Tigers drop OT thriller 3-2 to Huskies

Game recap by: Kirk Jessome

(Halifax, NS) – As the puck dropped on the 2018-19 AUS women's hockey season, the Dalhousie Tigers took on the Saint Mary's Huskies in their home opener. It took three periods, and a second overtime, but the Huskies came away with a 3-2 victory.

The Tigers netminder Fabiana Petricca (Woodbridge, ON) was tested early in this one, just minutes into the game when the huskies broke down on a two-on-one. The Tigers defender tried to play the puck, but left Shae Demale (Red Deer, AB) open in the slot. Damale took her shot at the near side post, but Petricca was able to slide across to make the quick pad save.

The Tigers were able to get on the board first, midway through the period. After a dump and chase into the attacking end, a quick shot from Delaney Pritchard (Clearwater, ON) was stopped in front, but the rebound dropped right in front of Kennedy Whelan (Alliston, ON) who tucked in her first career goal for the Tigers.

Petricca continued to stump the Huskies shooters throughout the period, even on fantastic opportunities. Late in the period Katie Peddle (Labrador City, NL) sent a shot toward goal from the faceoff dot, and the rebound bounced right in front of the crease for Laura Horwood (Grandfalls-Windsor, ON). Horwood quickly sent a shot back toward the goal, but Petricca dove onto her side to make a fantastic stop with her glove to rob Horwood of a sure goal.

With that, the teams went into the break with the Tigers up 1-0.

It didn't take long in the second period for the Huskies to find the equalizer. Breaking into the zone, Alexa McMillan (Edmonton, AB) spotted Siobhan Birch (Mississauga, ON) open in the slot. Birch put a nice drag on the puck, just long enough to get Petricca to bite and open up the far corner for her to tuck the high shot over the blocker and even it up.

The Tigers put on a flurry of attacking pressure late in the period, but the Huskies goalie Ashley Forler (Kitchener, ON) had a wide open look at to make the stop.

It looked as if the teams would go into the intermission all tied up, but off of a faceoff win with just one minute left to go, the Huskies broke out of their own zone, and after a Tiger defender was caught pinching, came across the blue line 2-on-0.

Brooke Murphy (Balla Philip, NB) squared up to the net, and sent a quick pass over to Birch who fired the one-timer over a sliding Petricca to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead going into the intermission.

The first action of the third period came on the game tying goal from Nicole Hegyi (Pickering, ON) on a scramble in front that beat Forler down low for her first career goal, and to knot it up at 2-2 for the Tigers.

The Huskies held pressure in the Tigers zone for a long stretch after the equalizing goal, but Petricca stood tall on the few shots that came her way.

Both teams took late game penalties, but neither side could generate a threatening chance on the power play, as this one headed to overtime at 2-2.

The first 4-on-4 overtime solved nothing, so the teams headed to a 3-on-3 sudden death period.

Petricca was tested early and often in the overtime period, but just over a minute in, the Huskies were able to find the winner when Horwood broke into the zone with a wide open shot, and beat Petricca five-hole to end it.

Siobhan Birch was named the Subway Player of the Game, collecting the Huskies first two goals.

The Tigers are back on the ice on Friday, when they travel to take on StFX. The Huskies will also be on the road on Friday, when they head to Sackville, NB to face Mount Allison.