McAvoy scores 2 in X-Men win

The CIS ranked No. 8 ranked X-Men hockey team came up against a strong No. 1 UNB Varsity Reds Friday night in Fredericton, losing 9-3 at the hands of the defending CIS champions.

The Varsity Reds built up leads of 3-0 after the first period and 4-2 after the second and the X-Men could not recover. UNB scored five power play goals in the game.

Kyle Bailey, Daine Todd and Hunter Tremblay notched the first period markers for the Varsity Reds, while the X-Men came back to score consecutive second period goals and pull to within 3-2. Nick Pageau and Spencer McAvoy each scored on the power play for StFX, within a minute apart. John Scott Dickson scored the lone second period goal for the Varsity Reds, also on the power play, at 11:55.

Chris Culligan opened the third period scoring for UNB, but StFX’s Matthew Bragg replied with a goal for the X-Men to put them within 5-3. Unfortunately for the blue and white that would be the last time the rubber hit the back of the net for them as UNB scored four more goals to end off the final period and the game, resulting in the 9-3 score. Luke Lynes, Ben Shutron, Luke Gallant and Jordan Clendenning rounded out the scoring for UNB as nine different players will credited with goals on the night.

Travis Fullerton earned the win in nets for the Varsity Reds, facing 25 StFX shots. Bryan Gillis took the loss for the X-Men and had 37 saves in the game as the X-Men were out shot by a 46-25 margin. UNB’s Hunter Tremblay was named Player of the Game. 

The X-Men rebounded Saturday evening for a 5-1 win over the UPEI Panthers in Charlottetown.

Kevin Undershute gave the X-Men a 1-0 lead with a first period goal nine minutes into the game. The X-Men built their lead to 2-0 as Nick Pageau scored a power play marker at the 8:54 minute mark, with Josh Day and Phil Mangan assisting on the play. Matthew Carter pulled the Panthers to within a goal, however just minutes later as the X-Men took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.

The third period belonged to the X-Men as they out shot the Panthers 10-7 and scored three goals, two coming from the stick of Spencer McAvoy. McAvoy scored his first goal early on, 1:41 into the final frame, then Brett Morrison notched the fourth X-Men goal of the night a few minutes later for a three goal cushion with just under 13 minutes to play.

McAvoy iced the victory with his second goal of the period and the game, on the power play at 10:08. The Panthers were unable to come back from the deficit, sealing the 5-1 win for the blue and white. Josh Day had two assists for the X-Men and Bryan Gillis earned the win in nets for X.

Wayne Savage took the loss for the Panthers, who were out shot by a 28-25 margin and were 0 for 8 in power play opportunities.
 
The X-Men currently hold a 6-2-3 record and are in sole possession of second place in the AUS with 15 points, one up on both Saint Mary’s and Acadia. They will host the third place Huskies (7-2-0) on Saturday night, Nov. 21 at the StFX Keating Centre. Game time is 7:00 pm.