shot from Kirkpatrick, who collected three points in the game, before thwarting McAvoy.

The third time was the charm on the rush for the X-Men as they secured their second win of the regular season.

In the first period, after Brett Theberge of the Tigers opened the scoring, unassisted, at 8:48, the X-Men replied with three unanswered markers.

At 12:44, Kirkpatrick, with assists from Blake Gal and RD Chisholm, tied the score.

Just more than one minute later, at 13:46, Jarrad Struthers beat Nadeau, depositing the rebound off a Chisholm point shot, which had caromed off the leg of a Tigers' defender.

X-Men captain Josh Day had the other assist on the power play goal.

In the final minute of the first period, first-year X-Man Rob Slaney, while parked in front of the net with the man advantage, re-directed a Kirkpatrick point shot behind Nadeau.

Defenseman Bronson Maschmeyer chipped in the other assist.

The Tigers cut the deficit to 3-2 just 51 seconds into the second period, when Brad McConnell beat X-Men goaltender Drew Owsley. Andrew Wiggington and Brett Plouffe assisted.

At 7:35, Dalhousie tied it on a Chris Ivanko deflection of a Plouffe shot. Patrick Daley added an assist to make it 3-3.

At 8:01 of the third period, fifth-year defenseman Spencer McAvoy gave the X-Men a 4-3 advantage.

The Tigers replied, on the power play, with 4:02 remaining in regulation time. Daley, from McConnell and Fabian Walsh, tallied the equalizer.

"We are faster and stronger," Maschmeyer said in an on-ice interview after the first period, when asked about the differences between the 2013-14 and last year's X-Men squad. He also noted the team's increased size and aggressiveness in the early games.

Nadeau made 31 saves for the Tigers, while Owsley stopped 25 for the victory.

Daley of Tigers was named third star of the game.

Chisholm and Kirkpatrick garnered second and first star honours, respectively, for the X-Men.

The X-Men will return to action Saturday, Nov. 2, when they host the rival Saint Mary's Huskies at the Keating Centre. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.

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