Courtesy Glenn MacDonald, The Chronicle Herald

The St. Francis Xavier X-Women will return home from the CIS women’s hockey championship with a medal. But it won’t be the colour they were hoping for.

The second-seeded X-Women, in their first national championship final game, put up a valiant effort against the No. 1 McGill Martlets in the gold medal game but lost 5-2 Sunday night in Waterloo, Ont.

It was the first loss in 30 games this season for St. F.X., which settles for silver. It’s the first medal in Canadian university women’s hockey for a Nova Scotia school. St. F.X. had a 3-24 all-time record at the CIS championship heading to Waterloo.

"As athletes, we have a tendancy to judge ourselves on the day's performance as opposed to how we performed throughout the weekend," David Synishin, St. F.X. head coach, said Sunday night. "What this team has done, we made history and there’s a lot to be proud of. It’s certainly nice to get a silver medal."

McGill has won three of the past four CIS banners. The Martlets ran the table this season, winning 27 consecutive games.

McGill, with goals by Ann-Sophie Bettez, Jordanna Peroff, Caroline Hill and Jasmine Sheehan, built a 4-0 lead two minutes into the third period. St. F.X. clawed back to within two behind goals by Suzanne Fenerty and Erin Brophy. McGill’s Alessandra Lind-Kenny scored late.

"McGill made good on the turnovers and the mistakes," Synishin said. "We were taken out of our comfortable zone early but we pushed back really well. We’re certainly proud with how they played in the third."

X graduates three players, all-star blue-liners Fenerty and Marilynn Hay and forward Catie Gavin. Fenerty, Synishin said, could be back for a fifth season.