By Mark Moffat

In AUS women's hockey action at the Halifax Forum, the StFX X-Women defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 2-0 in a game where both teams had a hard time getting the puck into the net.

The first period saw a good pace of play and a couple of good chances on both sides. The biggest defensive stop came when Natalie Stanwood (West Vancouver, BC) broke up an X-Women 2 on 1 with about two and a half minutes left in the first period. This helped keep the game scoreless after 20 minutes.

In the second period, the pace didn't waiver, but both teams began to work themselves into a hard battle just to score. There was another big stop when Subway Player of the Game Lindsay Donovan (Miramichi, NB) stopped a Dalhousie 2 on 1 in a manner reminiscent of Stanwood's play earlier in the game. This contributed to the game remaining 0-0 after two periods.

As the third period got underway, the intensity ratcheted up a few notches as both teams pressed for the game's first goal. There were two wild scrambles in front of the Dalhousie net at about six and ten minutes into the third, respectively, that saw the puck stay out. The X-Women finally opened the scoring when Brooke Noseworthy (St. Anthony, NL) put a backhand rebound into the net after a brief scramble at 11:28 to make it 1-0. The X-Women got another when Daley Oddy (Cranbrook, BC) unleashed a wicked shot off a one-timer from the top of the circle at 12:35 to give StFX a slight cushion and, ultimately, the win.

The X-Women outshot the Tigers 43-16. Carley Molnar (London, ON) made 16 saves to get the shutout for the X-Women, while Fabiana Petricca (Woodbridge, ON) stopped 41 shots for the Tigers.

The X-Women play their next game on Friday against the St. Thomas Tommies at 7:00 pm in Antigonish, while the Tigers are back in action against the Tommies on Saturday at 7 at the Forum.