Antigonish, NS – The StFX X-Men earned a 3-1 exhibition win over the Moncton Aigles Bleus in pre-season action Saturday night at the StFX Keating Centre. The game was the first one for the X-Men to hit the ice this season.
After a fast-paced, scoreless first period that saw each team get off six shots apiece, X-Men forward Daniel Robertson opened the scoring in the game midway through the second period. His point shot beat Aigles Bleus netminder Etienne Montpetit as Lane Cormier and Regan Spears were in on the play with the helpers.
The goal was the only one of the period as X took the 1-0 lead into the locker room after 40 minutes of play. The home team outshot the Aigles Bleus 10-8 in the middle period.
The X-Men didn't need long in the third to find the back of the net as forward Jeremiah Addison netted his first career goal in an X-Men jersey just 30 seconds in. After Bryson Cianfrone brought the puck into the zone on a nice rush, Addison followed up on his own rebound to pop the puck in the net. Matt Needham also assisted on the play.
Moncton drew within a goal at the 11:54 mark as they capitalized on a power play opportunity as Robbie Graham connected with Danick Crete and Alexandre Bernier to get the visitors on the board.
As the period went on the play became chippy and both teams had several minor infractions called against them late in the game.
William Thompson scored an insurance marker for X on a one-timer from the point with just over four minutes to play. Anthony Difruscia and William Bower assisted.
The Aigles Bleus outshot the X-Men 12-7 in the third period and 26-23 in the game but went 1 for 8 on the power play. StFX was 0 for 6 on the man-advantage.
The X-Men will be back in exhibition action on Wednesday night, September 18th when they travel to Truro, N.S. to play the Saint Mary's Huskies in a neutral site exhibition game, hosted by SMU. The Aigles Bleus will also play on September 18th. They'll be on home ice to host UPEI in exhibition play. Puck drop for both games is 7:00 pm.
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Courtesy Krista McKenna, StFX Athletics