Ian Froese, Sports Contributor
The Tigers did not simply change their fortunes towards the positive, but did so drastically on Sept. 18 at Wickwire Field.
Following a night where Dalhousie fell to Saint Mary’s University in a tense double overtime contest, eight goals in the second quarter sealed any opportunity the Acadia Laxmen had to prevail in a 16-2 victory for the Tigers’ in their home opener. The performance gives the Tigers a record of 2-1.
“We didn’t play our best game, but we didn’t play our worst game either,” said Dalhousie attacker David Gagnier. “We just had to work on some of our technical things, not getting too many penalties, stuff like that.”
Gagnier led the team with three goals. He opened the scoring in dramatic fashion five minutes into the match by releasing the ball as he fell courtesy of a defender’s check. He also potted the eventual game winner in the final five seconds of the quarter to give the Tigers a sturdy 3-0 lead.
As the score progressed keeping his squad concentrated on playing a solid team game was a challenge, according to Tigers’ head coach Rob Griffith.
“I think we kind of knew what our competition would be today. But once we got focused towards our common goal then it was a bit more fun [for us] to play.”
The second quarter removed any fears from the Tigers’ faithful that they would see the nail biter they witnessed the day before. Thirty seconds into it, Brendan Clark added a fourth goal by cutting to the front of the net through a struggling Laxmen defense and goaltender. With only three substitutes, Acadia lacked the Tigers’ depth and it showed as the Dalhousie squad capitalized again and again on many of their chances in front of the opposing net.
Rob Harrison, Tom Allen, Jack Inglis and Dan Schow gave the home team an 8-0 lead before Acadian attacker Blake Jeffrey gave the visiting side something to cheer about 12 minutes into the quarter. The goal brought life to the Laxmen as they responded with an increased physical presence.
The Tigers were not interested in this adjustment and followed it with three extra goals in under three minutes. Brandon Fournier, Keegan Witton and Stephen Fyfe helped turn the contest into an 11-1 rout after the half.
In the second half, the script was altered as goals did not trickle in for the Tigers with the same enthusiasm.
“It’s probably a combination of (Acadia) just trying to play a little tighter on defence and we were rolling our lines, playing all four lines evenly. It’s good to get those guys on the field as well,” said Griffith.
Acadia midfielder Scott Gobel crept past the Tigers’ defense in the quarter’s fifth minute to pot the Laxmen’s second goal and make the score 12-2. It was nevertheless the last time Tigers goalie Mike Cowan would see one past him. The team in front of him then added markers by Brendan Clark and a second for Witton.
“Not to say anything bad about Acadia, but SMU is a bigger challenge for us this year, same with X,” Gagnier said after the match. He ended the scoring with the game’s final marker to give the Tigers a 16-2 victory.
Midfielder Dan Schow drew raves from the coaching staff for his two-goal effort and was awarded with the game ball.
The Tigers are in action twice this weekend. A rematch of last year’s championship game is on Sat. Sept. 25 at 5 p.m. versus St. Francis Xavier, and Sunday morning they will battle Mount Allison at 10 a.m. Both games are at Wickwire Field.
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