Reds nip X-Men in shootout

(FREDERICTON, NB) The U SPORTS No. 1 ranked UNB REDS needed a shootout to beat the third-ranked STFX X-Men 3-2, on Friday night.

James McEwan (Chatham, ON) scored the only goal of the shootout, lifting the REDS to victory on Soldier Appreciation Night at UNB's Aitken Centre.

"I came in and saw what I liked and went there, and lucky enough it went in," said McEwan. "Whenever you beat STFX, I think they're our biggest rival, it always feels really good."

Along with scoring the shootout winner, McEwan also helped set up the game's first goal.

Just before the five-minute mark of the first period, McEwan sped into the X zone and put a shot on X-Men goalie Joseph Raaymakers (Chatham, ON). REDS defenceman Adam McCormick (Waterville, NB) was following on the play and had little trouble lifting a rebound past Raaymakers.

Despite being short-handed, the X-Men came close to tying the score, late in the first, but REDS' goalie Rylan Parenteau (Saskatoon, SK) managed to get a toe on Matthew Philip's (Ilderton, ON) shot from the just outside the crease.

The REDS added to their lead early in the second.

Ryan Roth (St. Louis, MO) broke down the left wing and snapped a shot past Raaymakers, giving the hosts a 2-0 edge.

Mid-way through the period, with Parenteau having had his stick knocked from his grasp, STFX got on the board.

Connor Roberts' (Owen Sound, ON) powerplay goal made it a 2-1 game.

Then, at 12:05 of the third period, the X-Men drew even when Declan Smith (Antigonish, NS) came from behind the REDS net, into the slot, turned and fired a wrist shot past Parenteau.

A five-minute overtime period saw chances for both teams, but no winning goal, setting the stage for McEwan's winner and Parenteau stopping all three X-Men shooters.

"It's a great feeling," said Parenteau, named Subway Player of the Game. He was also honoured with the Fallen Soldier Award, given to the first star on Soldier Appreciation Night. "It's not exactly how we wrote it up, going to another overtime and shootout, but at the end of the day, all that matters is getting the two points and on a big night, where we wanted to put forward our best effort for the troops."

With the win, the REDS improve to 20-3. UNB has already clinched first place in the Atlantic University Sport standings.

The X-Men are now 16-5-1-1 and have secured second place, behind UNB.

"It's tough, obviously we don't want to lose, we wanted to get that extra point," said Raaymakers. "I think it's a step in the right direction for us, especially leading into playoffs"

Raaymakers stopped 45 of the 47 shots he faced.

"They always play really well in their building, but after that first ten, we settled in," he said. "I thought we kind of took over in the second and third. There was chances both ways, it just ended up on their side tonight."

Along with stopping all three shooters in the shootout, Parenteau turned aside 24 of 26 shots in regulation and overtime.

"All week, especially coming off a loss last weekend, it was a big preparation week for us," said the veteran goaltender. "Obviously, we had to respect STFX, they put in a great effort and we knew that from the get-go, so I thought we did a great job preparing all week, not only for the weekend, but for playoffs as well."

Up next for the X-Men, a Saturday evening visit to Moncton. Game time is 7:00pm.

The REDS play host to the Dalhousie Tigers on Saturday, in the Mark Jeffrey Memorial Game. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm.

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Recap Courtesy:  Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics