X-Women earn third consecutive shutout victory

Montague, PE – The StFX X-Women snapped the UPEI Panthers four-game winning streak in convincing fashion with a 6-0 shutout victory Sunday afternoon.

Heading into the game, the X-Women had outscored their opponents 14-0 in their last two contests and on Sunday, the juggernaut offence put up six more goals.

Sarah Bujold and Lydia Schurman each scored twice, while Kaya Brossard and Hannah MacDonald chipped in with a goal apiece. Lindsey Donovan finished with two assists in the win.

Goaltender Carley Molnar continued her stellar play and recorded her third straight shutout (fourth overall) with 33 saves. Molnar was named the Subway Player of the Game for her effort.

The X-Women (9-3-2) struck first at 6:25 of the first period when Lea MacLeod skated in from the right and centered a pass to Bujold, who snuck a low shot past Camille Scherger in the Panthers net.

Five and half minutes later, Donovan fired a shot from the slot that was stopped by Scherger, but Brossard was there to bury home the long rebound to extend StFX's lead to two goals.

StFX's defence was effective in taking away shooting lanes with very few pucks challenging Molnar. Some strong forechecking by the Panthers (7-5-1) led to their best opportunity midway through the second period, but Leah Byrne rang the puck off the crossbar.

Aside from Byrne's shot, the Panthers struggled to generate many opportunities despite sustaining pressure in the attacking zone. The X-Women, meanwhile, continued to find success putting pucks on net. After Emily Power's shot hung on the line, Schurman tapped it in at 13:31 of the middle period to push the lead to 3-0 after 40 minutes.

Even though they had a comfortable lead heading into the third, StFX wasn't going to leave anything to chance as they came out firing. In less than 10 minutes, the X-Women doubled their advantage to 6-0.

At 2:48, Donovan came in from the neutral zone and found Bujold in the slot and with a quick release beat Scherger for her second of the afternoon. Less than three minutes later, MacDonald roofed a slap shot from the blue line, which was followed up by Schurman's second goal of the contest at 9:32 that sealed the victory.

The Panthers will play their final two games of the first semester at home, where they'll welcome the Dalhousie Tigers and UNB Reds. Puck drops on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.

The X-Women will close out the opening semester on the road, travelling to Halifax on Nov. 28 to play Saint Mary's and in Fredericton on Nov. 30 to face-off against St. Thomas.

-30-

Courtesy Thomas Becker, UPEI Sports Information