X-Men skate to 4-1 victory over winless Tommies

(ANTIGONISH, N.S.) - The StFX X-Men (6-4-1) scored a 4-1 win over the visiting St. Thomas Tommies (0-11) Friday night in AUS men's hockey action at the Keating Centre in Antigonish.

Steven Kuhn, a first-year forward, put the X-Men up 1-0 with the lone goal of the opening period.

At 4:23, Kuhn redirected a slap pass from defenseman Nick Pageau behind Tommie goaltender Jonathan Groenheyde. Ted Stephens had the other assist on the power play tally.

Only 36 seconds into the second period, Jonathan Bonneau tied the score for the Tommies.

Bonneau, on assists from John MacDonald and Stephen Sanza, sailed a floater from the blue line through traffic that eluded X-Men goaltender Joey Perricone.

The X-Men regained the lead when reigning AUS rookie of the year Michael Kirkpatrick converted a pass from Zackary MacQueen at 6:06. MacQueen circled the Tommies' net and found Kirkpatrick in the slot, with Josh Day getting credit for the second assist.

At 15:57, Brad Cuzner broke in alone on Groenheyde after taking a pass from Kuhn on a partial two-on-none breakaway. X-Men captain Murdock MacLellan added the second assist on the 3-1 goal.

Before the end of the second period, Ted Stephens, from Jarrad Struthers and Day, roofed a backhand shot to extend the lead to 4-1. From the side boards in the Tommies' zone, Struthers floated a saucer pass to Stephens, who made no mistake after some nifty stickhandling.

Although the Tommies outshot the X-Men 16-2 in the third period, the visitors could not solve Perricone, who made 25 saves.

The Tommies outshot the X-Men 26-20 overall. The blue and white held the visitors scoreless on five power play opportunities, allowing only eight shots.

Kuhn and Cuzner were the first and second stars, respectively, with Bonneau the third selection.

The X-Men return to action Saturday night when they host the CIS No. 6-ranked Université de Moncton (7-3-1) Aigles Bleus. The Aigles Bleus are coming off a 3-2 overtime win over Saint Mary's.

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Keating Centre.

Source: StFX Sports Information
Photo courtesy of Erica Roberts