Huskies defeat X-Men 3-1 to move into third place in AUS standings

ANTIGONISH, NS - The Saint Mary's Huskies defeated the STFX X-Men 3-1 in a rough and tumble match-up in Atlantic University Sport men's hockey action on Friday night at the Charles V Keating Centre. 

It was an evenly matched first period, with both teams producing chances but neither able to pull ahead. The hitting picked up about midway through the period, with the long-time rivals trying to find a physical advantage. Shots at the end of the period were 10-8 in favour of the X-Men.

Jacob Stewart (Antigonish, NS) came close to putting the home team up five minutes into the second period, but Saint Mary's goalie Matt Welsh (Halifax, NS) came up big with a shorthanded save. The Huskies lit the lamp mid-way through the period, with Ben Boyd (Dartmouth, NS) stuffing home his own rebound after a scramble in front of the X net.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Ben Boyd cleans up a scramble in front of the net to put the Huskies up 1-0 in the second period!

�� B. Boyd (4) pic.twitter.com/ujVmvnIAMT

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) January 20, 2024

Just over three minutes later, second star of the game Liam Van Loon (London, ON) made it a two-goal game after picking up the puck at his own blueline, skating in on an odd-man rush, and firing a shot low to the far corner. First star and player of the game Jake Uberti (Toronto, ON) had the assist. Shots at the end of the period were 23-17 in favour of the Huskies. 

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Liam Van Loon makes no mistake on the two-on-one and the Huskies lead 2-0 through two periods!

�� L. Van Loon (1)
�� J. Uberti pic.twitter.com/UvtQifgsjD

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) January 20, 2024

A trio of Saint Mary's penalties mid-way through the period lead to a number of STFX powerplay chances but Welsh kept them at bay. There was a bit of a scrum late in the period that led to a few ejections and a SMU powerplay, but it was STFX's Matthew Struthers (Milton, ON) who broke the shutout with a shorthanded marker to make it a one-goal game.

An empty net goal from Walter Flower III (Lunenburg, NS) with just over a minute left sealed the game for the Huskies, and another donnybrook followed, leading to a number of misconduct penalties as close to 20 penalty minutes were assessed in the game across both squads.

Shots at the end of the game were 31-27 in favour of the X-Men. Welsh made 32 saves in the win while Joseph Raaymakers (Chatham, ON) had 25 saves for the X-Men. STFX freshman defender Charlie Callaghan (Toronto, ON) earned the third star of the game honours.

The Huskies win improved their record to 12-10-1-0 on the season, moving past STFX for third in the AUS standings. The Huskies will be back on home ice on Saturday, as they host the Dalhousie Tigers (6-15-2-0) at 7 p.m. at the Dauphinee Centre.

The X-Men loss drops their record to 11-11-1-0 on the campaign. They'll be on the road Saturday night, visiting the Acadia Axemen (6-13-1-3) at 7 p.m. in Wolfville, NS.

Recap courtesy: Matt Draper / STFX Athletics
Photos courtesy: Bryan Kennedy / STFX Athletics