Antigonish, NS - The U SPORTS fifth seeded StFX X-Women fell to the visiting Dalhousie Tigers 4-3 in overtime Saturday evening at the Keating Centre.
Tigers forward Jesse Rietveld (Pelham, ON) was the overtime hero, scoring at 5:39 of the extra period.
A busy first period kicked off at 2:41 when Dalhousie scored the first goal of the evening as Tigers forward Autumn Moors (Ottawa, ON) was able to get the puck past X-Women goaltender Carley Molnar (London, ON). Moors was assisted by Taylor Carr-Babineau (Moncton, NB) and Lauren Ellerton (Toronto, ON).
X-Women answered the Tigers goal with one of their own at 7:13 as freshman forward Emerson Elliott (Aurora, ON) added to her goal tally this season. Sarah Bujold (Riverview, NB) and Emma Winters (Lower Sackville, NS) had the helpers on the play.
While on the powerplay, StFX gained the lead three minutes later when Kristen McKinley (Rothesay, NB) beat Tigers goaltender Fabiana Petricca (Woodbridge, ON) off a Lindsey Donovan (Miramichi, NB) pass.
Dalhousie tied the game up once again with only 3:09 left in the period while on a five on three advantage. Tara Morning (Aurora, ON) added the marker off assists from Lisa MacLean (Inverness, NS) and Natalie Stanwood (West Vancouver, BC).
Second period action saw the X-Women regain their one-goal lead when they scored the only goal of the period just under five minutes in. Santana Gravelle (Lumsden, SK) had a shot from the point that floated past Petricca. Donovan earned her second assist of the night on the goal, with Elliott also credited.
The third period also saw only one goal, this time it was from Tigers forward Keana Oshowy (Woodbridge, ON) who knotted the game at three. Oshowy was able to find the StFX back of the net off an assist by Moors.
The X-Women went into the 4 on 4 overtime on the power play, after Ariana Pinchuk (Sherwood Park, AB) was called for cross-checking late in the third period. The score remained tied during the five minutes of 4 on 4 overtime.
Thirty-nine seconds into 3 on 3 play, Dalhousie capitalized on an unsuccessful X-Women breakaway by Jenna MacDonald (Osgoode, ON). On the rush, Rietveld scored the game winning goal with assists from MacLean and Stanwood.
Shots in the game favoured StFX at 31-16 as they went into extra time for the third consecutive game.
Tigers freshman forward Autumn Moors earned first star and Subway player of the game honors for her two-point effort, while fellow X-Women freshman Emerson Elliott was the second star. Tigers netminder Fabiana Petricca with 28 saves in the game earned third star recognition.
The X-Women are next facing-off against Saint Mary's in Halifax on Friday. November 17th at 7:00 pm. Dalhousie will host the Universite de Moncton at the Civic Arena on Saturday. November 18th at 4:00 pm.
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Courtesy Kiana Pace, StFX Athletics sports information