By Troy Langstaff

The Tigers men’s hockey team pulled off a season for the history books. The year may not have concluded with an AUS championship, but it was filled with milestones and achievements the program hadn’t seen in quite some time.

Dalhousie put the league on notice in the first month of the season with some statement wins over strong opponents and a pair of very competitive games versus the highly-talented UNB REDS.

2021-22 Men's Hockey Photo Gallery

The team won three of their last four games heading into the holiday break with an impressive win over the nationally-ranked StFX X-Men and a big comeback victory over cross town rival SMU.

They finished the season with an 11-11-1 record which was good for third place in the conference. This marked the program's best regular season finish since 2003. The team’s 11 victories also marked the most wins in a season since 2013.

“Our team had a very good mix of great goaltending, the ability to create offence and score, as well as play a physical defensive game,” explained head coach Chris Donnelly. “Our team speed also improved through the recruiting process and made us a difficult team to play against.”

A first round match-up in the AUS playoffs with the Moncton Aigles Bleus saw the Tigers fall in a third and deciding game at the Halifax Forum. Dalhousie’s game one victory was the team’s first playoff win in 18 years.

“Moncton had a combination of great goaltending and a very opportunistic group of players that took advantage of every mistake we made throughout the year,” said Donnelly.

Donnelly was awarded AUS and U SPORTS coach of the year honours for his team’s impressive performance this season. This is the first time a Tigers coach has been named the U SPORTS men’s hockey coach of the year.

Another accolade included an AUS first team all-star nod for goalie Reilly Pickard. He had an 8-4-0 record to go along with career bests in GAA (2.84) and SV% (0.921).

The two longest tenured Tigers from this year's team, Chandler Yakimowicz and Aiden Jamieson, are two of the handful of players that will be moving on.

“Both Yakimowicz and Jamieson arrived in the same year and brought Memorial Cup Championship experience to our dressing room,” said Donnelly. “Both guys earned an opportunity to expand their skill sets and play a bigger role than they had during their junior days. They dedicated themselves to hard work and put in the extra effort to succeed in the classroom.” 

The team will have a lot of returning players in the fall who will look to build on this season’s historic performance. 

“It is encouraging, no doubt and hopefully we can make some additional strides through the recruiting process,” said Donnelly. “Our guys enjoy the work they put in and are getting some positive results for their efforts, which is building some positive momentum as we move forward.”

2021-22 Men's Hockey Award Winners

Team MVP - Connor Welsh

Tiger of the Year Dillon Boucher	Tigers Coach of the Year Chris Donnelly