Alumdate: Leaver, X-Men upset Reds again

ANTIGONISH, NS - Patrick Leaver has accomplished something very few goaltenders can say they've done in recent years: defeat the UNB Reds twice in one season.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs netminder stopped all 34 shots he faced on Saturday night as the StFX X-Men scored in the final minute to upset the top-ranked Reds 1-0 in Antigonish. According to the X-Men's game story, it was "the first regulation loss for UNB since February 4, 2023, and the first time UNB has been shutout since October, 2022."

UNB's year-long winning streak came to an end a couple weeks ago against the X-Men when Leaver made 51 saves in a 4-3 overtime victory at the Aitken Centre.

Classic UNB/StFX game. 35-save shutout for Patrick Leaver in 1-0 win. pic.twitter.com/P7WKsZTK5B

— Jamie Tozer (@station_nation) November 17, 2024

StFX upsetting UNB is nothing new. The Reds haven't lost a lot over the past 20 years, but many of the most painful blows have come against the X-Men, who's shot blocking and strong goaltending have made life difficult for UNB on many occasions.

The X-Men are now 7-6-0-1 on the season, placing them fourth in the AUS standings but just three points back of second. Leaver, who is still sporting his Sea Dogs mask from last season, has appeared in seven games, going 3-4 with a 4.22 goals against average and a .884 save percentage.

The losses to StFX have been the only blemishes on another great start to the year for UNB, who are 12-1-1-0. A lot of that success has been generated by former Sea Dogs captain Peter Reynolds, who is tied for the AUS scoring lead with 25 points and has posted a conference high 13 goals in 14 games.

A number of former Sea Dogs are off to strong starts in the AUS this season. Here's a full breakdown.

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Peter Reynolds	UNB	14	13	12	25
Kale McCallum	UNB	14	7	10	17
Cam MacDonald	ACA	13	8	7	15
Brady Burns	ACA	13	7	6	13
Drew Elliott	UNB	12	7	3	10
Brody Fournier	DAL	14	4	3	7
Charlie DesRoches	ACA	11	0	7	7
Connor Trenholm	SMU	10	3	3	6
Jeremie Jacob	UdeM	14	3	1	4
Will Thompson	SMU	13	1	3	4
Jared Cosman	DAL	14	0	2	2
Carter McCluskey	UPEI	9	1	0	1
Nick Blagden	UNB	2	0	1	1
Yanic Crete	UPEI	11	0	1	1
Zach Welsh	DAL	14	0	1	1

Leaver and Thomas Couture are the only former Sea Dogs goaltenders playing in the league. Couture is 6-5 with a 3.20 GAA and .905 SV%. He's made a league high 334 saves.