Moncton, NB - A trio of X-Men Hockey student-athletes laced up their skates as members of Team U SPORTS Sunday and Monday in a pair of exhibition games against hopefuls vying for the Canadian junior national team.
Forwards Liam Hawel (Arnprior, ON), Matthew Struthers (Milton, ON) and Jacob Hudson (Antigonish, NS) we selected as part of the AUS all-star squad that represented U SPORTS in the games.
Hawel, the reigning U SPORTS and AUS rookie of the year and a 2022 U SPORTS first team all-Canadian, currently leads the country in scoring heading into the holiday break with 27 points, including 12 goals and 15 assists.
Struthers has 25 points (7 goals, 18 assists) on the season and is sixth in the nation in scoring and second overall in the AUS behind his teammate Hawel. He was a 2022 U SPORTS second team all-Canadian and AUS first team all-star.
Hudson, show returned to the Avenir Centre after a successful major junior career with the Moncton Wildcats, has scored 22 points to date, including 10 goals and 12 assists and is sixth overall in AUS scoring and 13th in the country.
All three X-Men are currently in their second year of eligibility and joined fellow AUS all-stars in Moncton Friday for a pair of practices before donning the U SPORTS jersey for the games.
With the World Junior Championship taking place in Moncton and Halifax this year, the Canadian squad had their training camp in Moncton and used the game to help select their final roster.
Sunday afternoon Team Canada earned a 5-2 victory over Team U SPORTS.
BOX SCORE – DEC 11
Hawel scored the second goal for Team U SPORTS in the first period as they opened up with a 2-0 lead over 20 minutes. UPEI's Matthew Brassard scored the first goal as the AUS all-stars tallied just six seconds apart seven and a half minutes into the opening period.
Team Canada bounced back and scored three goals in the second period to take a 3-2 lead, then potted two more in the third – both on the power play – as they kept the U SPORTS all-stars off the scoresheet in the final frame. Final shots in the game were 23-18 in favour of Team Canada.
On Monday afternoon, Team Canada again took the win but by a closer 3-2 score.
BOX SCORE – DEC. 12
Team Canada held a 1-0 lead after the first period and the teams exchanged second period goals as the juniors lead 2-1 after 40 minutes. Saint Mary's Justin MacPherson scored the U SPORTS goal.
Each squad scored a goal in the third to close out the 3-2 game. Moncton's Nathael Roy netted the U SPORTS marker as final shots were 24-23 with a slight edge to Team Canada.
The U SPORTS athletes will now break for exams and the holidays before resuming AUS competition in early January.
The X-Men sport an 8-9-1 record in fifth place in the AUS standings, and will next hit the ice on Friday, January 6th when they host Saint Mary's in a 7pm game at the STFX Keating Centre.
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Courtesy Krista McKenna, STFX Athletics