Plenty of intrigue for Game 5

AUS hockey | V-Reds, X-Men meet at AUC to determine AUS champion

Sudden-death. Sudden-victory. Do-or-die.

Regardless of the phraseology, it all boils down to the same thing: a one-game showdown for an Atlantic University Sport men's hockey championship.

In this corner, it's the No. 1 ranked team in the country and winners of 23 of 28 regular-season games including four in as many regular-season starts over their opponent: the team in red: University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds.

And in the other corner, it's the No. 7 ranked team in the country and winners of 17 of 28 regular-season games and giant killers in post-season play: the team in blue: St. Francis Xavier X-Men.

Game-time tonight at the Aitken University Centre is 7 p.m. (CHSR-FM 97.9). The box office is open from noon to 4 p.m. University students with an ID get in for a loonie.

"You play all season for home-ice advantage and so we've got that,'' says UNB head coach Gardiner MacDougall. "Should be a big crowd. Lots of energy. You wouldn't want anything less playing for a championship.''

His counterpart, Brad Peddle, says it was important for his group not to lose Game 4 the other night in their home rink.

"You never want to lose a championship series in front of your home fans. It was something we talked about. It was important to us. And I'm sure they're going to feel the same way playing Game 5 in their rink. We know they're going to come out hard, and we're prepared for that.''

UNB wins were 3-2 in Game 1 at home on a goal by Ben Wright in overtime, and in Game 3 at the Keating Millennium Centre when goalie Travis Fullerton made 20 saves in a 2-0 shutout. "We'll take 15 minutes, and then get ready for the next game,'' said Peddle.

MacDougall said "we needed everybody going tonight. Four lines and six defencemen clearing the way in front of Fully. We've got the best goals-against record in the history of the program. Quite frankly, I don't think we get enough respect for how good we are defensively.''

In Game 2, the X-Men were 2-1 winners in double overtime when Phil Mangan beat Kyle Bailey clean on a faceoff and put the puck through Fullerton's pads for the game-winner. In Wednesday's Game 4, the X-Men spotted UNB a 3-1 second-period lead and rattled off five straight goals to win 6-3.

It was Fullerton, the Game 3 hero, who coughed up the puck behind his own net in a wet spot leading to a shorthanded goal by Brennan Wray at the 11-second mark of the third period, opening the floodgates.

"We asked the referee to check for that (wet spots), but I guess he didn't look behind the net,'' was MacDougall's reaction to the Fullerton faux pas.

From there, it went from bad to worse for the third-year goaltender, a native of Riverview. The X-Men pumped home three more goals within an eight-minute sequence, and it was game over for Fullerton in favour of Derek Yeomans. But the damage had already been done.

But to what extent?

The last time the Varsity Reds won an AUS title was in 2008, a year after winning their second national title at the tournament in Moncton when Rob Pearce scored in overtime to beat Les Aigles Bleus out of Universite de Moncton, the conference champion that season.

But winning the AUS title didn't guarantee UNB would repeat as national champs, even though they were No. 1 through much of that season. And sure enough, V-Reds were 3-2 victims as the University of Alberta Golden Bears won their 13th national title, getting the game-winning goal from Ian MacDonald with about eight minutes left in the game.

The last time St. FX won the AUS title was in 2004, after finishing second in the national final the previous year to Trois Rivieres, Que. Patriotes in the first year the national tournament was held at the Aitken Centre.

Buoyed in part by that performance, the Danny Flynn-coached X-Men won 19 games in the 2003-04 season, defeated St. Thomas Tommies 2-1 in the semifinal and swept the upstart Dalhousie Tigers in three straight games in the final. UNB had lost to Dalhousie in straight games, albeit in overtime, in their semifinal round.

When it came time to determine the national champion at the Cavendish Cup tournament a couple of weeks later at the Aitken Centre, it was none other than AUS foes St. FX and UNB lining up against one another. Two goals apiece at the end of regulation. Two goals apiece at the end of the first overtime period.

At the halfway point in the second overtime, Blake Robson took a penalty for X, giving UNB an opportunity to win on a powerplay. Alas, they came up empty.

And as Robson was stepping out of the penalty box upon the expiration of the penalty, the puck came up ice, and lo and behold, it was Robson going one-on-one with the UNB goaltender of the day, Reg Bourcier. A wrist shot to the blocker side, and the X-Men were national champions for the first time in their long history.

"I realize that's the big year for hockey at St. FX,'' said Peddle, who was playing minor pro with the Gwinnett Gladiators of the East Coast Hockey League that season. "We have a chance to do it again, obviously, but right now, all we're concerned about is winning the Atlantic championship. It might be a cliche, but it means something to win your conference title.''

MacDougall says: How many players can say they got a chance to play in a fifth game with a chance to win a championship in front of the home fans. That's all you can ask for.''