X-Women defeat Huskies 4-1
HALIFAX, NS – STFX defender Kya Moss scored a pair of goals to lead the X-Women to a 4-1 win over the Saint Mary's Huskies in Atlantic University Sport women's hockey action on Wednesday night at the Dauphinee Centre in Halifax.
The first few minutes of the game saw both teams pour on the pressure. The X-Women had a great chance with Vivian Hinch (Vancouver, BC) firing a shot from the blueline through traffic, but Huskies goaltender Ashley Imlach (Newtonville, ON) made the save.
A few minutes later, X-Women forward Ireland McCloskey (Barrie, ON) dragged the puck around a Huskies defender for a quick shot, but Imlach made the pad save.
Huskies defender Georgia Steenbakkers, looking to create a chance, fired one on the net through traffic, but X-Women goaltender Bianca Zak (Stonewall, MB) stood firm.
Halfway through the period, Huskies forward Jillian Duggan (Halifax, NS) sent a pass to Ashley Penney (Lawrencetown, NS) in the slot, who fired one on the net, but Zak made the save.
With five minutes to go in the period, the X-Women took the lead 1-0 when Vivian Hinch shot from the point through traffic and under the arm of Imlach into the back of the net for her first goal of the season.
Moments later, X-Women captain Landyn Pitts (Antigonish, NS) sent a lead pass to Tea Pearce (Calgary, AB), who had a chance in close, but Imlach denied the attempt to keep the score 1-0.
As the teams headed into the second intermission, the Huskies outshot the X-Women 10-9, with the X-Women leading 1-0.
Early in the second, X- Ireland McCloskey dangled through Huskies defenders and tried to flick it up over the shoulder of Imlach, but she stood firm.
With over five minutes in the second, Huskies forward Gillian Lapierre (Port Coquitlam, BC) jumped on a loose puck for a breakaway, but Zak flashed the pad to make the save.
Under halfway through the second period, Duggan fired a one-timer from the circle and over the net. Building on the pressure, the Huskies sent a flurry of shots onto the X-Women net, but Zak turned the shots away.
In the final minutes of play, the teams traded chances, with the intensity ramping up as the Huskies looked to even the score and the X-Women looked to keep their lead.
At under fifty seconds to go in the second period, the X-Women, on back-to-back shots from Alexis Perry (Brooklin, ON) and Kya Moss (Port Moody, BC), extended their lead to 3-0.
As the teams headed into the second intermission, the X-Women outshot the Huskies 25-22, as they took a 3-0 lead into intermission.
Thirty seconds into the third period, Lapierre received a pass from linemate Charlotte Buffie (Winnipeg, MB) and tucked it into the back of the net to put the Huskies on the board 3-1.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) January 9, 2025
Gillian Lapierre scores her team leading seventh goal of the season to cut the X-Women lead to 3-1.
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Eight minutes into the period, Huskies forward Keyara Nelson (Belleville, ON) danced through X-Women defenders for a chance but sent it over the net.
Under halfway through the period, X-Women defender Mackenzie Lothian (Alliston, ON) took a slap shot from the point that hit the post.
In the period's final minutes, the play was end-to-end, as the teams kept the pace and pressure up. With under two minutes left in the game, the Huskies headed onto the penalty kill.
With five seconds left, Kya Moss scored her second of the game on the powerplay to make the score 4-1.
Moss was named player of the game with two goals on the night.
X-Women netminder Bianca Zak made 30 saves for the win. Huskies goaltender Ashley Imlach stopped 32 shots in defeat.
The X-Women win improves their record to 12-2-1-2 on the season. They will be back in action on Friday, Jan 10th when they visit the Mount Allison Mounties at the Tantramar Veterans Memorial Civic Centre.
The Huskies loss drops their record to 7-7-3-1 on the season. Saint Mary's will be back on home ice this Saturday, Jan 11, when they host the UPEI Panthers at the Dauphinee Centre at 7 p.m.
Recap by Alyson Duffy / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Mona Ghiz / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics