(MONCTON, N.B.) - The Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus defeated the St. Francis Xavier X-Men (10-11-3) 4-2 Saturday in an Atlantic University Sport men's hockey game the J.-Louis-Lévesque Arena in front of over 1,000 spectators.
The Aigles (16-8-0) now find themselves in third place in the AUS standings, five points ahead of the Panthers, in fourth. These two teams will decide the fate of the third-place spot when they play each other on Friday evening in the last home game of the regular schedule for the Aigles Bleus, in Moncton.
"This win confirms fourth spot for us and we now look ahead," said Subway Player of the Game Eric Faille. "We are trying to catch Acadia and show we are one of the best teams in the league. This was like a playoff game tonight."
"The game was great for the spectators, it was rough and the players responded well," added coach Serge Bourgeois. "The X-Men played well. We moved the puck well tonight and we missed quite a number of chances. All the players contributed, we need 20 players for the playoffs and those who play less often have a big role as they permit the top players to rest."
Maxime Pilon (Eric Faille, Simon Jodoin), Allain Saulnier (Faille, Samuel Groulx), on the power-play, Danny Chiasson (Pilon, Faille) and Alex Noël (unassisted) were the Moncton scorers.
Moncton led 2-1 after the first period and there was no second period scoring.
Faille had three assits.
The Noël assurance goal came in the 13th minute of play on a hard slap shot from in front of the net.
Murdock MacLellan, shorthanded in the first and Bronson Maschmeyer, in the third, replied for the X-Men with 27 shots on winning goaltender Adrien Lemay.
Drew Owsley was busy with 38 shots, including 17 in the first period.
The Aigles Bleus finished the game on the penalty kill, 6-on-3, and played well, earning a standing ovation from the fans.
The Aigles will host the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers, Friday in the last regular season home game at the J.-Louis-Lévesque Arena. They finish the regular season with three road games.
StFX next takes to the ice Wednesday, Feb. 5 when they host the UPEI Panthers at 7 p.m.
Source: Moncton Sports Information