Winless weekend for women’s hockey

After a 4-1 loss to the St. FX X-Women on Jan. 9, the Dalhousie women’s hockey team looked to improve their record on the road with a Sunday matinee against their cross-town rival Saint Mary’s Huskies. They were unable to do so, however, losing the close contest 2-1 to start the new year without a win.
Coming out strong in the first period, the Tigers played a tight game at both ends of the ice. Strong and smart defensive play kept the Huskies to only eight shots in the first period.

The Tigers found themselves on the powerplay three times in the opening 20 minutes and despite their effective puck movement and fore-checking, were unable to solve Saint Mary’s netminder Rebecca Weagle.

Midway through the second period Dal’s goaltender, Jessica Severyns made the best of her 19 saves, shutting the door on a breakaway by Huskie forward Caitlyn Schell.

Minutes later at the other end of the ice, Victoria MacIntosh received a beautiful feed from Sarah Robichaud and Morgen Kidney and fired a wrist shot top shelf on Weagle to give Dal the lead.

The Tigers took control of the game for the rest of the period, keeping the Huskies in their own zone with a smooth transition game and a few great offensive chances.

Coming into the third with a one goal lead, the Tigers kept up the momentum. The team played a textbook game for most of the period, but could not find the back of the net for a second time.

Near the midway point in the period the Huskies turned things around and put the pressure on the Tigers. Using their size and speed, the Huskies kept the puck deep in the Tigers’ zone and won crucial battles.

With minutes left in the game, the Tigers succumbed to the Huskies’ onslaught, taking a tripping penalty that led to the game-tying goal by Sarah Douglas, who scored off a wrist shot from the slot that beat Severeyns’ low glove side.

With the Tigers on their heels, Saint Mary’s kept the pressure up. Dal took a penalty for too many men with three minutes to play.

That was all the Huskies needed for the go ahead goal, as Gemma MacDonald found the back of the net to put the Huskies up for the first time in the game.

Despite a timeout in the final seconds and a few excellent scoring chances with the net empty, the Tigers couldn’t rally in the dying minutes of the game, and fell to 5-10 on the season

Tigers head coach Sean Fraser said the team did a lot of things right, but it was the special teams that cost them the game.

“We took some bad penalties and we couldn’t capitalize on our chances,” he said.

The Tigers are in action again Jan. 14 in a must-win game against the last place Mount Allison at the Halifax Forum. If the team loses, they will slip out of a playoff spot.