Fourth-ranked Axemen hand X-Men 3-2 OT loss

(WOLFVILLE, N.S.) - Tonight's game needed more than regulation time as the CIS No. 4-ranked Acadia men's hockey team beat the StFX X-Men in overtime to keep the streak alive.

It was assistant captain Chris Owens, on the power play, who put a laser beam of a slap shot over the shoulder of Drew Owsley and off the crossbar, giving the Axemen a 3-2 victory. Owens was named first star of the game for his clutch performance.

With the victory, the Axemen stretch their winning streak to eight games, improving their record to 9-1-0 on the season so far. The win also places Acadia in first place in the AUS standings after the St. Thomas Tommies upset the UNB Varsity Reds 3-2 in Fredericton Wednesday night.

Evan Mosher made 22 saves through the end of regulation, and stopped one more in overtime to claim his seventh win in eight games.

The game's other goals were scored by Brett Thompson, Michael Kirkpatrick, Leo Jenner and Josh Day.

Third star of the game, Thompson, opened the scoring in the second frame, picking up his fourth of the season on a funny looking play, capitalizing on a miscue by StFX goaltender Owsley. Linemates Cazzola and Heelis picked up assists on the play.

StFX responded less than two minutes later when StFX's Michael Kirkpatrick tied the game at one with his fourth goal of the season, shoving one in on a mad scramble in front of Acadia's Mosher.

Later in the second frame, seconds after Acadia's power play had ended, with the first power play unit still on the ice, fourth-year defenceman Leo Jenner poked home his first of the season to give Acadia a 2-1 lead.

A one-timer from the point by Josh Day evened the score at two aside three minutes into the third. The goal eventually sent the game to overtime - a 10 minute period, playing 4-on-4.

The X-Men took a costly tripping penalty in the extra time, giving Acadia a golden opportunity to bury the game winner from the high slot.

The Axemen will head to Halifax on Friday, looking to extend their impressive winning streak to nine against the struggling Dalhousie Tigers. Both StFX and Acadia will meet again next Wednesday night in Antigonish before ending the first half of the season at home next weekend on Friday against Moncton and then finishing up against UNB on Saturday night.

Source: Mitchell Racine for Acadia Sports Information