(Halifax, NS) On Wednesday night at the Halifax Forum the CIS ranked No. 6 StFX X-Men defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 4-1 in AUS hockey action.
It was a back-and-forth hockey game until the very end as the X-Men were able to add two empty net goals to seal the game.
It was a fast paced first period, which featured plenty of odd man rushes at both ends of the rink.
The Tigers found themselves in some penalty trouble having to kill three penalties including 54 seconds of 5-on-3 play. The X-Men had their chances but could not seem to beat Tigers goaltender Corbin Boes.
Nathan Pancel opened up the scoring for the X-Men with less than three minutes to play in the period. Pancel undressed a Tigers defender and went five-hole on Boes after receiving a feed in stride from Holden Cook. Trey Lewis was credited with the secondary assist.
StFX outplayed the Tigers in the first and the stats showed it, as the X-Men registered 12 shots to the Tigers 6 shots, and headed into the dressing room with a 1-0 lead.
Just three minutes into the second period the X-Men were at it again stretching the lead to 2-0. Zack MacQueen stepped out from the corner and roofed a rifle of a shot past Boes. Jagger Dirk and Cory MacIntosh were credited with the helpers.
Despite the 2-0 deficit it was a strong period for the Tigers who had multiple close range chances on Drew Owsley who was a perfect 20 for 20 through 40 minutes.
The early second period X-Men goal was the only one in the frame as StFX carried a 2-0 lead into the dressing room.
After what was a slow third period, which didn't see much action on either side of the ice, Wes Herrett gave the Tigers some life. A lose puck floated to the top of the circle in X-Men territory and Herrett was able to step into it with a huge slap shot that went top left corner.
Dalhousie created some late pressure with the extra attacker but StFX added two empty net goals from Mark Tremaine and Adam Stevens for a final score of 4-1.
Drew Owsley was near perfect in the X-Men cage stopping 24 of the 25 shots he faced, while Corbin Boes stopped 29 shots on 31 attempts.
The Tigers (4-8-2) next action comes on Friday when they head to Acadia (10-2-1). The X-Men (10-2-2) will be back in Halifax on Saturday to take on Saint Mary's (7-4-2).
Courtesy Dalhousie Sports Information