X-Men thump Varsity Reds in AUS hockey action

Keyed by four consecutive goals in the second period, the StFX X-Men skated to a 7-2 win over the defending CIS champion and nationally ranked No. 4 UNB Varsity Reds Saturday night in AUS hockey at the Keating Centre in Antigonish.

The last time the Varsity Reds gave up seven goals in an AUS regular season game was over eight years ago, in a 7-1 loss at Dalhousie on October 21, 2005.

"We came in with the right mindset. We wanted to finish our checks. We are playing hard and we got some bounces," X-Men forward Steven Kuhn said during the second intermission.

Kuhn was one of four blue-and-white scorers in the middle frame.

UNB opened the scoring at 8:21 of the first period on a goal from Keevin Cutting, who handcuffed X-Men goaltender Drew Owsley with a point shot. Shea Kewin and Phillippe Halley notched assists.

Twenty-eight seconds later, Rob Slaney tied it for the X-Men on the power play. He deposited the rebound on a Brandon Hynes point shot behind Charles Lavigne at 8:49. Bronson Maschmeyer collected the other assist for StFX.

"We wanted to get shots on net. We won the draw, got the shot and I was able to put it in; not too much to it," Slaney said during a first intermission interview.

At 16:45, Jason Bast gave the X-Men a 3-1 lead with a stellar short-handed, unassisted effort. He intercepted a cross-ice pass just inside his own blue line and skated in on a breakaway before beating Lavigne five-hole.

In the pivotal second period, Spencer McAvoy extended the X-Men lead to 3-1 at 3:16, when he roofed a wrist shot over Lavigne, with Ted Stephens and team captain Josh Day chipping in assists.

At 10:50, on the power play, Jarrad Struthers, from Brad Cuzner and Michael Kirkpatrick, gave StFX a 4-1 advantage.

Less than three minutes later, at 13:02, Zackary MacQueen, from Nathan Chiarlitti, extended the lead to 5-1.

At 16:16, Kuhn gave the X-Men a 6-1 on an unassisted marker.

Phillippe Maillet, from Tyler Carroll and Nick MacNeil, trimmed the X-Men lead to 6-2 at 18:39.
StFX outshot UNB by a lopsided 15-6 margin in the second frame.

Bast, with his second of the game, had the lone goal of the third period. Hynes, with his third of the night, and McAvoy assisted on the play.

"It was definitely a group effort; everyone contributed," Hynes, in his first regular season game with the X-Men, said after the game. The native of Norris Point, Newfoundland and Labrador was named third star for the X-Men.

His teammate Jason Bast was named second star for his two-goal effort, while veteran defenseman Spencer McAvoy received Subway player of the game honors.

With the win, the X-Men improve to 8-6-1, while the Varsity Reds, with only their second regulation loss of the season, fall to 11-2-2.

Owsley picked up the win in the StFX net, turning aside 25 Varsity Reds shots as the X-Men outshot their counterparts 30-27.

UNB was 0 for 6 on the power play, while the X-Men special teams made a difference on the evening as they tallied two power play goals along with Bast's shorthanded marker.

The X-Men return to action Sunday, Jan. 5, when they host the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus at the Keating Centre, beginning at 3 p.m. The game was rescheduled from Friday night's postponement due to weather conditions.

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