StFX clinches second place with point earned in OT loss

Antigonish, N.S. - Led by a hat-trick from freshman forward Phil Gadoury (Montreal, QC), the Dalhousie Tigers (9-15-4) wrapped up the regular season with a 3-2 overtime victory over the StFX X-Men (18-6-4) in AUS hockey action Friday night at the Keating Centre.

Wendell Vye (Moncton, NB) had 45 saves in the Dalhousie net as the visitors were outshot 47-28. 

With the single point earned in the overtime loss, the X-Men clinched second place in the AUS standings, securing themselves a first round bye in the AUS playoffs. Both StFX and Acadia (19-7-1) finished the season with 40 points, but the X-Men took second place with a better head-to-head record (3-1) over the Axemen, the tiebreaking criteria. 

Dalhousie with 22 points, finish in seventh place, three points out of AUS playoff contention.

After the X-Men rallied from a two-goal deficit late in the third period to force the extra session, Gadoury put moves on a pair of defenders before beating X-Men goaltender Drew Owsley (Lethbridge, AB) top shelf with a snap shot from in tight. The unassisted power play goal came at the 2:45 mark.

In the opening minute of the first period, X-Men senior forward Cory MacIntosh (North Sydney, NS) had an opportunity to give his team the lead, but Vye turned aside the backhander from in front of the net, his first of many saves on the night.

A short time later, at 1:10, the visitors jumped on top, with freshman Gadoury beating Owsley with a wrist shot from the slot. Andrew Rieder (Regina, SK) and Fabian Walsh (Gloucester, ON) collected the assists.

The Tigers doubled their edge with a power play goal at the 2:57 mark, with the same threesome combining on offense.

Later in the period, on the first X-Men power play of the game, Rieder made a pair of stellar shot blocks, including one on a blast from first-year X-Men defenseman Max Iafrate (Livonia, MI).

During a brief 5-on-3 man advantage, Jagger Dirk (Penticton, BC) walked in off the blue line and got a shot away, but Vye made the save.

Off an X-Men turnover in their own zone, the Tigers almost took a three-goal lead, but Owsley made a shoulder save on Colton Parsons (Kingston, NS).

StFX had their best chance of the period with less than one minute remaining, when Mark Tremaine (Dartmouth, NS) got behind the Tiger defense, but he could not lift his shot over a sprawling Vye.

In a scoreless second period, Owsley kept his team close with a pair of early saves.

On a great individual effort from Michael Clarke (London, ON), the X-Men almost cut the deficit in half, but the puck rolled off his stick after he deked a couple Tiger defenders and Vye, who made a right pad save on the weak shot, before StFX ripped the rebound high over the net.

Off a two-on-one rush, Eric Locke (Toronto, ON) took a couple shots from in tight, but Vye kept the X-Men off the score sheet.

StFX also came up empty on back-to-back power plays, with the best chance coming on a one-timer from Iafrate, who could not find the back of the net.

On a Tiger power play, Gadoury threaded the needle from his own zone, finding Andrew Wigginton (Sackville, NS) behind the X-Men defense. He broke in alone on Owsley, who made a sparkling glove save on a hard wrist shot.

Later in that man advantage for Dalhousie, Adam Stevens (Bedford, NS) broke in shorthanded on his off wing, but Vye made the stop.

Nathan Pancel (Ottawa, ON) had a chance to put the blue and white on the scoreboard, but his shot from close quarters hit the goal post, while Locke had another opportunity off a two-on-one, but his shot off the heel of his stick went wide.

In the third period, the X-Men continued the pressure in an effort to break the shutout bid, including an early power play, with the best scoring chance coming off the stick off Iafrate, but Vye was equal to the task.

After defenseman Nathan Chiarlitti (Maple, ON) showed his speed in getting back on defense to thwart a potential three-on-one break for the Tigers, the senior defensemen led a rush the other way. After a goal-mouth scramble, Chiarlitti raced from the corner and deposited a rebound behind Vye. Clarke and Pancel notched the assists at the 10:37 mark.

At 17:22, Dirk picked up a loose puck in the slot and beat Vye with a low shot to the stick side. Clarke and Pancel garnered the helpers on the game-tying goal.

The Subway player of the game and first star was Gadoury, while Vye and Chiarlitti received second and third star nods, respectively.

Vye made 45 saves for the win, while Owlsey turned aside 25 shots in the loss.

Despite the win, the Tigers finished out of the conference play-off picture, while the X-Men - with the one point earned in the overtime loss - secured second place in the regular season and a first-round bye in the post season.

The X-Men and CIS top-ranked UNB Varsity Reds will face the winners of the two best-of-three quarter-final match-ups.

Third place Acadia and sixth place UPEI will play in one quarter-final series, while fourth place Saint Mary's and fifth place Moncton meet in the other.