Gaetz & MacKinnon score in loss to Huskies

Source: Troy Langstaff

The Saint Mary's Huskies skated to an 8-2 victory over the Dalhousie Tigers in their home opener at the Dauphinee Centre on Friday night. 

It was the visiting Tigers that got on the board early in the game with Scott Gaetz (Mississauga, ON) firing home a snapshot from the slot just 2:25 into the opening frame. A pair of penalties, one by each team, just one minute apart resulted in some 4-on-4 hockey. With some extra space on the ice Jonathan Hampton (Richmond Hill, ON) received a pass from Dawson Theede (Brooklin, ON) in the slot and snapped a shot on goal but Tigers goalie Connor Hicks (Kanata, ON) made a nice blocker save. 

As the SMU penalty expired the Huskies took advantage of the brief powerplay. Justin MacPherson (East Gwillimbury, ON) slid a pass down to Bradey Johnson (Lindsay, ON) who launched the one-timer into the back of the net to tie the game 1-1 just seven minutes into the period. 

Just past the midway mark of the frame MacPherson made a high check on Dalhousie defender Jarret Baker (Black Rock, NS) resulting in a two-minute minor and 10-minute misconduct for head contact. 

With under 4 minutes left in the period Evan MacKinnon (Dartmouth, NS) got taken down at center ice to put Dalhousie on the man advantage. Just eleven seconds later MacKinnon took advantage of the penalty he drew and gave his team the 2-1 lead with a quick shot past Huskies goalie Matt Welsh (Halifax, NS). 

A late penalty by the Tigers gave SMU a chance to tie the game before the end of the frame and that's exactly what they did. The initial point shot from Jaxon Bellamy (Hampton, NB) was stopped by Hicks, but captain Keith Getson (Bridgewater, NS) pounced on the rebound to tie it up with just 32 seconds left in the period. 

The Huskies led 13-9 in shots after the first period. 

Saint Mary's came out of the intermission with momentum after their late first period goal and drew a penalty putting them on the powerplay for the third time. With Connor Olson (London, ON) setting things up from the point, he slid a pass over for Nathan Dunkley (Campbellford, ON) who snapped a shot from the top of the circle that snuck just inside the right post to give the home side their first lead of the game. 

Less than a minute later Andrew Coxhead (Bedford, NS) would get on the scoresheet finishing on a 2-on-1 rush. Tigers coach Chris Donnelly then took a time-out to try and stop the bleeding. 

The Huskies kept pressing and forced a turnover in the neutral zone leading to another odd man rush. This time it was Johnson feeding a light centering pass for Coxhead who extended the Huskies lead to 5-2 with his second of the period. 

Dalhousie looked like they were turning things around late in the frame with a few chances. One of which saw them with a quick breakout that turned into a 3-on-1. Campbell Pickard (Halifax, NS) got a pass to the right side and took the shot that was gloved down by Welsh. 

The Huskies led 27-16 in shots at the second intermission. 

Dalhousie had the first good chance of the final period when Matt Green (Hammonds Plains, NS) received a stretch pass from his own end and went in on a partial break before some good Huskies backchecking stifled the Tigers opportunity. 

The SMU offense tallied another marker midway through the frame when Johnson took a cross ice pass and slid a shot five hole on Welsh. Five minutes later it was Cameron Pound (White Lake, ON) who fired home his first AUS goal to extend to lead to 7-2. David Berube (Price, QC) would add a late tally as the Huskies skated to an 8-2 victory in their home opener at the Dauphinee Centre. Final shots were 55-19 SMU. 

Bradey Johnson earned Subway Player of the Game honours with his five-point performance. 

The Tigers next game comes on Wednesday when they visit StFX. 

The Huskies next task comes on Friday the 15^th when they host the UNB REDS.