Time to smarten up

X-Men look to eliminate mistakes as AUS drops puck on second half
By Glenn MacDonald, The Chronicle Herald

St. Francis Xavier goalie Joseph Perricone has a New Year’s resolution for his hockey team when they return for the Atlantic university conference’s second half.

"We have to eliminate the stupid plays: the cross-ice passes in our end, turnovers in the neutral zone, not getting the puck in deep, things like that," Perricone said on Dec. 2, following the X-Men’s final regular-season game before the Christmas break, a 4-1 loss to the host Saint Mary’s Huskies.

"We have to keep those mental mistakes to a minimum. We have to keep things simple and get back to smart hockey. We have a bunch of skill, we just have to put that skill to work."

The X-Men return to the ice this weekend when they host the Carleton Ravens in the fourth annual Keating Cup Challenge exhibition series.

Game 1 is slated for Saturday night at 7 p.m. with Game 2 on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. Both games will be played at the Keating Millennium Centre in Antigonish.

Their first regular-season game following the nearly six-week holiday break is Friday, Jan. 8, when they host the Dalhousie Tigers.

St. F.X. owns a 7-5-3 record, good enough for fourth place in the AUHC. The X-Men are four points behind third-place Saint Mary’s (9-3-3) and five back of Acadia (11-3-0). The CIS No. 1 UNB Varsity Reds (15-0) are way ahead of the pack.

But the X-Men have allowed five more goals than they have scored (56 goals for, 61 against in 14 games) and have been inconsistent this season.

However, coach Brad Peddle said Perricone has been the exception.

The 22-year-old from San Juan Capistrano, Calif., ranks third in the conference in goals--gainst average, despite missing three weeks because of a lower abdominal injury. In seven games this season, Perricone has a 3.25 GAA and a .907 save percentage.

"He got off to a great start for us in exhibition play and the early part of the season. And then he got hurt," Peddle said. "But we were glad to get him back because he’s certainly been the backbone for our young D.

"We have a young defence with four first-year guys. He’s very solid and a lot of times he’s been our best player. He works extremely hard and he only wants to get better. He’s the least of our worries right now."

After five seasons with the Western Hockey League’s Moose Jaw Warriors, Perricone appeared in two games with Bakersfield of the East Coast Hockey League before he was released in October 2008.

Out of work, Perricone contacted numerous CIS schools about joining their programs. He came up empty until SMU head coach Trevor Stienburg referred Perricone to St. F.X. Impressed with his credentials, Peddle brought in Perricone during the Christmas break last year.

"I wasn’t doing anything after I was released (by Bakersfield). I was just living with my girlfriend in Vancouver," said the six-foot-one, 215-pound Perricone, who appeared in two games with St. F.X. last season.

"I started emailing a bunch of schools, out west and in Ontario. No luck there, so I checked out east. I emailed UNB, I emailed Saint Mary’s and it was (Stienburg) who forwarded my email to Brad.

"We emailed each other, he talked about the program, I talked about my game and we made a connection and that’s how I got here."

It was with Moose Jaw that Perricone garnered national headlines, albeit through unfortunate circumstances.

As a member of the Warriors in 2006, Perricone was hurt in a devastating car crash that left teammate Garrett Robinson in critical condition.

Perricone, Robinson and another teammate were driving home from the Moose Jaw Civic Centre when a pickup truck collided into their car.

Robinson suffered trauma to the head and brain and underwent surgery at a Regina hospital. Perricone and teammate Carter Smith were treated for minor injuries and released. Perricone said Robinson is "doing well now."

"He’s living in Vancouver now," Perricone said. "He was my best friend on that team.

"I saw him the Christmas after the accident and he was starting to recuperate then."