Subway AUS men’s hockey quarter-final preview: StFX vs. UPEI

(ANTIGONISH, N.S.) - The StFX X-Men hockey team opens up post-season action tonight at the StFX Charles V. Keating Centre with game one of their best two-of-three Subway AUS quarter-final series with the UPEI Panthers, slated for 7:00 pm.

X-Men head coach Brad Peddle is looking forward to the upcoming post-season series, commenting, "We are excited to start playoffs and expect a very tough series from a good opponent in UPEI."

"We have had some hard fought games this year and expect a very tight checking series where special teams and execution will play a big factor. It will be a good playoff battle, one that our guys are looking forward to."

The X-Men finished the regular season in fourth place with a 16-10-2 record, good enough for 34 points. The Panthers were close behind at 15-11-2 and 32 points.

Game two is scheduled for Friday night in Charlottetown, while game three (if necessary) will be back at the Keating Centre on Sunday evening.

The X-Men clinched the home ice advantage in the final game of the AUS season with a 4-3 shootout win over the Saint Mary's Huskies in Halifax.

The Huskies (18-7-3) finished second overall with 39 points, seven back of the first place UNB Varsity Reds (23-5-0). Both teams will await the quarter-final series winners for the semifinal round.

The other quarter-final series features the third place Acadia Axemen (17-9-2) taking on the sixth place Moncton Aigles Bleus (12-10-6).

Looking at the head-to-head match-up between the X-Men and Panthers, UPEI holds a 3-1 advantage in regular season play, though the teams played three games resulting in identical 3-2 scores.

Their first two meetings of the season both resulted in overtime games. On October 19^th in Antigonish, the X-Men took the 3-2 overtime win, while on November 3^rd in Charlottetown, the Panthers were on the winning end of a 3-2 OT game.

Their January 12^th match in Antigonish resulted in a 3-2 win for the Panthers in regulation, then they followed up with a lopsided 8-2 win over the X-Men on January 25^th in PEI. The game was the largest goal differential for the X-Men all season.

The two teams also played a neutral site exhibition game early in the year in North Sydney, N.S.,  with the X-Men coming out on top, again by a 3-2 score and again needing overtime to decide the result.

StFX scored 89 total goals on the season, compared to the Panthers 86. Both were close in goals against as well, with the X-Men allowing 88 and the Panthers 82.

The Panthers are led up front by third year forward Dana Fraser who scored 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists) on the season. Chris Desousa notched 12 goals and 14 assist for 26 points, while veteran fourth year forward Jordan Knox scored nine goals and had 16 assists for 25 points.

Reggie Traccitto was tied for third overall in scoring amongst AUS defenceman with 20 points (6 goals, 14 assists), while teammate Matthew Maione had 16 points.

Manning the net for the Panthers is Wayne Savage, who lead the AUS with a .923 save percentage in 19 games played this season. The third year netminder had a 14-5 record with a 2.44 goals against average.

For the X-Men, fifth-year veteran Joey Perricone and freshman Drew Owsley shared the time in the StFX net this season. Perricone posted an 8-6 record with a 2.84 GAA and .905 save percentage, while Owsley was also 8-6 with a 3.01 GGA and .911 in save percentage.

Manning the StFX blue line is fourth-year veteran Josh Day who was tied for sixth in AUS scoring amongst defenceman with 16 points (7 goals, 9 assists). Freshman Bronson Maschmeyer had 11 points, while third year defenseman Derek Claffey is a game day decision, having missed the final game of the season due to injury.

Up front, the X-Men are led by third year forward and 2011 CIS rookie of the year Jason Bast who scored 26 points (10 goals and 16 assists), good enough for ninth overall in the AUS conference. Fourth-year forward Brennen Wray scored seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points, while sophomores Michael Kirkpatrick and Jarrad Struthers each contributed 18 points.

Led by eighth year head coach Brad Peddle, the X-Men were second overall in the AUS in power play scoring at 22.1%, second only to Saint Mary's at 23.1%. The Panthers followed closely in third place at 19.0%.

The quarter-final opponents were also close in penalty kill with the X-Men third at 83.1% and the Panthers fourth at 82.9%. The Panthers are guided by head coach Forbes MacPherson.

UPEI and StFX last met in the AUS quarter-finals in 2009-10.

The X-Men defeated the Panthers in two straight games that season before knocking off the top-seeded UNB Varsity Reds in semifinal action. StFX then lost in the championship series to the Saint Mary's Huskies who went on to capture the National championship in LakeheadThe two winners of the best three-of-five semifinal series will both punch their ticket to the CIS national championship as the AUS conference will send two representatives this year.

The six-team national event is scheduled for March 14-17 in Saskatoon. The AUS semifinalists will also meet in a best two-of-three final series for the Subway AUS championship title.

Tickets for tonight's game can be purchased at the StFX Keating Centre box office, open all day up until game time. The toll free line is 1-866-259-8169.

Tickets may also be purchased through Ticket Atlantic at 1-877-451-1221 or online at www.ticketatlantic.com.

All games of the series will be available live via webcast at www.AUStv.ca and fans can also follow StFX's live stats at http://livestats.prestosports.com/stfrancisxavier/.

Source: StFX Sports Information
Photo courtesy of Erica Roberts (http://ericahphoto.com/)