Antigonish, N.S. - The CIS fifth-ranked StFX X-Men skated to a 2-0 win over the visiting Saint Mary's Huskies (#9) in Game 1 of their 2016 Subway AUS men's hockey championship semi-final series, in front of more than 1,300 fans, Thursday night at the Keating Centre.
In the opening period, the X-Men garnered the first quality scoring chance when forward Kristoff Kontos (Penetanguishene, ON) ripped a hard wrist shot, but Huskies goaltender Cole Cheveldave (Calgary, AB) made a right pad save.
Less than one minute later, the Huskies replied, with Stephen MacAulay (Cole Harbour, NS), a second-team conference all-star, making a centering feed to Gerrad Grant (Halifax, NS), who was parked on the lip of the X-Men crease, but goalie Drew Owsley (Lethbridge, ON), also a second-team all-star, turned aside the re-direction.
The X-Men got another scoring chance when AUS MVP Eric Locke (Toronto, ON) found a pinching Max Iafrate (Livonia, MI), but the first-year defenseman caught the puck with the heel of his stick on a one-timer, which sent the shot sailing high and wide.
Midway through the opening 20 minutes, the Huskies flexed their muscles on the penalty kill, holding the X-Men scoreless on back-to-back power play opportunities for the home team.
At 16:02, the X-Men took a 1-0 edge when Brent Turnbull (Stellarton, NS), after winning a battle with a Saint Mary's defender in front of Cheveldave, picked up his own rebound and swept a forehand shot into an open net. Brad Cuzner (Glace Bay, NS) and Bronson Maschmeyer (Bruderheim, AB) collected assists on the first goal of the series.
"It was pretty important, especially after being off for a couple weeks," Locke said of his X-Men, who had a first-round play-off bye, taking the lead.
On the next shift, the Huskies battled back, with MacAualay setting Grant up again, but Owsley blocked the short-side shot from in close.
Before the end of the first period, MacAulay tested Owsley with a high wrist shot, but the X-Men goalie made the save.
Early in the second period, the X-Men tried to double their advantage, when defenseman Trey Lewis (Aldouane, NB) feathered a lead pass to Holden Cook (Oshawa, ON), a member of the conference all-rookie team, who broke in on his off-wing, but he could not solve Cheveldave with a wrist shot.
With the Huskies pressuring in the first five minutes of the middle frame, they made Owsley perform, including on a Bradley Greene (Tilting, NF) deflection of a Jamie Doornbosch (Richmond Hill, ON) point shot, which the veteran steered to the corner.
On their third power play of the game, with MacAulay in the penalty box for checking from behind, the X-Men came up empty.
Halfway through the second period, Saint Mary's had their first man-advantage, but StFX had the best scoring chances, with forwards Mark Tremaine (Darmouth, NS) and Adam Stevens (Bedford, NS) challenging Cheveldave.
Shortly after coming up empty-handed on the 5-on-4, the visitors ramped up the pressure, with Taylor Burke (Halifax, NS) and Francis Menard (Embrun, ON) combining for three opportunities from in tight, but Owsley held the fort.
Seconds later, he also made a sprawling pad stop on a shot from veteran Saint Mary's forward Matt Tipoff (Toronto, ON).
Later in the stanza, Stephen Gillard (St. John's, NL) made a sterling defensive play in his own zone, stretching to deflect a cross-ice pass intended for Locke, who would have had a chance, on the forehand, with an open net.
"We are getting shots and doing the little things right. If we keep doing that, we are going to be alright," Doornbosch said during the second intermission.
Early in the third period, on a five-on-three advantage, Cook blasted a screen shot, but he could not beat Cheveldave.
Later in the two-man advantage, Cook got another chance and he made no mistake, with a low hard wrist shot to the glove side. Locke and Nathan Chiarlitti (Maple, ON)assisted on the marker at the 3:09 mark.
Trying to rally, the Huskies broke in on a three-on-two, with the trailer Steven Shipley (Ilderton, ON) hammering a shot high-and-wide from the top of the slot.
With the X-Men tightening up on defense, backstopped by Owsley, they thwarted another Huskies' power play effort in the final 10 minutes of regulation.
In the final minute, Saint Mary's pressed, including with six attackers after pulling Cheveldave, but they could not break the scoring goose egg.
"It is huge win - getting the first one and being able to keep home ice advantage, especially against a great team like that," Owsley, who made 30 saves for the shutout win, said after the match-up.
Cheveldave turned aside 30 shots in the loss.
Owsley was the Subway player of the game, while Kyle Pereira (Brampton, ON) earned top honours for the Huskies.
"My team played great in front of me, and the crowd was awesome," Owsley said.
Game 2 of the series is set for Saturday, Feb. 27. Puck drop is 7 p.m. at the Keating Centre.
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