Tommies skate to 6-3 win over X-Women

Fredericton, NB - The St. Thomas Tommies defeated the St. Francis Xavier X-Women by a score of 6-3 in AUS women's hockey action Saturday at the Grant-Harvey Centre.

The X-Women got a few opportunities early on the power play but were shut down early by the Tommies.

StFX's Daley Oddy scored on a five-on-three power play late in the first period to give them a 1-0 advantage, but the Tommies responded 14 seconds later with a goal from Lauren Henman. 

The first period ended at 1-1, leading into an exciting second period.

"We got progressively better as the game went on so that's what we wanted," Tommies head coach Peter Murphy said. "Every period everyone seemed to get a little better."

Less than five minutes into the second frame, Emily Power made it 2-1 for the X-Women on a rebound in front of the net. Once again, the goal did not go unanswered as Alisha Gilbert struck back for the Tommies to tie the game at two.

A scramble in front of the net and a loose puck allowed Lauren Legault to slide the puck into the net to give the lead to the Tommies a 3-2 lead at 10:53.

Early in the third, Samantha Squires scored on a bullet from the point for a 4-2 Tommies advantage. Gilbert followed suit, netting her second of the game 2:25 into the final stanza.

Sarah Bujold of the X-Women scored to narrow the Tommies lead to two, but Henman scored at 16:14 to make it 6-3.

"She did well. She normally shows up on the score sheet a lot," Murphy said of Henman. "You give her an opportunity in close she's going to score."

The Tommies are back in action when they play the Dalhousie Tigers Sunday afternoon at the Grant-Harvey Centre, while the X-Women visit the University of Prince Edward Island on Sunday. 

Courtesy St. Thomas sports information