Tigers beat Huskies in shootout

HALIFAX, NS – Dalhousie Tigers defender Abby Larkin scored the shootout winner, as the Tigers defeated their crosstown rivals the Saint Mary's Huskies 3-2 in a shootout on Wednesday night at the Dauphinee Centre in Halifax. 

Wednesday night's game was the first game of this week's annual Clearwater Lobster Trap Challenge - the combined score of Wednesday's game and Saturday's Huskies vs. Tigers men's hockey tilt, will hoist the prestigious Lobster Trap trophy. 

Seconds later, the Huskies went on the power play, looking to open the scoring. The Tigers' defense stood firm, successfully killing off their penalty.  

Halfway through the first period, Tigers Avery Holmes (Mississauga, ON) tapped in a rebound to take the lead 1-0 with her first goal of the season.  

Seconds later, the Huskies responded when Mia Faseruk (Winnipeg, MB) passed on an odd-man rush to teammate Kylie Kerr (Milton, ON), who fired it into the open net to tie the game 1-1.  

Moments later, the Tigers regained the lead when Regan Duffy (Burlington, ON) passed from behind the net to Ava Boyle (Ottawa, ON), who put it under the pad of Huskies netminder Ridleigh Hansen (Red Deer, AB).  

As the period's final minutes wound down, the Huskies applied relentless pressure, but Tigers goaltender Beer stood firm.  

The Huskies outshot the Tigers 15-5 in the first period, with the Tigers leading 2-1 heading into the first intermission.  

Early in the second period, the Tigers took advantage of a powerplay opportunity, with the Huskies looking to curb their offensive pressure. However, the Tigers' powerplay was cut short when they took a penalty, leaving the teams to play four-on-four for thirty seconds before the Huskies had the advantage.  

The Tigers successfully killed off their penalty, with the Huskies most significant chance coming from Kate Gallant (Brooklin, ON), who parked in front of the net and tried to put the rebound from teammate MacLean's shot through the five-hole of Tigers goalie Beer, but Beer was able to cover it.   

Halfway through the period, the Huskies had a great chance when Charlotte Buffie (Winnipeg, MB) jumped on a loose puck on a rush and had a wraparound attempt, but Tigers netminder Beer got the pad over in time.   

The teams traded opportunities as the period wound down, but none found the back of the net.  

The Huskies outshot the Tigers 29-14 in the second period, with the Tigers still leading 2-0.  

In the early minutes of the third period, the Huskies peppered the Tigers' goal with shots, notably Kerr's partial breakaway and Ava Shearer's (Windsor, NS) backhand from the crease, their strongest chances.  

Seven minutes into the third period, Huskies Gillian Lapierre (Port Coquitlam, BC), alone in the slot, made no mistake as she fired the puck into the back of the Tigers net, tying the game 2-2.  

As the clock approached the halfway mark, the teams traded opportunities. Huskies Ashley Penney (Lawrencetown, NS) fired a shot off the shoulder of Tigers goaltender Beer. The Tigers countered with their own opportunity from Mollie Power (Bay Roberts, NL); however, Huskies netminder Hansen was there to make the save.  

In the final minutes of the period, both teams searched for the go-ahead goal, but it was not to be as Beer fended off the Huskies advances, taking the teams to overtime. 

The Huskies outshot the Tigers 50-20 in the third period, as the teams headed into overtime intermission tied 2-2.  

The teams began the three-on-three overtime period, with the Tigers mainly controlling the puck. The Huskies maintained patience and waited for their opportunity to pounce. With neither team scoring in overtime, the teams headed to a shootout.  

Huskies Kara MacLean was up to shoot first, weaving back and forth, tucking the puck past Tigers goalie Beer. The Tigers countered with Abby Larkin's (Marmain, PE) backhand drag shot over the pad of Huskies netminder Hansen to tie the round. The teams would trade misses until Tigers Madison Wardle (Rockland, ON) put it through Huskies goaltender Hansen's five-hole  

Tigers goaltender Grace Beer made 49 saves for the win, while Huskies Ridleigh Hansen turned away 21 shots in defeat. 

The Huskies loss drops their record to 5-2-1-1 on the season. They'll be back on the ice Friday, Nov. 1, when they visit the Mount Allison Mounties (0-8-0-0) at 7 p.m. at the Tantramar Veterans Memorial Civic Centre. 

The Tigers win improves their record to 6-3 on the campaign. They'll face the STFX X-Women (4-2-0-2) on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 3 p.m. at the Charles V. Keating Centre.