Recap by Allan April / SMU Huskies Athletics
HALIFAX, NS – The U SPORTS #10 ranked Saint Mary's Huskies snapped a two-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the Dalhousie Tigers on Saturday night at the Dauphinee Centre in Halifax.
Coming off a tough 7-3 loss to the STFX X-Men on Friday night, the Huskies were eager to bounce back into the win column against their crosstown rivals.
The Tigers had the first few chances of the match as they put up three shots during an early powerplay, but Huskies goalie Matt Welsh (Halifax, NS) was sharp and turned away all three shots faced. After killing off the early penalty, the Huskies offence shifted into gear, and they outshot the Tigers 8-4 in the first frame but were unable to beat Tigers goalie Alexander MacDonald (Truro, NS).
The first 14 minutes of the second period were more of the same, with the Huskies having more opportunities than the visitors, but neither team able to find a go-ahead goal.
Just as the Tigers penalty expired, forward Cedric Ralph (Peterborough, ON) made a nice pass to a streaking Joel Bishop (St. John's, NL) who made a nifty deke on MacDonald, before beating him blocker side. Bishop's first of the campaign gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead with 5:38 remaining in the second period.
With less than a minute remaining in the second period, the Huskies doubled their lead with a powerplay goal, as defenceman Sam Dunn (Hamilton Township, ON) picked the puck up behind the net and played it out to Ben Higgins (Truro, NS), who quickly relayed it to forward Jonathan Hampton (Richmond Hill, ON) in the slot where he one-timed it past MacDonald to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead with 48 seconds remaining in the period.
The Huskies outshot the Tigers 14-5 in the second period, giving them a commanding 22-9 lead in shots on goal heading into the final frame.
The Tigers pushed to cut into the Huskies lead, but Welsh remained solid. With just over two minutes to go, Tigers head coach Chris Donnelly pulled MacDonald for the extra attacker, and MacPherson made him pay, with an impressive turn and no-look shot from his own goal line that traveled the length of the ice and into goal for his first tally of the season, extending the Huskies lead to 3-0.
Dalhousie forward Liam Peyton (Halifax, NS) was able to break Welsh's shutout bid with a goal with 51 seconds remaining in regulation, making the final score 3-1 in favour of the home team.
Huskies defenceman Sam Dunn (Hamilton Township, ON) was named Subway Player of the Game with two assists.
Welsh stopped 24 out of 25 shots faced for the Huskies, while MacDonald made 33 saves for the Tigers.
The Huskies win improved their record to 6-3-0 on the campaign. They'll be back on the road next weekend, heading to New Brunswick for a back-to-back against the Moncton Aigles Bleus (Fri. Nov. 11) and UNB REDS (Sat. Nov. 12). Both games scheduled to drop puck at 7 p.m.
The Tigers loss dropped their record to 1-8-1 on the season. They'll next play on Friday, Nov. 11, as they host the STFX X-Men at the Halifax Forum.