Ottawa, ON - The StFX X-Men picked up their second win of the weekend with a 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Gee Gee's in pre-season exhibition action Saturday evening.
The X-Men faced some similar faces in the Gee Gee's line-up as former X-Men captain (and now Gee Gee's captain) Eric Locke was on the ice. He scored Ottawa's second goal of the game. Behind the bench was X-Men alumni head coach Patrick Grandmaitre and assistant coach Nathan Chiarlitti.
Chiarlitti was recently appointed assistant coach, he is a med student now at the University of Ottawa after enjoying successful time playing with both the X-Men and McGill Redmen. Locke is also a med student at Ottawa. Grandmaitre was the captain of the 2004 national champion X-Men team.
StFX and Ottawa exchanged first period goals from X's Sam Studnicka and Gee Gee's Kevin Domingue. Locke's goal just over two minutes into the second period gave the home team a 2-1 lead but Matt Needham tied it back up with a power play marker midway through the period.
The X-Men went on to score three unanswered goals in the third period to take home the win. Goals came from freshman defenseman Adam Howell, Santino Centorame on the power play, and Needham with his second of the game with only 13 seconds left on the clock.
Shots favored the X-Men at 34-31 as Chase Marchand earned the win in nets for StFX with 29 saves. He also received the game's third star honour. Ottawa's Connor Sills was the second star and X-Men defenseman Cole MacDonald was first star.
With the win the X-Men conclude their pre-season schedule and now look ahead to AUS regular season play. They will open on the road Friday night, September 28th in Acadia. The X-Men then host Saint Mary's on Saturday night, September 29th on Homecoming weekend. Fans should note that the game is being played at the Antigonish Arena with puck drop at 7:00 pm.
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Courtesy StFX Sports Information
X-Men hockey alumni and now Gee Gee's coaches Nathan Chiarlitti (left) and Patrick Grandmaitre drop the puck to Eric Locke of the Gee Gee's (also a former X-Man), and StFX's Mark Tremaine (Photo credit Greg Mason)