Struthers hat-trick powers X-Men to 7-3 win over Huskies

HALIFAX, NS – St. Francis Xavier forward Matthew Struthers scored a first period natural hat-trick, leading the X-Men to a 7-3 win over the U SPORTS #10 ranked Saint Mary's Huskies at the Dauphinee Centre in Halifax on Friday night.

The X-Men got off to an early start after forward Zack Trott (Mulmur, ON) took control of a deflected clearing attempt out of the Huskies zone and dropped the puck onto the stick of Liam Hawel (Arnprior, ON), who fired it past Saint Mary's goalkeeper Matt Welsh (Halifax, NS) to give the X-Men a 1-0 lead just 1:32 into the first period.

Moments later the Huskies had a chance to answer, as leading scorer Bradey Johnson (Lindsay, ON) dangled into the X-Men zone and fired a shot on goal that somehow ended up under X-Men goalkeeper Joseph Raaymakers (Chatham, ON), but didn't cross the line. During the scrum around the X-Men goal, St. FX forward Conner Bruggen-Cate (Langley, BC) was sent to the penalty box for hooking, giving the Huskies their first powerplay of the game.

On the ensuing powerplay, the Huskies had several scoring opportunities, but Raaymakers was solid in the X-Men goal. With just over 10 seconds remaining on the man-advantage, the Huskies won a face-off in the X-Men zone and defenceman Justin MacPherson (East Gwillimbury, ON) quickly cycled the puck to Johnson, who teed up a one-timer to tie the game at 1-1, seven minutes into the first period.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Bradey Johnson fires a one-timer on the powerplay for his @AUS_SUA leading eighth goal of the season to tie it up at 1-1 in the first period.

��B. Johnson (8)
��J. MacPherson
��A. Coxhead pic.twitter.com/hb4juAR3g9

— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) November 4, 2022

With just under four minutes remaining in the period, Huskies captain Keith Getson (Bridgewater, NS) was sent to the box for tripping. On the ensuing X-Men powerplay, forward Matthew Struthers (Milton, ON) took a pass near the blue line and skated into a wrist shot that beat Welsh high to put the visitors back on top, 2-1.

Less than two minutes later, the X-Men were back on the powerplay, and once again Struthers would make the Huskies pay. Struthers first shot attempt was blocked by a Huskies defender, but he gathered his own rebound and quickly fired it on goal from the left hashmark, to make it 2-1 X-Men. Struthers two powerplay goals were scored 1:28 apart.

St. FX outshot Saint Mary's 11-8 in the first period, and were 2/2 on the powerplay.

The X-Men offence came out firing again in the second period, but Welsh made several great saves on two breakaways, first robbing Jacob Hudson (Antigonish, NS) and later denying Struthers with a glove save.

A few minutes later, the X-Men opened up another odd-man rush, as defenceman Brendon Clavelle (Kapuskasing, ON) made a cross-ice pass onto the stick of Struthers, who scored his third straight goal for the natural hat trick to make it 4-1. Just 39 seconds later, the X-Men struck again, as Trott's pass found Roddie Sandilands (Williamstown, ON) streaking down the centre of the ice, where he snapped a high shot past Welsh's blocker to put the visitors up 5-1, 6:07 into the second period.

That prompted Huskies coach Tyler Naugler to change his goaltender, bringing in second year Justin Sumarah (Halifax, NS) for his first appearance of the season.

With just over four minutes remaining in the second period, Hudson was tripped up on a breakaway, and awarded a penalty shot, which he was able to put past Sumarah to give the X-Men a 6-1 lead.

Each team recorded 13 shots in the second period.

St. FX opened the third period on the powerplay, and once again capitalized, as Trott scored off a rebound to extend the lead to 7-1, just 40 seconds into the third period.

In the final minute of the third period, the Huskies were able to score twice. First it was forward Cedric Ralph (Peterborough, ON), who was able to stuff home the rebound off a deflected point shot. Just 40 seconds later, first year forward Charlie Dafonseca (Thornhill, ON) sniped a shot past Raaymakers for his fourth goal of the year, making the game 7-3 which would go down as the final score.

X-Men forward Matthew Struthers was named Subway Player of the Game with three goals. Teammates Liam Hawel, Jacob Hudson and Zack Trott also recorded three point nights, each with one goal and two assists.

Raaymakers made 28 saves in the X-Men goal, while Sumarah made 10 saves in relief for the Huskies.

The X-Men win improved their record to 3-5-0 on the campaign. They'll be back on the road tomorrow, heading to Wolfville, N.S. for a matchup against the Acadia Axemen, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Huskies loss dropped their record to 5-3-0 on the season. They'll be back in action tomorrow night as they host the Dalhousie Tigers at 7 p.m. at the Dauphinee Centre.

Recap by Allan April / SMU Huskies Athletics
Photos by Mona Ghiz / SMU Huskies Athletics