#1 X-Women Rally Late to Beat Tommies

Photo: SRM Photography
Photo: SRM Photography

Fredericton, NB - The U Sport #1 ranked St. Francis Xavier University X-Women scored four straight goals to erase a St. Thomas University Tommies lead and win 5-3 Friday night at the Grant-Harvey Centre.  

The first period was a wildfire of shots and two goals, one each for both teams. Martina Barclay (Mount Albert, ON) would start the scoring off quick with her first of the season, putting the Tommies ahead early. 

StFX would not stay quiet as they would respond quickly with a beauty of their own in the slot from Lauran Dabrowski (Tiny, ON) to knot the game at one.  

The remainder of the period would have both teams battling for the lead but leaving the first tied one goal each. 

The second would continue much like the first with plenty of shots and scoring opportunities. The Tommies would start the scoring halfway through the second with a tight tucked goal by Claire Nimegeers (Wilcox, SK) giving the Tommies the lead once again. 

The Tommies would score one more giving them the lead heading into the third period. 

The third would prove to be the toughest for both teams as they started off rough with penalties on both ends. These penalties would come with a cost. 

A little over the halfway mark in the period during a StFX powerplay the Tommies would allow a goal with one second left on their penalty, cutting their lead to one, from then on StFX would mount an offensive assault causing immense pressure on the Tommies. 

That pressure would be the end of the Tommies lead and their chances at victory. StFX would score with the goalie pulled late in the third tying the game three a piece. They would shortly follow up with another goal in the slot to steal the game from the Tommies. 

The game would end five to three in favor of the StFX, as the Tommies buckle under pressure losing their chances at victory after holding the lead until the dying minutes. 

Despite the score Tommies' goalie, Caroline Pietroski (Etobicoke, ON), and StFX's Amaya Girauder (Assiniboia, SK) had stellar games, standing on their heads keeping their respective teams in contention.  

"We proved that we can beat a team like X, we just need to play three consistent periods," said team captain Alexandra Woods (Courtice, ON).  

"Caroline gives us a lot of confidence, she stands on her head pretty much every single game, so it's great to have a player like Caroline," added Woods. 

The middle of the pack Tommies fall even further in the AUS standings but not without a fight to the top dogs StFX. StFX continues their strong season showing every team that no matter how big a lead they face, they're never out until the buzzer sounds. 

 

 You can catch the Tommies next match against UdeM on Saturday Nov 6th 

You can also catch StFX's next match against The UNB Reds on Saturday Nov 13th  

 

Recap: Brock Johnson