(HALIFAX, N.S.) - The Saint Mary's Huskies defeated the StFX X-Men Saturday night by a score of 6-4 at the Halifax Forum, thanks to a strong performance from the line of Ryan Hillier, Jeff Marchand, and Gerrad Grant.
The line accounted for three goals and Hillier, Marchand and Grant were each plus-4 on the night as the Huskies improved to 5-6-0. The X-Men drop to 5-5-1 with the loss.
The game also marked the returned of goaltender Anthony Peters who had yet to play in the 2013-14 regular season.
Marchand helped his team go up 2-0 early in the first period with a goal and an assist. Two minutes into the game, Marchand and his linemates Grant and Hiller worked a tough forecheck along the half-boards. Marchand skated into the slot, took a pass from Grant and fired a shot under the blocker of X-Men goaltender Drew Owsley.
Three minutes later, Marchand speeded down the left wing and around the net and fed trailing Huskies defenceman Stephen Gillard who netted his fourth goal of the season.
Saint Mary's took a three-goal lead with five minutes remaining in the period thanks to a power-play goal from Matt Tipoff. The forward one-timed a Stephen Johnston pass into the back of the net and signalled the end of Owsley's night after allowing in three goals on eight shots. Back-up Morgan Clark replaced Owsley for the rest of the game.
Before the end of the period, X-Men forward Cory MacIntosh put his team on the board when he beat Anthony Peters with a great shot that went off the left post and in.
Hillier scored the Huskies' fourth goal of the night two minutes into the second frame, burying a rebound from a Kyle Pereira point shot.
The X-Men answered back five minutes later with a short-handed goal aas Jason Bast intercepted a breakout pass and found Brad Cuzner in the high slot who fired a wrist shot past Peters to bring his team to within two.
Halfway through the second it was Gerrad Grant scoring the Huskies' fifth goal and the eventual game-winner. Michael D'Orazio blasted a shot at Clark, producing a rebound for Grant who made no mistake.
In the third, Tipoff added his second of the game on a turnover by Morgan Clark. X-Men forwards Zack MacQueen and Cole Grbavac added a goal each but StFX would get no closer as the Huskies managed to maintain a two-goal cushion for the final 13 minutes.
Peters made 28 saves in his return to the Saint Mary's lineup while Matt Tipoff picked up his fifth and sixth goals of the season, tying him with Steven Beyers for the team lead.
The Huskies will next face Dalhousie at the Forum on Wednesday, November 27 at 7:00pm, and will look to avenge a 3-1 loss they suffered at the hands of the Tigers last week. This will be the last home game for the team until January 3rd.
The X-Men will be hosting the Acadia Axemen in thier next game, also scheduled for Wednesday, November 27 at 7:00pm.
Source: Saint Mary's Sports Information