Hockey X-Men fall to 5th spot

The X-Men hockey team dropped to fifth place in the AUS conference with a pair of weekend losses at home. Friday night the UNB Varsity Reds skated to a 5-3 win, while on Saturday StFX dropped a 4-2 decision to UPEI.

The Panthers were led by Cory Vitarelli who scored a natural hat trick in game. Vitarelli opened the scoring with a first period goal at 4:05. Chad Locke and Jared Gomes assisted on the play after StFX netminder Bryan Gillis made the initial save then Vitarelli jumped on the big rebound.

StFX defenseman Nick Pageau had the best scoring first period scoring opportunity for X as he hit the crossbar on a deflected Ryan Sparling pass. On the ensuing play down ice the Panthers Chad Locke was able to score a screen shot over the blocker of Gillis and give them a 2-0 lead early on. Gomes got his second assist of the game on the goal scored at 11:42.

The X-Men were held off the score sheet until 7:26 into the second period when Brett Robertson powered his way down the left wing and fired a shot past UPEI goaltender Jhase Sniderman. Mark Louis assisted on the goal for the X-Men.

Veteran forward Ryan Desrosiers scored four minutes later for X at 11:26 to give them a 2-2 tie with the Panthers, the team they wee fighting for the fourth-fifth playoff position. After the X-Men peppered several shots at Sniderman, Desrosiers was able to finally grab the loose puck and fire it into the back of the net.

Just as quickly as the tide turned in the blue and white favour, it shifted back to the Panthers as Vitarelli scored his second goal of the game at 12:19 in the second period. Vitarelli backhanded the puck past Gillis on an unassisted play after a costly giveaway in front of the X net. 

After a hard hitting second period which saw the X-Men outshoot the Panthers by a 17-9 margin, StFX tried their best to tie the game in the third period. Vitarelli sealed it for the Panthers, however, as he scored an unassisted power play marker, his third of the game at 9:37. The X-Men were unable to come back from the two goal deficit and the Panthers hung on for the 4-2 win.

Sniderman earned the win in nets for UPEI and Vitarelli nabbed Player of the Game honors. Gillis took the loss for StFX, who outshot the Panthers by a 35-30 margin.

The Panthers win, combined with another weekend win over Dalhousie gives them 28 points as they sit four points ahead of the X-Men in fourth spot. The X-Men have clinched a playoff berth, however whether they finish in fifth or sixth position remains to be seen next weekend as they again face off against UPEI and UNB in their final regular season games.

The X-Men couldn’t solve CIS ranked No. 1 UNB as the Varsity Reds held onto their perfect record and defeated the X-Men 5-3 Friday night at the StFX Keating Centre.

The X-Men built up a 2-0 lead in the game, but as they have so often this season, the Varsity Reds came storming back, tying the game then taking the lead and eventual win.

X-Men leading goal scorer Bryce Swan netted their first goal 11:03 into the first period. He shot the puck from a sharp angle and rang it in off the far post, beating Varsity Reds goaltender Travis Fullerton. Phil Mangan assisted on the play.

The X-Men built on their lead with a Brett Morrison goal at the 5:37 minute mark of the second period. Morrison scored shorthanded as he and Ryan Sparling broke into the UNB zone on a 2 on 1. Morrison had intercepted a Varsity Reds pass and brought it up ice. Fullerton made the initial save off Sparling’s shot but Morrison was able to bury the rebound.

The Varsity Reds cut into the two goal lead not long after as Chris Culligan (Hunter Tremblay, John Scott Dickson) scored at 8:10 while on the power play. X-Men netminder Bryan Gillis got a piece of the puck which bounced up over his shoulder and in.

The league-leading Varsity Reds took the wind out of the X-Men sails heading into the second intermission as Hunter Tremblay scored with just 15 seconds left in the period, as Kyle Bailey and Ben Wright assisted.

The Varsity Reds outshot the X-Men 24-12 through two periods of play and kept up the intensity in the third period as Dion Campbell scored 2 minutes and 42 seconds in. Bailey and Luke Gallant assisted on the play as Campbell tucked the puck in behind Gillis.

Hunter Tremblay increased the UNB lead to 4-2, scoring what would be the game winning goal as the Varsity Reds were shorthanded halfway through the third period. Daine Todd assisted on Tremblay’s second goal of the evening on a 2 on 1 play.

The X-Men kept the game alive, however, as Brett Robertson scored a shorthanded goal three minutes later at the 13:10 minute mark. His was the third shorthanded goal of the game, also scored on a 2 on 1 play with Rob Warner.

StFX kept up the pressure and pulled Gillis from the net with 1:44 left on the clock. The move proved too risky though as the Varsity Reds scored an empty net goal with 1:26 left, off the stick of Kyle Bailey (Dion Campbell).

Fullerton earned the win in nets for UNB, their 25th consecutive on the season. Gillis took the loss in the StFX net as the X-Men were outshot 37-20 in the game. Hunter Tremblay earned Player of the Game honors for UNB for his three point performance.

With the X-Men dropping these two games, they currently sit with a 10-12-4 record in fifth place in the AUS conference. UNB and Acadia have clinched 1st and 2nd spots and the opening round byes. Saint Mary’s sits in third spot with 32 points, followed by UPEI at 28. Dalhousie is four points behind the X-Men with 20 points, with Moncton (19) and St. Thomas (16) still fighting for that final playoff spot with the Tigers.

The X-Men will travel to Fredericton on Friday night for a rematch against the Varsity Reds, then travel to Charlottetown on Saturday night to again face the UPEI Panthers. AUS quarterfinal playoff action is scheduled to begin on Feb. 17th.

The X-Men are still without captain Chris Hulit in the lineup, along with goaltender Joey Perricone and forward Matthew Bragg who are both out for the remainder of the season with injuries.

StFX Sports Information