Antigonish, NS - The StFX X-Men (7-5) skated to a hard-fought 2-1 win over the St. Thomas Tommies (0-8-3) in AUS hockey action Saturday night.
More than 700 fans at the Keating Centre watched the X-Men win their fifth consecutive game.
Freshman forward Eric Locke (Toronto, ON) notched the game-winner at 1:40 of the third period.
On a three-on-two rush, Cole Grbavac (Calgary, AB) took the initial shot, with Ted Stephens (Whitehorse, YT) getting a rebound shot from the lip of the crease before Locke deposited a backhander over the shoulder of Tyson Teichmann (Belleville, ON).
Michael Kirkpatrick (North Sydney, NS) gave the X-Men a 1-0 lead when he tallied off an end-to-end rush. His wrist shot from the top of the circle beat Teichmann at the 11:10 mark of the second period.
"It was at the end of a powerplay. I was able to gain the zone and the D backed off and I was able to get a clear shot away. Luckily, it went in," Kirkpatrick said after the game.
X-Men goaltender Morgan Clark (Dallas, TX) earned an assist on the marker.
While on the power play, Jagger Dirk (Penticton, BC) coughed up the puck just inside the Tommies' blue line. Freshman defenseman Eric Diodati (Niagara Falls, ON) took possession and skated in alone on Clark. His wrist shot squeezed between Clark's pads and trickled over the goal line to tie the game 1-1. The unassisted, shorthanded goal was scored at the 14:44 mark of the second period.
The teams played to a scoreless opening period with the X-Men outshooting the Tommies 10-9.
The three stars for the game were Kirkpatrick, Teichmann and Blake Gal (Lethbridge, AB).
Clark made 29 saves for the win, while Teichmann turned aside 28 shots in the loss.
The Tommies return to action Friday, Nov. 21 when they host the Dalhousie Tigers.
The X-Men will continue their home stand next weekend with games versus the Universite de Moncton Aigles Bleus (Friday, Nov. 21) and the UNB Varsity Reds (Saturday, Nov. 22).
"It starts with hard practices and we are carrying it over to the games. We have to continue to do that," Kirkpatrick said.
Puck drop for both match-ups is 7 p.m. at the Keating Centre.
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