Tigers fall 4-2 to Moncton

Source: UdeM Athletics

Moncton – Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus (6-10-1=13pts) scored three power goals and climbed into sixth position by virtue of a 4-2 win over the Dalhousie University Tigers (6-9-3=15pts, 5th position), Wednesday evening in front of over 360 spectators at the J.-Louis-Lévesque Arena in Atlantic University Sport men's hockey action.

This was Moncton's second 4-2 win over the Tigers after a similar score last Friday. The UPEI Panthers are now in seventh spot. The Serge Bourgeois coached team will host the St. Francis Xavier University X-Men (11-6-0=22pts, 2nd position) Friday at 7 p.m. in its last game before the Christmas break.

Kelly Bent, at 1:29 and Jackson Playfair, 15 minutes later, did give the visiting Tigers a 2-0 lead in the first period, two pucks that eluded Moncton goaltender Brandon Thibeau. The Aigles Bleus had a 20-7 advantage on shots on goal and finally, Mitchell Robillard (Marc-Anthony Therrien, Robbie Graham), on the power play with six seconds left to play, gave his team the lift needed and put his team to within one goal.

Allain Saulnier (Pierre Durepos, Jean-Sébastien Fournier), on the power play at 6:25 of the middle period evened the chances and a Steve Lebel (Pierre Durepos, Alex Saulnier) power play goal, 11 minutes later, proved to be the winner following a nice shot in front of the net. Jean-François Plante, with his 18th of the season, got the assurance goal in an empty net, at 18:36 of the last period.

"They scored two funny goals at the beginning, one off our defensemen and the other a mistake by our goaltender," coach Serge Bourgeois said. "I am sure the score could have been the other way as we were losing 2-0 with 18 shots on goal. Their goaltender did a great job. We did not panic and the game was rough and intense with many checks. The Tigers played their last semester game and gave everything they had. I liked the way our players responded. Our defensive play on the 5 on 3 in the third period was great. The Saulnier's and Guénette did well. This was a welcome victory."

Defensemen Pierre Durepos was chosen Subway player of the game. "We played better for 60 minutes and even if we were behind 2-0, the important goal at the end of first period gave us the lift needed for the win," Durepos said. "On the 5 on 3 for two full minutes, the guys did an exceptional job that killed the Tigers momentum and kept our lead. We were then able to get our fourth. We had the focus and we knew the game was going to be tough. We gave it all we had."

Brandon Thibeau face 28 shots and after giving two goals, he was solid and never looked back. Corbin Boes saw 39 pucks, including 20 in the first period.

Both teams will return to action in January.