The Hurricane were facing an Xmen squad that always came to play against them and to their credit today in the Appledome was no exception.

From the opening drop the first penalty was called on the Xmen and not really the start they had envisioned but to their credit they managed to kill it off. The Xmen would find their legs but were on the losing end of the territorial battle and would soon find themselves down a player again. This time though they managed to pounce on a loose puck and create a short-handed breakaway that just slid by the outstretched pad of Wile who was trying to deny access to the side.

With the Xmen up one the Hurricane would answer late in the first as they kept applying pressure and Benight (Shatford, Mann) connected on a nice tic tac toe play where Bronsen caught the keeper sliding the wrong way as he shifted to his backhand to slide it home.

The battle was brewing and the Hurricane were working hard to shut down any offense from the Xmen  when Stone Harnish (Cooke, Jollimore) drove the crease to punch through a puck lying in the goal crease that Keegan had sent in from the corner. After a brief huddle of the Zebras the goal stood and the Hurricane were up one.

Some breathing room was created for the Hurricane fans as Alex Mann (Jollimore, Shatford) one timed a point shot along the ice that found the inside of the far post and the Hurricane were up two.

To the Xmen credit it wouldn’t end that easy and they answered just a minute and a half later on a nice shot from the top of the circle to bring them within one at the close of the second.

Effort on both sides were making things interesting through the third and the Hurricane were forced to kill two penalties to keep the Xmen off the board and with time winding down the Xmen were all in as the goalie was pulled. The clock expired as did the season on the Xmen against the Hurricane but the Xmen put forth an effort that showed they belonged amongst the league’s best. The Hurricane overcome their toughest battled of the weekend so far and it says a lot about the program that Dave Hinkley and the Xmen coaching staff have put together.

The Hurricane take the win and the Xmen rebound for a fine effort that showcases Major Bantam Hockey. Live form the AppleDome Hurricane 3 – Nova Jr. Xmen 2.