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Huskies clinch first round bye despite dropping 6-5 OT loss to X-Men
Posted: Feb 10, 2023

Huskies clinch first round bye despite dropping 6-5 OT loss to X-Men

Tickets Photos Box Score
Scoring Summary
1st - 03:17 - Matthew Philip (StFX)
1st - 07:01 - Andrew Coxhead (Saint Mary's)
1st - 14:52 - Matthew Struthers (StFX)
1st - 19:53 - PP - Jacob Hudson (StFX)
2nd - 04:07 - Ben Higgins (Saint Mary's)
2nd - 09:17 - Walter Flower III (Saint Mary's)
3rd - 08:00 - PP - Patrick Kyte (StFX)
3rd - 09:47 - Bradey Johnson (Saint Mary's)
3rd - 14:13 - Josh Nelson (StFX)
3rd - 17:03 - PP - Jaxon Bellamy (Saint Mary's)
OT - 02:36 - Patrick Kyte (StFX)
Game Leaders
StFX
G: Patrick Kyte - 2
A: 2 Players (#15, #92) - 2
Sh: Jacob Hudson - 7
Sv: Joseph Raaymakers - 39
Saint Mary's
G: 5 Players (#2, #20, #22, #44, #86) - 1
A: 2 Players (#16, #65) - 2
Sh: 4 Players (#20, #44, #86, #92) - 5
Sv: Jeremy Helvig - 13
Team Stats
Full stats

HALIFAX, NS- St. Francis Xavier defenceman Patrick Kyte scored twice and added an assist, as the X-Men defeated the Saint Mary's Huskies 6-5 in an overtime thriller on Friday night at the Dauphinee Centre.

It was senior night for the Huskies Men's hockey team, as they honoured graduating seniors Sam Dunn (Hamilton Township, ON), Sam King (Hampton, ON), David Bérubé (Price, QC), and Joel Bishop (St. John's, NL) with a pre-game ceremony.

The Huskies looked to start the game strong with an early power play however, it quickly turned when X-Men forward Matthew Philip (Ilderton, ON), took a breakaway pass from Mark Woolley (St. Thomas, ON) as he exited the box and was able to slip it under the pad of Huskies goaltender Jeremy Helvig (Kingston, ON), to give the X-Men a 1-0 lead.

At 7:01 in the first, the Huskies tied it up as forward Cedric Ralph (Peterborough, ON) fed a pass into the slot for waiting teammate Andrew Coxhead (Bedford, NS), who netted the Huskies first goal of the game.

As the first period wound down, X-Men forward Sam Allison (Cole Harbour, NS) put a hard shot on the Huskies goal, where Huskies goaltender Helvig made the initial save, but X-Men forward Matthew Struthers (Milton, ON) was there to score on the rebound, giving the X-Men a 2-1 advantage.

In the last minute of play, the Huskies went on their first penalty kill. As the seconds ticked down, X-Men forward Jacob Hudson (Antigonish, NS) scored a powerplay marker, increasing the X-Men's lead to 3-1. 

As the teams headed into the first intermission, the X-Men outshot the Huskies 16-14, with the Huskies trailing 3-1.

The Huskies started the second period with a goaltender change, with Matt Welsh (Halifax, NS) replacing Helvig in nets.

With the Huskies looking to start the second period strong, forward Ben Higgins (Truro, NS) redirected a shot from Charlie Dafonseca (Thornhill, ON) that found its way into the back of the net, putting the Huskies within one. 

Midway through the second period, the Huskies penalty kill again went to work. This time they came out steady, keeping control of the puck, and as they moved into the X-Men's zone, Walter Flower III (Lunenburg, NS) made no mistake in netting a pass from Coxhead for the Huskies third goal, tying the game at 3-3.

As the teams headed into the second intermission, the Huskies outshot the X-Men 30-17, with the game now tied 3-3.

At 5:32 into the third period, Huskies forward Liam Van Loon (London, ON) was awarded a penalty shot, and X-Men goaltender Joseph Raaymakers  (Chatham, ON) stood firm and kept the game tied.

Huskies penalty kill went to work yet again however, they could not stop the X-men offense, as X-Men defenceman Patrick Kyte (Pembroke, ON) scored, putting the X-Men back in front 4-3.

A couple of minutes later, the Huskies offence answered, with forward Bradey Johnson (Lindsay, ON) putting the puck up high on a pass from teammate Nathan Dunkley (Campbellford, ON) down low to tie the game up at 4-4.

With less than half to go in the third period, the Huskies power play went to work, while they had many chances, they weren't able to get one past X-Men netminder Raaymakers.

As the five-minute mark approached in the third, the X-Men pulled ahead once again on a goal from X-Men forward Josh Nelson (Lockport, IL), who buried the puck into the net.

The Huskies went on the power play with three minutes left in the third, and once again, in an incredible effort to keep the game tied, Huskies defense Jaxon Bellamy (Hampton, NB) sent the puck to the back of the net from a beautiful slapshot from the point tying up the game 5-5.

As the game was still tied 5-5 at the end of the third period, the teams headed into overtime. The Huskies took a late penalty in the third period and started overtime on the penalty kill.

Early in the overtime period, X-Men defenceman Brendon Clavella (Kapuskasing, ON) had an excellent scoring opportunity, but Welsh made a great glove save to keep the Huskies alive.

But moments later the X-Men would find the winner, as forward Zack Trott (Mulmur, ON) shot on goal, and Patrick Kyte was there to poke the puck over the line as it trickled through Welsh's pads.

Patrick Kyte was named Subway Player of the Game with a three point night – two goals, including the game-winner, and an assist. Jacob Hudson (one goal, two assists), Josh Nelson (one goal, one assist) and Zack Trott (two assists) also recorded multi-point nights for the X-Men.

Andrew Coxhead (one goal, one assists), Jaxon Bellamy (one goal, one assist) and Justin MacPherson (two assists) had multi-point nights for the Huskies.

The Huskies outshot the X-Men 44-30 on the night, with X-Men goaltender Joseph Raaymakers stopping 39 saves for the win, while Welsh turned away 21 shots on the night for the Huskies.

The X-Men's fourth straight win improves their record to 15-13-1 on the season. They'll be back on home ice on Saturday, welcoming the Acadia Axemen (11-15-2-1) to the Charles V. Keating Centre, with puck-drop scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Huskies loss drops their record to 19-9-1 on the season. Despite the loss, the Huskies clinched the #2 seed and a first-round bye with the UPEI Panthers losing to the UNB REDS. The Huskies will conclude their regular season on Saturday, as they visit the Dalhousie Tigers (6-21-1-1) with puck-drop scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Halifax Forum.

Recap by Alyson Duffy / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics