(ANTIGONISH, NS) Brady Gilmour (Grafton, ON) scored with 40 seconds left in the game to lift the UNB REDS to a 5-3 victory over the STFX X-Men, Friday night in front of over 800 fans in Antigonish.
The winning goal came after the REDS mounted a third period comeback, having trailed 3-2 late in the period. REDS' captain Austen Keating (Guelph, ON) scored two goals, including the game-tying goal, and earned player of the game and first star honours.
Macauley Carson (Midhurst, ON) added an empty-netter to add to the REDS three unanswered markers to close out the game.
"It was great to see both Keats and Gilly rewarded for their efforts with big goals against a top-notch outing by the X goalie," said REDS' head coach Gardiner MacDougall.
With the win, UNB keeps their undefeated season intact, improving to 27-0-0-0. The REDS continue to sit atop the Atlantic University Sport standings.
The X-Men drop to 13-13-1-0 and remain in fourth place, two points back of Saint Mary's.
The REDS took a 1-0 lead after the first period as AUS leading scorer Keating tallied the lone goal at 9:10. He took a pass inside the blue line and ripped a low shot from the face-off circle past X-Men goaltender Josephy Raaymakers (Chatham, ON) short side.
The opening period was quick one that saw the REDS outshoot the X-Men 21-5 as the home squad was unable to generate any significant opportunities at the other end.
STFX quickly got back into the game with a goal from Matthew Struthers (Milton, ON) just 1:17 into the second period. He connected with Connor Roberts (Owen Sound, ON) on a two-on-one to beat Samuel Richard (Ste. Catherine, QC) in the REDS net.
Declan Smith (Antigonish, NS) gave the X-Men a 2-1 lead with a power-play marker at 5:45 as he scored just 13 seconds into a man advantage, going top shelf off a pass from Zack Trott (Mulmur, ON).
The home squad looked to be heading into the second intermission with the lead, but Adam McCormick (Waterville, NB) scored off a shot from the point on a screened Raaymakers with only 17 seconds left in the period to even things up for UNB.
The REDS outshot the X-Men 21-6 in the middle period as the score was locked at 2-2 after 40 minutes.
The final period was an exciting 20 minutes. Raaymakers made several keys saves to keep the X-Men in it, while Richard was equally sharp in the REDS net, stopping a Struthers breakaway six minutes in.
STFX capitalized on a four-minute high sticking penalty against Keating as Matthew Philip (Ilderton, ON) scored midway through the period while on the man-advantage, converting a pass from Josh Nelson (Lockport, IL).
REDS forward Isaac Nurse (Hamilton, ON) hit a post and Raaymakers turned aside Michael Petizian (Mississauga, ON) on a shorthanded attempt to keep the 3-2 STFX lead intact.
The final half of the third period saw great end to end action with scoring chances from both squads, though it was the feisty REDS who fought back as Keating scored his second of the night with 4:09 left to play, knocking in a rebound after Raaymakers made the initial save off a Kade Landry (Gowanstown, ON) shot.
Just as it appeared the game was headed to overtime, Gilmour tipped in a McCormick shot from the point with only 40 seconds left on the clock.
"It was a great response by the group," said Coach MacDougall. "A good scare is a valuable experience for our team at this stage of the season. We had a great start to the game and had the lead after one and then fell behind on a couple of occasions and had to find the resilience to come from behind."
Raaymakers finished with an impressive 52 saves while Richard turned aside 25 in the REDS win.
The game was a disciplined one with only eight penalty minutes handed out to both sides.
"It was a good solid AUS playoff-type game, and the month of February will guarantee some great AUS hockey," added MacDougall.
The X-Men are back in action Saturday, hosting Moncton while the REDS will travel to Halifax to take on the Dalhousie Tigers. Puck drop for both games is 7:00pm.
RECAP BY: Krista McKenna/STFX Athletics.
PHOTOS BY: Bryan Kennedy/for STFX Athletics