Moncton, NB – The Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus edged the StFX X-Men 3-2 in AUS action Saturday night at the J-Louis Levesques Arena.
Vincent Deslauriers' unassisted, shorthanded goal scored 3:45 into the third period stood as the game winner.
The Aigles Bleus outshot the X-Men 28-25 in the game as Etienne Montpetit picked up the victory in the Moncton net with 23 saves.
The X-Men struggled on the power play for the second consecutive game, going 0 for 8 on the man advantage. The loss was there second in a row to close out the first half of AUS regular season play as teams now head into the holiday break.
The Aigles Bleus took a 1-0 lead with a goal from Robbie Graham 12:54 into the first period. Marc-Anthony Therrie and Victor Beaulac had helpers on the play.
Graham then notched his second goal of the period, unassisted, with 1:40 remaining.
The X-Men answered back 46 seconds later as Holden Cook tallied on a nice passing play from Matt Needham and Mark Tremaine to close the gap to 2-1 after 20 minutes.
Nathan Pancel tied the game 5:25 into the second period, off a Sam Studnicka pass. Adam Stevens also had an assist as the 2-2 tie held up the for the remainder of the period.
The X-Men were unable to solve Montpetit after Deslauriers goal and the Aigles Bleus hung on for the win.
Graham earned Subway player of the game honours for his two-goal performance.
With an 8-7-3 record, they currently sit one point back of the third place X-Men, who drop to 9-7-2 on the season. UNB (15-0-3) and Saint Mary's (11-6-1) are first and second heading into the break.
The X-Men resume AUS regular season action on January 4th when they travel to Halifax for a game against Dalhousie.
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