X-Men beat Huskies in come-from-behind shootout thriller

ANTIGONISH, NS - The STFX X-Men closed out their regular season home campaign with a bang, winning a come from behind 3-2 shootout thriller over the Saint Mary's Huskies on Friday night at the Charles V Keating Centre.  

Third star Mark Woolley, Ryan McGuire, and Aaron Brown all hit twine in the shootout for STFX, while Gabriel Pizza Player of the Game and first star Partick Leaver stopped two of four shooters while picking up 26 saves in the win. Saint Mary's goalie and second star Dixon Grimes had 37 stops for the visitors.  

SMU opened the scoring five minutes into the game, with Derek Gentile capitalizing on his own rebound while on the powerplay. Despite the lead, the shots were close in the rough and tumble first period.  

The Huskies notched another playoff marker 11 seconds into the middle period, with Reid Valade ripping one high on the short side for his league leading 26th goal of the season.

STFX forward Lucas Canning got one back for the Blue and White four minutes later, snagging a loose puck in the slot off a Huskies turnover and finding the back of the net.  

The unpleasantries continued in the third period, as the X-Men pulled ahead in shots looking for the equalizer. It looked like STFX had a goal with two minutes to go, but the officials disagreed as a SMU penalty was whistled seconds before the puck crossed the line. The X-Men went on a late powerplay and Raegan Wiles made it count, tying the game with 40 seconds on the regulation clock.  

Patrick Leaver came up with a huge glove save to keep the X-Men in the game early in overtime. The back-and-forth action continued, but the extra period solved nothing, leading to the shootout.  

The X-Men (13-16) close out their regular season with a road game against Acadia on Saturday, February 14, at 7 p.m. The Huskies (15-14) return home tomorrow night to host the Dalhousie Tigers, also at 7 p.m. The X-Men remain in the final playoff spot, while the Huskie remain in fourth place in the AUS, tied with UPEI.  

The AUS best-of-three quarterfinal match-ups and playoff schedules will be announced on Sunday.

Prior to the game, Coach Peddle recognized graduating student-athletes forward Cole Stewart and Woolley, along with graduating student therapist Abby Recoskie. Fifth year forward Connor Roberts will also be moving on from the X-Men program. 

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Recap courtesy Matt Draper, STFX Athletics