X-Men defeat Tigers 3-1 to clinch playoff berth

(ANTIGONISH, N.S.) - The StFX X-Men (14-7-1) skated to a 3-1 win over the Dalhousie Tigers (6-15-1) to secure a place in the playoffs in AUS hockey action Wednesday night at the Keating Centre.

After falling behind 1-0 at the end of 20 minutes, X-Men junior forward Zack MacQueen (Woodstock, Ont.) scored two goals in the second period, including the eventual game-winner, to give the blue and white a 2-1 advantage.

"It was a good play all around," MacQueen said of his first marker, which came at 6:40.

He re-directed a point shot from defenseman Jagger Dirk (Penticton, B.C.) behind Tiger goaltender Wendall Vye (Moncton, N.B.). Cory MacIntosh (North Sydney, N.S.) collected the other assist.

At 11:08, MacQueen collected a rebound on the lip of the Tiger crease before roofing a shot over Vye. Kristoff Kontos (Penetanguishene, Ont.), with his first point on home ice, and Steven Kuhn (Oyen, AB) assisted.

"We had them hemmed in. The puck came out in front and I was able to put it in," MacQueen said.

Ben MacAskill (Aulds Cove, N.S.) of the Tigers opened the scoring with eight seconds remaining in the first period. His shot from the point eluded a screened Drew Owsley (Lethbridge, AB), with Dan Joyce (Saint John, NB) and Andrew Langan (Saint John, N.B.) drawing assists on the power play marker.

The X-Men outshot the Tigers 15-7 in the first period.

Cole Grbavac (Calgary, Alta.) wrapped up the scoring with an insurance marker for the X-Men at 5:36 of the third period, on assists from Ted Stephens (Whitehorse, YT) and Rob Slaney (Portugal Cove, NL).

Owsley made 12 saves for the win, while Vye turned aside 45 shots in the loss.

The three stars of the game were MacQueen, Trey Lewis (Aldouane, N.B.) of the X-Men and Vye.

The Tigers return to action Friday, Jan. 23 when they host the CIS No. 2-ranked UNB Varsity Reds in Halifax. On the same night, the X-Men will visit Charlottetown to face the UPEI Panthers. Puck drop for both games is 7 p.m.

Source: StFX Communications