Photo courtesy of Trevor MacMillan
Posted: Jan 11, 2017
(Halifax, N.S.) – Tigers comeback falls short in physical affair as the X-Men win 4-2 on Wednesday night at the Halifax Forum.
The two teams combined for 23 shots in the first period, but only one found the back of the net in an energy filled period.
StFX opened up the scoring with a power play goal just 4:49 into the first frame. Goal scorer Eric Locke (Toronto, ON) netted his 11th goal of the season, beating Dalhousie goalie Jacob Fancy (Sackville, NS).
The Tigers had generated plenty of chances but were unable to tie the game up in the first frame.
The best chance of the period for the Tigers came from Phil Gadoury's (Montreal, QC) short-handed breakaway attempt, but he was unable to beat X-Men goalie Chase Marchand (Halifax, NS).
The Tigers and X-Men came out flying into the second period, both teams exchanged chances but neither was able to capitalize on their opportunities early on in the frame.
StFX took control of the game in the middle frame with a pair of power plays goals.
At 11:43 Forward Adam Stevens (Bedford, NS) added to StFX's lead, making it 2-0. Shortly after StFX scored their third power play marker from Mark Tremaine (Dartmouth, NS), increasing the margin to 3-0.
Dalhousie entered the third period with high energy despite the score.
A great short-handed chance from Tanner Williams (Iroquois, ON) beat Marchand but not the post.
The Tigers continued their momentum through the third as it turned into a scrappy affair with a total of eight penalties being handed out in the frame.
At 9:23 StFX'S Tremaine took a roughing penalty.
The Tigers got onto the board during the ensuing power play. A quick cross ice pass from Myles McGurty (Hoboken, NJ) allowed Gadoury to blast a shot past Marchand.
Just 35 seconds later the Tigers cut the lead to 3-2 with another power play goal from Gadoury, his second of the night.
The Tigers comeback fell short as the X-Men put the game away with an empty net goal.
Eric Locke netted his second goal of the night into the Tigers vacant net.
With the win, StFX advanced to 12-8-1, while Dalhousie fall to 6-7-3. The Tigers next game is against the Moncton Aigles Bleus on Friday the 13th, and the X-Men's next game is also against the Aigles Bleus on Saturday the 14th.