Antigonish, NS – The StFX X-Men avenged a 6-3 loss to the UNB Reds last weekend by earning the upper hand Friday night and defeating the Reds by a 3-2 margin at the Charles V. Keating Centre.
A pair of early third period goals scored 23 seconds apart was the difference in the game for the X-Men.
StFX opened the scoring in the game with a power play marker six minutes in as defenseman Cole MacDonald (Wetaskiwin, AB) ripped a wrist shot high past Rylan Parenteau (Saskatoon, SK) in the Reds net.
The lead didn't last long, however, as the Reds scored a power play goal of their own just under three minutes later. Alexandre Goulet (Disraeli, QC) picked up a loose rebound in the slot in front of the X net and shoveled it in past Joseph Raaymakers (Chatham, ON).
Tyler Boland (St. John's, NF) had a good scoring chance for UNB late in the period as he went in on a semi-break on Raaymakers but he stuck the pad out for the save.
The 1-1 score held up until first intermission as shots favoured the Reds 11-8.
There was no scoring in the second period as UNB outshot the X-Men 9-6.
StFX had a couple of power play chances but were shut down by the Reds penalty kill. The Reds in turn had several chances on the man-advantage as the X-Men ran into penalty trouble late in the period.
The U SPORTS No. 1 ranked team could not convert any scoring opportunities however, and the 1-1 score held after 40 minutes.
The X-Men came out on a mission in the third period and scored a pair of goals only 23 seconds apart two minutes into play.
William Thompson blasted a shot from the point that beat a screened Parenteau, then Matt Graham (Bedford, NS) connected with Adam Laishram (Ashburn, ON) to score the X-Men's third goal of the night. After solid forechecking Graham found Laishram open in the slot and he made no mistake.
The Reds had a chance with six minutes left in the period when Oliver Cooper (Fredericton, NB) rang one off the cross bar.
They converted on a 5-on-3 power play at 15:52 when Boland took a pass from Goulet in the corner and beat Raaymakers on the blocker side to pull the Reds to within a goal at 3-2.
The remainder of the period was penalty-filled as both teams had their chances to score. The Reds pulled Parenteau with a minute left and pressured for the equalizer but the X-Men were able to hold them off.
Final shots in the game favoured UNB 31-22 as Raaymakers earned first star and Subway player of the game honours with 29 saves.
StFX's Laishram was the second star and UNB defenseman Tristan Pomerleau (Riviere-du-Loup, QC) was the third star.
The win snaps a three-game losing skid for the X-Men (4-2-1) and gives the Reds (5-2-0) their second loss of the season.
UNB takes to the ice again Saturday night in Halifax when they face-off against Dalhousie.
The X-Men next see action on Wednesday, October 30 when they host Saint Mary's. Game time is 7:00 pm at the StFX Keating Centre.
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Courtesy Krista McKenna, StFX Athletics