The CIS ranked No. 4 StFX X-Women lost a nail biter 3-2 to the Mount Allison Mounties Sunday afternoon in Antigonish. The Mounties erased a 2-0 StFX first period lead to come back and score three unanswered goals for the win.
Mount Allison came out flying, winning most puck battles along the boards. They pressured the X-Women defense and were getting quality shots on StFX goaltender Katie Greenway. It was the X-Women, however, who opened the scoring when Janelle Parent roofed one over Mounties goalie Meghan Corley-Byrne’s right shoulder on a nice passing play with Alex Normore at the 14:01 mark.
The X-Women increased their lead to two goals when Brittney Perkins’ power play marker came once again off a great passing play from Normore and Parent. The score stood at 2-0 X-Women after one period of play.
The second period was when the Mounties stepped things up and were able to get back into the game and tie it. Lauren Oickle scored on the power play unassisted at the 10:03 mark to put Mount A on the board and less than three minutes later at the 12:58 mark Kristen Cooze (Oickle, Emily Van Diepen) tied the game at 2-2. Another eight minutes passed by until the end of the second period but it was clear the Mounties travelled to Antigonish intent on a victory. They outshot StFX 16-8 in the middle frame.
The third period was neck and neck, as both teams were tightening up in their own zone and preventing any serious scoring chances. It wasn’t until the 13:54 mark when Courtney King scored the go-ahead goal for Mount Allison, converting a Megan Cameron pass and beating Greenway with a backhander to the top left corner while on a 4-on-3 power play. The X-Women threw everything they had at the Mounties in the last six minutes of the game, coming very close to tying it several times, but in the end King’s goal stood as the game winner and the Mounties defeated the CIS No. 4 X-Women, handing them only their fourth loss of the season.
Mount Allison outshot the X-Women by a 36-30 margin in the game. Corley-Byrne played well in nets for the Mounties, turning aside 28 shots while Greenway played solid for the X-Women making 33 saves. Mounties captain Lauren Oickle was named Subway Player of the Game, scoring a goal and assisting on another in the win.
Despite the loss the X-Women (16-4-0) remain in first place in the AUS conference with 32 points, one ahead of the second place Moncton Aigles Bleues (15-2-1). The Mounties improve to 9-6-4 and sit in third place with 22 points. They will host the sixth place Dalhousie Tigers (6-11-2) next Saturday, February 11th. Next on the schedule for the X-Women is a game against the seventh place Saint Mary’s Huskies (1-17-1) in Halifax on Friday, February 10th.