X-Men skate to 5-1 victory over Tigers

Antigonish, NS - The StFX X-Men (4-5) skated to a 5-1 win over the visiting Dalhousie Tigers (2-8) in AUS hockey action Friday night.

More than 700 fans at the Keating Centre saw X-Men freshman forward Eric Locke (Toronto, ON) tally a hat-trick in the victory.

In the first period, Locke opened the scoring with an unassisted goal. After trying to stuff the puck behind Tiger goaltender Wendall Vye (Moncton, NB) from the side of the net, Locke gobbled up the rebound and pushed it over the goal line.

"I have been struggling, so I think that one opened the flood gates a bit," Locke said about his first CIS regular season goal during the second intermission.

At 8:19, Steven Johnston (Sudbury, ON) tied the game for the Tigers, on assists from Luke Madill (Red Deer, AB) and captain Pierre Vandall (St. Louis de France, QC).

The X-Men regained the lead at 11:22 on the second goal of the night from Locke, who re-directed a cross-ice pass from captain Rob Slaney (Portugal Cove, NL) on a three-on-two breakaway. On the doorstep of the Tiger net, Locke used the backhand to roof the shot behind Vye. Freshman defenseman Jagger Dirk (Penticton, BC) garnered the other X-Men assist.

The X-Men had the only two goals of the second period, including a powerplay marker from Jarrad Struthers (Glace Bay, NS) to make it 3-1 at 12:24. The senior forward banged in a rebound from the lip of the Dalhousie crease. Michael Kirkpatrick (North Sydney, NS) and Bronson Maschmeyer (Bruderheim, AB) had the assists.

At 17:57, Locke extended the X-Men lead to 4-1 with his hattrick goal, a bullet wrist shot that beat Vye over the left shoulder. Slaney and Ted Stephens (Whitehorse, YT) set up the play.

"They are making some great passes," Locke said of his linemates.

Stephens scored the only goal of the third period. He one-timed a drop pass from Dirk from just inside the blue line over the glove of Vye. Maschmeyer collected the other assist.

"I just tried to get a shot away. I was able to take advantage of the screen," Stephens said after the game.

He described the game as a "big win."

The X-Men donned camouflage jerseys for Military Appreciation Night in honour for those who serve and have served Canada.

During the first intermission, the 2014 CIS champion StFX X-Women rugby team was honoured with a thunderous ovation from the home crowd.

The X-Women earned the program's fourth national crown with a 43-34 win over the McMaster Marauders at the University of Guelph Nov. 2.

The three stars of the game were Locke, Dirk and Johnston.

The Tigers return to action Friday, Nov. 14, when they host the St. Thomas Tommies in Halifax.

The X-Men will hit the ice tomorrow night (Saturday, Nov. 8) when they travel to Wolfville to face the CIS #2 ranked Acadia Axemen.

"It is going to be a tough game for sure on the road," Stephens said.

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.

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