Tigers have bite in third period

Even when frustration seeps in, the third period seems to work magic for the Dalhousie Tigers women’s hockey team.

After being shutout in the first two periods, Dal was able to make their second third period comeback in as many days, pulling through with a well-fought 4 – 3 win against the St. Thomas Tommies Jan. 8 on home ice. The Tigers, which lost 4 – 3 in overtime opposite Moncton the day before, snapped a three-game losing streak with their first win of the season over St. Thomas. Dal lost their previous match against the Tommies in late November.

“We were just smart with our decisions,” said Fielding Montgomery, who had two assists in the Tigers win. “We weren’t scrambling. We were calm and we did what we needed to do.”

Down by two goals until the third period, Dal took their first lead of the match with 6:04 left in regulation time to make the score 3 – 2. Montgomery snuck past the defence on the left side to put a nice backhand on net. A perfectly placed Rebecca Smyth then got her stick on the rebound for the goal.

Dal’s remarkable comeback comes 24 hours after a similar two goal third period rally against Moncton the day before. After losing in overtime Jan. 7, the Tigers were determined to not let another game slip through their fingers.

“We were really excited,” said Tigers’ leading scorer Jocelyn Leblanc. “We played a good game yesterday and we came close to winning, so today to battle back like that in the third is really exciting.”

Reeling off of Smyth’s goal to tie the game, Leblanc took matters into her own hands. Forty-four seconds after the equalizer, Leblanc won the faceoff in the St. Thomas zone, deked past the defender in front of the net and while on her knees she slipped the puck through the opposing goalie’s five-hole for what would become the winning goal.

Leblanc’s tally capped her team’s four-goal performance that leaped the Tigers ahead of St. Thomas in the standings. The Tigers are seeded fifth in the AUS with 10 points.

Assistant coach Kerrie Boyle was 1 – 2 in her three games as acting bench boss. Head coach Sean Fraser will return to the bench this weekend after serving a suspension. The incident occurred Nov. 25 against Moncton.

The Tigers will face first place St. FX Jan. 13 at Memorial Arena. Game time is 7 p.m.