X-Women squeeze by Panthers with overtime victory

Antigonish, NS – The U SPORTS No. 4 ranked StFX X-Women defeated the UPEI Panthers 2-1 in overtime Sunday afternoon at the Charles V. Keating Centre.

X-Women veteran captain Daley Oddy (Cranbrook, BC) scored the game winner with six seconds left in the first overtime period. Sarah Bujold (Riverview, NB) worked through the puck possession in the Panthers zone then got the puck out front to Oddy who one-timed it in to give the X-Women the victory.

The teams got off to a slow start in the game and played to a scoreless first period as the X-Women held a 4-2 shot advantage.

The visiting Panthers got on the board first as forward Rachel Colle (Toronto, ON) tallied early at the 1:34 mark of the second period. Maria Clinton (Souris, PE) brought the puck up ice and found Colle on the 2-on-1 attack who then backhanded the puck to beat X-Women netminder Carley Molnar (London, ON) five-hole.

The X-Women answered midway through the period as league-leading scorer Oddy roofed the puck past Megan Sullivan (Bathurst, NB) in the UPEI net for her first of two goals on the afternoon. After circling from behind the net, Emerson Elliott (Aurora, ON) found Oddy alone in front in the slot and fed her a perfect pass to set up the goal.

The 1-1 tie held after 40 minutes of play as the X-Women outshot the visitors 10-3 in the middle frame.

The third period was scoreless though each team had their share of scoring chances. The X-Women hit a pair of goal posts and couldn't score on a power play late in the period. Sullivan was strong in the Panthers net.

UPEI veteran defense Emma Martin (Winsloe, PE) thought she had ended the game three minutes into overtime after a goal crease scramble in front of the X net looked like the puck trickled in behind Molnar, but the officials ruled no goal. That set up Oddy's heroics to take the victory for the X-Women.

Martin, for her efforts in the game was awarded the third star. StFX's Bujold was second star and Elliott was named first star and Subway player of the game.

Molnar, with 13 saves, earned the win between the pipes, while Sullivan (with a 28-save effort) was tagged with the loss though UPEI still earned a point in the AUS standings with the overtime loss.

The Panthers next see action on Saturday evening, January 27^th when they travel to Moncton for a 7:00 pm game against the Aigles Bleues.

The X-Women hit the road for a pair of weekend games as they visit St. Thomas Friday night in Fredericton, followed by a game at Mount Allison on Saturday evening in Sackville.

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Courtesy Krista McKenna, StFX Sports Information