The St. Francis Xavier X-Men have done the unthinkable.
The fifth-seeded X-Men completed a three-game sweep of the defending national champion and top-seeded New Brunswick Varsity Reds in the Atlantic University Sport best-of-five semifinal, earning their third straight 3-2 triumph last night in Antigonish.
Phil Mangan snapped a 2-2 tie with 4:50 remaining in the third period after the V-Reds rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the final frame.
The X-Men were outshot for the third straight game, 33-23, but received a 31-save effort from Lantz’s Bryan Gillis.
The V-Reds seemed unbeatable a month ago, when they won 26 straight games. But that’s when they ran into the X-Men, who beat them Feb. 12 to spoil their perfect regular season.
Although the V-Reds finished in the AUS record books with a 27-1 campaign, the X-Men continued to have their number in the post-season.
The X-Men will face the winner of the Saint Mary’s-Acadia semifinal in the best-of-five championship series.
