X-Men claim season opener with 5-4 win over Huskies

Halifax, NS - Atlantic University Sports men's hockey returned to action Friday night with the STFX X-Men skating to a 5-4 victory over the Saint Mary's Huskies.  

The game was a feisty affair with 31 minutes of penalties dished out. Saint Mary's spent more than one period, 21 minutes total, short handed.

The X-Men got an early power play, which was well defended by Saint Mary's. The Huskies turned that penalty kill into sustained pressure in the visitor's zone, leading to a goal by Bradey Johnson. X-Men goalie Joseph Raaymakers may feel hard done by on the goal as a pile-up of players in his crease knocked the net off its moorings right in front of the referee who let the play continue seconds before the puck hit the net.

Things went downhill for the Huskies in the first period after that. Dawson Theede picked up a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding after dumping Adam Holwell into the boards in the StFX zone. Holwell went off injured, and the X-Men wasted no time capitalizing on the power play as Zack Trott scored a goal 15 seconds into the man advantage.

At the nine-minute mark of the second period Justin MacPherson capitalized on a turnover to fire it low off the post and past Raaymakers. The X-Men tied it up less than a minute later as Santino Centorame put the puck over Matt Welsh after a bad giveaway by the Huskies' defense in their zone.

MacPherson wasted no time in getting his second goal of the night. One minute and 34 second after his first goal MacPherson capitalized on a scramble in front of Raaymakers, who after making a handful of saves was finally beaten by MacPherson – giving him two shorthanded markers on the night. 

Huskies' Logan DeNoble received a delay of game penalty when he fired a puck straight into the stands and on the ensuing power play, a shot by X-Men's Liam Hawel was deflected by Huskies defender Sam Dunn who, instead of blocking the shot as he intended, tipped it past his own goalie and into the net as the game was tied 3-3.

In the third period a point shot from STFX's William Thompson was saved by Welsh but trickled out behind the unfortunate goalie. The puck was pounced on and poked home by Roddie Sandilands. Only 10 seconds after that goal, StFX's Trott fed Hawel a breakaway pass, and he tucked the puck past Welsh for the eventual game winning goal.

The Huskies did claw one back, fighting their way back into the game with Dunn making up for his mistake in the second period by setting up his captain Mitchell Balmas who scored SMU's fourth goal. But the visiting X-Men held on for the final eight minutes of the game leaving the Dauphinee Centre with the two points.

AUS Subway Player of the Game with a two-goal performance was the X-Men's Liam Hawel.

The Huskies will be in action tomorrow night against the Dalhousie Tigers at the Forum, while the X-Men return home to take on the Acadia Axemen Saturday evening. Puck drop for both games is 7:00 pm.

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Courtesy Matt Stickland, Saint Mary's Sports Information