Tigers upset X-men

By Tim Pain Van Der Kooi, Staff Contributor

The Dalhousie Tigers men’s hockey team climbed out of the basement position in the AUS standings with a 6-4 upset against the St. Francis Xavier X-Men last Friday night. The Tigers’ offence was pivotal in the victory.
Dalhousie forward Jeff MacGregor scored two goals that night, while forward Kenzie Shepherd was named the Tigers player of the game for his two assists. The first period set the offensive pace of the game, highlighted by a lack of defence on both sides of the ice.
The Tigers scored first with a goal from Gauthier. After this goal, the X-Men turned up the offensive pressure as the Tigers began to defensively collapse in their own zone. With only minutes left in the first, X-Men forward Brett Morrison scored on a wide open net after a great set-up from line mate Ryan Sparling.
The Tigers answered with a goal three seconds into the second period with MacGregor’s sniping his first goal underneath the arm of X-Men goaltender Bryan Gillis. However, the Tigers resumed their sloppy first period play in the last 10 minutes of the second period. The X-Men scored two goals in the period due to poor defensive plays by the Tigers. X-Men forward Chris Hulit scored the first goal after a Tigers defenseman gave up the puck, to Sparling, behind his own net.
The second goal was a result of the Tigers’ defence scrambling to get the puck out of their zone with an outbreak pass. The pass landed on the stick of X-Men forward Nick Pageau, who scored and gave St. Francis Xavier their first lead of the night at 3-2.
The second intermission rejuvenated the Tigers as they scored two quick goals at the beginning of the third period. Shepherd worked hard in the corner to get the puck out to a wide-open Tigers forward Jordan Gagne, who tied the game with a wrist shot. One minute later, Tigers’ forward Brendan MacDonald wired the puck with a slap shot to beat Gillis and give the Tigers the lead.
The Tigers didn’t look back. The two teams exchanged goals late in the third, but MacGregor eliminated any opportunity by scoring an empty net goal for his second of the night.
Tigers’ goaltender Bobby Nadeau made 31 saves in his performance. This game marked the last home game for the men in the 2009 year. The men look to continue their winning ways at home with their next home game on Jan. 9 against cross-town rivals: the St. Mary’s Huskies.