By Joel Tichinoff, Sports Editor
Winless since Nov. 28, 2009, the women’s hockey team skated onto the ice at Memorial Arena to begin the third period up 1-0. The University of Prince Edward Island led 11-8 in shots, with a two-minute penalty to defenseman Alyssa Hennigar for body-checking. The Tigers killed the penalty easily, even managing a good deal of offence against a UPEI power-play unit that ranks third in the AUS with a PP percentage of .150.
The Panthers have struggled ever since launching their women’s hockey program in 2005. But lately they have enjoyed some modest success, coming into last Friday’s game riding a winning streak of two convincing wins over Saint Mary’s University and Mount Allison University.
On the other side of centre-ice, the Tigers had gone from a seven-game unbeaten streak against Atlantic Canadian rivals in November to three consecutive losses and a string of crippling injuries.
To date the Panthers have played disciplined hockey – they are the least penalized team in the AUS. However, a slew of penalties allowed the Tigers to capitalize on their strong offence and shell UPEI goaltender Bailey Toupin on and off the power-play. Toupin, who has managed a .890 save percentage this season, shakily held off a two-on-one rush by Dal forwards Robin Mullen and Jocelyn LeBlanc early in the third. But she was unable to block a well-aimed slap-shot from Dal captain Laura Shearer less than four minutes into the frame. From just inside the blue-line, Shearer slapped the puck into the top-right corner on a cross-ice feed from fellow defenseman Brooklyn Winch. It was the second goal of the year for Shearer, a fourth-year sociology student from Falmouth, Nova Scotia.
Shortly after her goal, the Dal captain was unable to break up an odd-man rush by Panthers forwards Suzanne Cortilet and Cathleen Loughlin, who beat Tigers goalie Ashley Boutilier (back after a two-game absence).
Boutilier’s spoiled shut-out was avenged by her teammates, who pushed UPEI back to their end for much of the last 10 minutes of the game. Five-foot-four-inches blue-liner Alyssa Hennigar took the lead electrifying the game whenever the puck came within her reach, ripping shot after shot at the UPEI goal. She made clean passes and hustled to beat opponents to every puck.
When UPEI’s Kelsey O’Donnell went off for hooking at the 15-minute mark, Hennigar railed two quick shots from the blue line before a desperate Kristen Nash drew a second UPEI hooking penalty. A dedicated crew of fans cheered from the beer gallery as Shearer and Hennigar took full advantage of the five-on-three to bounce the puck back and forth between themselves high in the slot before Hennigar fired a wrist shot at Toupin’s pads. A mad scramble ensued in front, which allowed third-year science student Robyn Nicholson to tap in her seventh goal of the year for Dal. She was assisted by Robin Mullen and Laura Shearer (who had a three-point game).
With one player still in the box, the UPEI net-minder sprawled in the crease to block a rapid succession of shots but ultimately could not handle the relentless Dal offence. Deep River, Ontario-native Sarah McVey batted in Dal’s third power-play goal of the night with under two minutes left in the game sealing a much-needed win for the Tigers. Friday’s win brought the Tigers’ record to 8-5-0 with ten games remaining in the regular season.
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