Tigers enter holidays with 11 straight losses
The Dalhousie Tigers battled for two points against their rival Saint Mary’s Huskies Nov. 25, but instead they only garnered a point.
Though Dal extended their losing streak to 11 games in their 4 – 3 overtime defeat, earning their first point in as many games against arguably one of the best teams in the CIS created a sense of relief. It gave the players reason for optimism.
“I think we played a hard 60 minutes,” said Dal’s third-string goalie Philip Wright, who saw his fourth straight start. “We have been coming in with a never-quit attitude lately and it’s beginning to show progress.” He had 38 saves in the loss.
Wright is replacing the injured Bobby Nadeau and Wendell Vye between the pipes.
Along with the rest of the team, Wright had a solid game. He kept his team in it when it seemed they would fall apart after Colby Pridham opened the scoring for the Huskies 4:10 into the first.
There have been no shortage of struggles for the Tigers during this skid. One of the many includes their inability to bounce back. This game, however, their never-give-up attitude was abundantly clear. It was a big reason why the Huskies did not take charge.
“In the past when we were scored against first, we have been shutting down,” said Dal forward Francois Gauthier following the game. “Tonight, at least, we stuck together and came hard at them, took them to overtime. The only problem was we couldn’t get the two points.”
Benoit Gervais and Benjamin Breault replied for the Tigers, giving them a 2 – 1 lead heading into the second. Matt Tipoff of the Huskies notched things up at two at 7:26 of the second, jumping on his rebound after a scramble in front of the net.
The rest of the period saw the Tigers create a flurry of offensive chances, which included Gauthier carrying the puck from the defensive zone on a clear breakaway. He could not capitalize, however, due to illegal interference from a SMU defender, awarding Dal a penalty shot.
“I went to the bench, my stick was all wet and my visor was full of snow,” said Gauthier, describing the situation. “I got that move I do a lot and it worked out. I came down full speed and put the break on to try to pick a spot to shoot. Their goalie got a piece of it and I saw it trickle in. I was pretty happy about it.”
Gauthier’s goal gave the Tigers their second lead of the game. The Huskies, though, would not let up, deflating Dal’s momentum with a goal of their own with just five seconds remaining in the period.
The last 10 minutes of the third was a heated affair, which saw both sides pressing to score the winner.
Frustration levels were high after a controversial non-call by the officials. Huskies goaltender Anthony Peters slashed Dal’s Jacob Johnston above the waist when Johnston was attempting to jam home a rebound in the crease. Johnston fell to the ice as his stick flew toward the Huskies’ bench.
“I was disappointed,” said Tigers head coach Pete Belliveau. “I thought we were going to get a power play but I guess not.”
Just a few minutes later, Dal was given a too many men on the ice penalty with two minutes left in regulation, but the Tigers killed it off to take the game to overtime. Michael Stickland scored the eventual winner 2:31 into the frame.
Dal’s next regular season game is a home contest Friday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. against the only team they have beat this season, St. Thomas. Before then the Tigers have an exhibition contest at home versus UPEI on Tuesday, Jan. 3.
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