(HALIFAX, N.S.) - On Saturday night the Saint Mary's Huskies defeated the Moncton Aigles Bleus 5-3 at the Halifax Forum. Saint Mary's was looking to rebound after dropping their home opener to UNB on Friday night where Huskies fans saw their team go down by three goals in the first period and ultimately lose 4-2.
The Aigles Bleus were first to strike 10 minutes into the game, when Pier-Antoine Dion buried a Danny Chiasson rebound that Huskies goaltender Curtis Black couldn't handle. Shortly after, Black stared down Alex Noel on a breakaway. Noel tried to pick the right corner of the net but Black flashed his glove and made a great save to keep Moncton from doubling their lead.
Coming into Saturday's game, the Huskies looked to improve on their 0-for-17 powerplay record. In tonight's first period, the Huskies powerplay demonstrated crisper passing and an improved ability to maintain puck possession in the offensive zone, yet they were unable to produce on four opportunities.
The Huskies powerplay fortunes finally turned in the second period. While on the man-advantage, Steven Beyers tied the game when he sniped a wrist shot from the left faceoff dot over the left shoulder of Moncton goaltender Adrien Lemay.
Moncton was not phased by the goal, however, and quickly re-established their lead when Danny Chiasson finished a textbook tic-tac-toe passing play with teammates Pierre Durepos and Simon Jodoin. Moncton's lead doubled later in the period when Dion notched his second tally of the game when he stole the puck from a Saint Mary's defenceman behind the net and scored a wrap-around goal on an unsuspecting Curtis Black.
Saint Mary's forward Lucas Bloodoff, helped his team get back in the game before the second intermission. The Saint Mary's captain was able to snap a quick shot past Adrien Lemay while having the sturdy Moncton defender Simon Jodoin draped all over him.
Bloodoff scored his third goal of the season shifts later when he streamed down the left wing and beat Lemay with a wrist shot through the five-hole. The Huskies carried all the momentum into the third period after Bloodoff's two goals.
In the third period, the Huskies took their first lead of the game. The fourth goal was scored on a play that saw a hot shot from the stick of forward Steven Shipley that bounced off the Moncton goalie's glove toward Saint Mary's winger Francis Menard, positioned at the side of the net. The airborne rebound was batted in by Menard in a fine show of hand-eye coordination.
With just under three minutes to play, the Huskies scored a fifth goal which provided insurance against the pressing Moncton squad. While Moncton was changing lines, Steven Beyers crept his way to their blueline taking a Kyle Pereira stretch pass and rifling a slapshot from just inside the right faceoff circle and over the shoulder of Lemay. This was Beyers' second goal of the game and third of the season which has him tied with Bloodoff for the team lead.
With the win, Saint Mary's improves their record to 1-3.
The Huskies have a two-game road trip scheduled for Nov. 1 and 2 where they will face Acadia and StFX. The next home game will be Nov. 7 against the Acadia Axemen at the Halifax Forum. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
Source: Saint Mary's Sport Information