X can complete upset of UNB tonight

Courtesy Glenn MacDonald, The Chronicle Herald
 
The St. Francis Xavier X-Men are on the cusp of pulling off the biggest upset in Canadian university men’s hockey.

The X-Men own a stunning 2-0 series lead over the CIS No.1-ranked UNB Varsity Reds in the best-of-five AUS semifinal after a pair of road victories in Fredericton last week.

The series resumes tonight in Antigonish for Game 3. The X-Men have a chance to upset the team that finished 27 points ahead of them in the regular season and to do it front of a partisan home crowd.

But St. F.X. head coach Brad Peddle said the "series is far from over."

"We’ll have a very tough opponent for Game 3 in Antigonish," Peddle said. "It’ll be a battle. We’re expecting (UNB) to come at us very hard."

If necessary, Game 4 will be held Wednesday evening at the Keating Millennium Centre.

It’s been a bit of a renaissance for the X-Men, who finished one game under .500 during the regular season with an 11-12-5 fifth-place record. They have won three straight over UNB — including a 4-3 decision at UNB on Feb. 12, the Varsity Reds’ only loss of the regular season — and are 4-0 in the playoffs. They swept the UPEI Panthers in their best-of-three quarter-final.

Incidentally, each of their four playoff wins has been by the score of 3-2. That’s reflective of their post-season play: tight-checking and opportunistic on their offensive chances. UNB outshot St. F.X. 31-6 in Game 2 but the X-Men still managed to beat Varsity Reds goalies Travis Fullerton and Derek Yeomans on half of their shots.

And the St. F.X. penalty killing has been a force. The X-Men have shut down UNB’s high-octane offence, denying the Varsity Reds on 10 power play opportunities in the series thus far.

"This is playoff hockey and all that matters is tight checking and looking after your own end and that will find you ways to win," Peddle said. "And that’s been the story of the first two games.

"We have done a good job keeping (UNB) to the outside and letting (St. F.X. goalie Bryan Gillis) see the puck."

Gillis, a freshman who once starred for the MJAHL’s Antigonish Bulldogs, has been stellar in the post-season.

He’s been the winning netminder in each of their four playoff games. He has stopped 104 of 112 shots, for a 92.9 save percentage. And he’s second among all conference goaltenders with a 1.83 goals against average.

"Bryan has done a tremendous job," Peddle said. "He has learned a lot as the year has gone on. Bryan has stepped up and taken the ball for us. He’s playing with that level of confidence right now that for a first-year guy is really important."