Men’s hockey closes disappointing home sked

Ryan Hillier had two tallies in Saint Mary’s 6-2 win Feb. 1. (David Munro photo)

Ending their season with a victory is all that’s left for the Dalhousie men’s hockey team following a 2-1 loss against St. Francis Xavier Feb. 2 at the Halifax Forum.

The Tigers end their home schedule with a 5-9 record. On the road, their standing is 3-10 with one game remaining on Feb. 8 at Acadia.

Dal has missed the playoffs for two consecutive years and nine of the past 10.

“It was a tough one because we have improved a lot over the last couple of years as a program,” said graduating player Jacob Johnston. “This year we played really well together.

“I don’t think our record actually reflects what we accomplished as a team.”

Contrary to what Dal’s eight wins on the season would suggest, a string of avoidable losses could have turned their season around. But after losing six of nine games in January and back-to-back losses this past weekend, the Tigers sit in seventh, one spot lower than needed for a playoff berth.

Injuries this season to Dal’s Ben MacAskill, Pascal Amyot and veteran goalie Bobby Nadeau didn’t help.

“We had the team to make the playoffs,” said forward Benjamin Breault. “Unfortunately, we didn’t win the games where we had the leads and could have kept it. That really killed us in the end.”