ANTIGONISH, NS - The Moncton Aigles Bleus defeated the STFX X-Men 3-2 in exhibition hockey action on Friday evening at the Charles V. Keating Centre.
Remy Anglehart (Gascon, QC) scored the game winner with just over a minute to go in OT, banging home a pass from Edouard St.-Laurent (Levis, QC) and Thomas Pelletier (Quebec, QC).
The teams played the three-on-three overtime period after STFX had erased a two goal deficit in the third period but the home team was unable to complete the comeback.
Moncton opened up the scoring with Nathael Roy (Levis, QC) knocking one in off a scramble on the powerplay with just over two minutes gone in the game. Jeremy Lapointe (Drummondville, QC) had the assist with a shot from the point.
The Aigles Bleus continued to carry the play for the next few minutes, with STFX unable to muster a shot on net until about the seven minute mark. STFX's Joseph Raaymakers (Chatham, ON) played well in the net, shutting down a 2-on-0 shortly after the goal, and continued to turn aside Moncton's shooters.
STFX's penalty killers were busy, as the home team earned three penalties in the first eight minutes. They went on the powerplay themselves with about six minutes left to play but were unable to even the score. STFX picked up the pace in the second half of the period, and shots were 10-9 in favour of Moncton at the first intermission.
Roy had the second goal of the game, tapping one in off a nifty tic-tac-toe passing play with Jacob Dion (Sherbrooke, QC) and Thomas Cusson (Cowanville, QC) setting it up on the man advantage. After that, the play evened out a bit with STFX earning some chances on the powerplay but they were unable to find the back of the net. Shots after the first 40 minutes were 22-18 in favour of STFX.
The X-Men opened the scoring quickly in the third, with Josh Nelson (Lockport, IL) scoring off a second chance rebound as Charlie Callaghan (Toronto, ON) and Zack Trott (Mulmur, ON) assisted. The powerplay started working in the home team's favour later in the period, as Matthew Struthers (Milton, ON) potted one from the point through the screen, with Callahan and Trott again assisting to knot the game at 2-2.
The X-Men continued to control play in the third period but weren't able to add another in the first 60 minutes and the game went to overtime. Shots at the end of the third were 38-30 in favour of STFX.
STFX's Joseph Raaymakers (Chatham, ON) had 32 saves for STFX, while Olivier Adam (Drummondville, QC) and Felix-Anthony Ethier (Deux-Montagnes) combined for 43 saves in the Moncton win. The three stars of the game were Roy, Callaghan, and Cusson.
Moncton is set to hit the ice again Saturday evening when they take on UPEI in pre-season action. STFX is on the road for their next exhibition game, when they travel to Quebec to take on RSEQ opponents Concordia and UQTR on September 22nd and 23rd.
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Recap courtesy Matt Draper, STFX Athletics