(MONCTON, N.B.) - The CIS No. 8-ranked X-Women (13-1-0) closed out the first half of AUS regular season play with a 3-1 victory over the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues (10-3-1) Saturday afternoon.
Jenna Downey's goal with only two seconds remaining in the second period broke a 1-1 tie and stood as the game winner. Her sixth goal of the season, the Statford, Ont. native currently leads all AUS defencemen in goals scored.
Kara Power (New Glasgow, N.S.) and Alex Normore (Bedford, N.S.) picked up assists on the play.
Normore, the reigning three-time AUS most valuable player, also assisted on the first X-Women goal of the game. She set up Daley Oddy (Cranbrook, B.C.) at 12:05 of the first period to give the X-Women a 1-0 lead.
The lead only lasted nine seconds, however, as the Aigles Bleues came right back up the ice to tie the game on a Natacha Bergeron goal from Marie-Pier Arsenault and Amelie Dion.
Shots were fairly even in the opening period, 10-9 in favor of Moncton.
The second period saw the X-Women outshoot the home team Aigles Bleues by a 13-3 margin, though Downey's goal was the only one scored in the middle frame.
Power added an insurance marker 16 seconds into the third period. Jenna Downey assisted as the X-Women outshot the Aigles Bleues 30-26 overall.
Sojung Shin (Seoul, Korea) recorded 25 saves in the StFX net for the victory. Gabrielle Forget, with 27 saves, was tagged with the loss for Moncton.
The game marked the final one of AUS regular season play for the first half of the season as all teams break for the holidays.
With a 12-1-0 record, the X-Women currently sit in first place in the AUS conference with 26 points, five better than second place Moncton.
The X-Women will play home-and-home exhibition games against Saint Mary's on Jan. 3 and 4. They will host the Huskies on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 2 p.m., then will travel to Halifax for another 2 p.m. game on Jan. 4.
AUS regular season action resumes on Friday, Jan. 9 when StFX hosts Dalhousie. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the StFX Keating Centre.
The Aigles Bleues will play an exhibition game against Maine University, on Jan. 4. Their next AUS game will be on Friday, Jan. 9, as they travel to Fredericton for a game against third place St Thomas University Tommies.
Source: StFX Sports Information