It was an interesting season for the STFX X-Women hockey team.
The X-Women went .500 in their first 10 games of the regular season before going on a 12 game winning streak. However, the sickness bug and some late injuries saw the team go 1-5 in February to finish out the regular season, and the team wrapped up the season in second place in the AUS.
They followed that up with a full five-game semi-final series with St. Thomas, which included the longest game in AUS history and the fourth longest game ever in U Sports, before defeating UNB in two straight games to capture the AUS title. It was a good turnaround for the X Women, who fell to UNB in the championship series the three previous seasons.
Ben Berthiaume (St. FX Athletics photo)
At the national tournament banquet, STFX defender and leading scorer Mackenzie Lothian was named a U Sports second team all-Canadian. Head coach Ben Berthiaume, who was named AUS head coach of the year, said the team had a solid showing at nationals, falling 5-2 to the Concordia Stingers, who finished fourth at the national tournament, before falling 3-0 to top ranked Alberta in the consolation semi-final.
Berthiaume said the team is already in talks about next season, adding while they are losing some key pieces, he feels they recruited well. He thanked fans for their support, particularly during the playoffs.