Live Blog: STU @ ST. F-X

Hi everyone! We're getting set to go just under an hour from now at the Charles F. Keating Millennium Centre in Antigonish.

Just want to say thanks to the folks at STUTOMMIES.COM for the invite to contribute here. I hope to be able to provide some in-game updates during the intermissions as often as possible. Some rinks don't have internet access, but where they do, I'll hopefully be able to get online. And from time to time, maybe I'll have something else to say too. We'll see.

Remember to tune in tonight at 7:00 pm on 95.7 FM CKTP, or online at www.cktpradio.com. Check out the link at the top of the page.

Warm-ups will be getting underway in about 15 minutes or so. Here's what we know so far...

Matt Davis will get the start in goal for the Tommies tonight, backing him up will be Guillaume Misczak. Matt's coming off the win on Saturday night in PEI.

Due to the fracas at the end of Saturday's game, Coach Eagles will not be behind the bench tonight (see post below). Brad Shepard and "Doc" Feeney will handle the bench for STU. Coach will be back for tomorrow's tilt at the Halifax Forum vs St. Mary's.

And GOOD NEWS! Wes Welcher will be back in the lineup for the Tommies tonight. Wes suffered a separated shoulder in the season opener in Moncton back on October 17th after a hard check from Jules Melanson. It remains to be seen how much ice-time he'll see tonight, but it's good to see him back, and hopefully he can give the Tommies a lift.

Ben MacFarlane, Brian Soso and Matt Foster are healthy scratches for STU tonight.

I'll continue to add to this post as the night goes on.

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6:30 PM UPDATE

Warmups are underway. Danny Battochio will start for the X-Men tonight. Battochio is 4-7 on the season with a 3.86 GAA and .893 save %. Allesandro Lupo will be the backup. Scratches for St. F-X: David Shillington, Kurt Jerrett, Jevin MacLellan, Eric McKenna and goaltender Ryan Aschaber.

The X-Men beat the Tommies 7-5 at the LBR back on October 24th. They sit 6 points ahead of STU, in 6th place and the final playoff spot, with a 4-5-2 record and 10 points, compared to the Tommies' 1-7-2 record and 4 points.

Less than 30 minutes to game time. I'll be back in the first intermission.

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7:30 PM UPDATE - 1st Intermission STU 0 St. F-X 0

Well, not much to tell from the first period. The X-Men controlled much of the action in the first half of the period, registering the first 9 shots on goal. Fittingly, Wes Welcher picked up the first shot on goal of the game for the Tommies, on his first of just two shifts in the first period. Nice to see Wes didn't seem wary of getting involved in the play though, an indication he's feeling pretty good out there.

Both teams were 0 for 2 on the power play in the first period. Matt Davis made a few solid saves under some strong pressure from X.

13-9 shots on goal for St. F-X after the first. Next update in the second intermission.

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8:25 PM UPDATE

Not a good second period for the Tommies, running into penalty trouble, though the penalties to David Crossman seemed on the soft side. However, the STU penalty kill couldn't handle X, giving up goals to Chris Hulit at 2:02 and Brett Liscomb at 8:07. Some great tic-tac-toe passing by the X-Men on the Hulit goal in particular. Will Colbert scored the 3rd St. F-X goal at 12:13 after the Tommies found themselves standing around watching in the defensive zone, allowing Kevin Undershute to get the play started.

The X-Men outshot the Tommies 21-10 in the second, 34-19 over two periods.

Tommies will start the 3rd with 1:13 remaining on a Corey Banfield tripping call. X-Men were 2/3 on the powerplay in the second, Tommies 0/1.

Back with a game recap post-game.

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9:05 PM UPDATE

Final Score St. F-X 4, STU 1

Nice wrist shot goal by Corey Banfield at 2:17 to put the Tommies on the board. However, with Justin Roy in the penalty box, Jeff Caron got it back for the X-Men with a hard slap shot from the point at 9:48.

The Tommies had no solution for the X-Men tonight. St. F-X dominated for the most part, outshooting STU by a final count of 51-28.

Thanks for listening, and thanks for reading. Hopefully I'll get a chance to check in again this weekend. Don't forget to tune in tomorrow night at 7:00 pm for STU vs. SMU.