Antigonish, NS - In a Saturday night matchup at the Charles V. Keating Centre, the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus scored four goals in the third period in a comeback effort to secure their first win of the AUS season in a 4-2 victory over the StFX X-Men.
The X-Men opened the match with an early intensity, firing off a shot on Moncton goaltender Etienne Montpetit (Valleyfield, QC) in the opening seconds. The Aigles Bleus responded with several shots of their own, driven in by both Remy Anglehart (Gascon, QC) and Vincent Lanoue (Repentigny, QC).
As both teams settled in, the X-Men appeared content to sit back and allow the Aigles Bleus to attack, confident in their defensive abilities.
Their patience paid off as the X-Men found the back of the net 10 minutes into the match. A pass from Liam Hawel (Arnprior, ON) was received by Santino Centorame (Mississauga, ON) who fired a low wrist shot at the Aigles Bleus goal. Matthew Struthers (Milton, ON) ensured he was in just the right position to slot the puck home.
It only took another 10 seconds for the X-Men to score goal #2, as William Bower (Saint John, NB) not only won the faceoff but proceeded to score. Adam Holwell (St. John's, NL) played the puck across the ice to Bower, who received it on the left side and looked to play across to Connor Bruggen-Cate (Langley, BC) but with luck on his side found the back of the goal instead.
For Moncton, Gabriel Vanier (Boisbriand, QC) worked well with Anglehart to put the X-Men under pressure. Shortly after STFX their second goal, Anglehart fired off a close range shot but Blade Mann-Dixon (Antigonish, NS) remained tall in the X net and easily made the save.
With a 2-0 lead heading into the second period, the X-Men continued to dominate on shots, while Centorame and Struthers demonstrated a strong defensive pairing as they ensured the X-Men did not concede a goal for the duration of the period.
As StFX pushed hard for a third goal to seal the deal, the Aigles Bleus struggled to move through the neutral zone and create meaningful chances on goal as the period wore on.
Entering the third period, the tables turned on the X-Men with Moncton scoring their first goal 10 minutes in. Following the goal, the Aigles Bleus appeared to possess a newfound fire and quickly began to dominate the match.
Only moments before that first marker, Anglehart fired off Moncton's best opportunity of the match, with the puck striking the post and out in what momentarily appeared to be a goal. One minute later, Samuel Guillbault (Varennes, QC) brought the Aigles Bleus back into the match as a shot fired from wide evaded the glove of Mann-Dixon
Barely giving the X-Men a moment to recoup, Guilbault received a pass across the ice from Anglehart, launching the puck past Mann-Dixon into the opposite side of the net only 30 seconds after scoring his first goal to knot the game at 2-2 at 11:02 of the third period.
Vanier wasted no time scoring the game winning goal for Moncton, following up a slapshot from Alexandre Bernier (Dieppe, NB) and ensuring the rebound found the back of the net.
An empty net goal in the final minute of the match sealed the victory for the Aigles Bleus as Nathael Roy (Levis, QC) calmly placed the puck in the goal for the 4-2 victory.
For the X-Men, Declan Smith (Antigonish, NS) earned third star honours. Aigles Bleus goaltender Montpetit received the second star. The Subway Player of the Game and first star recipient was Moncton's Guilbault, who recorded two goals and one assist.
The X-Men will search for redemption as the Aigles Bleus return to the Keating Centre October 29 for a 7pm match.
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Courtesy Alyssa Spridgeon, STFX Sports Information