Tigers fall to Huskies, 5-4
Shaun Miller recorded a goal and an assist in the loss on Saturday
Written by Allan April, SMU Huskies
HALIFAX, NS – The Saint Mary's Huskies scored four unanswered third period goals to defeat the Dalhousie Tigers 5-4 in Atlantic University Sport Men's Hockey action on Saturday night at the Dauphinee Centre in Halifax.
It was the Tigers who hit the scoreboard first, with both teams down a man. In four-on-four action, defenceman Jackson van de Leest (Kelowna, BC) ran a give-and-go with forward Shaun Miller (Enfield, NS), beating Huskies goaltender Matt Welsh (Halifax, NS) blocker side to put the visitors ahead 1-0 just 2:56 into the first period.
The Tigers would double their lead midway through the period, as Shaun Miller broke out on a two-on-one with Drew Johnston (Saint John, NB) and kept it for himself, sniping a low shot past Welsh to put the visitors ahead 2-0.
The Huskies would cut into the lead just two minutes later, as they got a powerplay opportunity and forward Reid Valade (Caledon, ON) pounced on a rebound off of a shot from Jaxon Bellamy (Hampton, NB). Valade's seventh goal of the season cut the lead to 2-1 with just over seven minutes remaining in the period.
The Huskies outshot the Tigers 20-10 through the first 20 minutes, but Dalhousie goaltender Nicholas Chenard (Tecumseh, ON) was outstanding with 19 saves, and the visitors took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
The second period saw the Tigers add to their lead as Drew Johnston scored his first career AUS goal off a nice passing play, with assists to Joseph Serpa (Cambridge, ON) and Josh Wainman (Peterborough, ON), giving the visitors a 3-1 lead just under four minutes into the second.
The Huskies had several opportunities over the next 15 minutes but were unable to beat Chenard in the Tigers nets.
Late in the third period, the Huskies seemed to get an opportunity to cut into the lead after Tigers defenceman Jarrett Baker (Black Rock, NS) was given a game misconduct for head contact. But on the ensuing Huskies powerplay, it would be the Tigers who scored again, as forward Barrett Kirwin (Barrie, ON) stole the puck from the Huskies and ran a perfect two-on-one with Evan MacKinnon (Beaverbank, NS) with the shorthanded goal pushing the lead to 4-1.
The Tigers outshot the Huskies 14-9 in the second period, and took a 4-1 lead into the second intermission, despite being outshot them 29-24.
Facing a three-goal deficit, the Huskies didn't wait long to start their comeback efforts in the third period. Forward Bradey Johnson (Lindsay, ON) fired a shot off of the Tigers post, and the rebound caromed off the body of Liam Van Loon (London, ON) for his second goal in as many games, cutting the lead to 4-2.
Seven minutes later the Huskies had a powerplay opportunity and Reid Valade teed up forward Ben Allison (Halifax, NS) for a wicked one-timer, beating Chenard high over his shoulder to cut the lead to 4-3, 11:15 into the third period.
The Huskies offence kept on coming and would tie it up less than two minutes later, as Allison found Charlie Dafonseca (Thornhill, ON) for a one-timer of his own, with his bullet shot beating Chenard for his sixth goal of the season.
With the game now tied up, there was wild action on both sides with Welsh and Chenard both making ten bell saves to keep their teams in the hunt.
With less than a minute remaining and both teams pressing for a go-ahead goal, it would be the Huskies that found their first and last lead of the night, as captain Andrew Coxhead (Bedford, NS) won the puck along the boards and played a pass back to forward Declan McDonnell (Buffalo, NY), who connected with a one-timer shot that deflected over the pad of Chenard to put the home team ahead 5-4 with 57 seconds remaining in regulation.
Huskies forward Declan McDonnell was named Player of the Game with the game-winning goal and an assist, and his linemates Ben Allison and Reid Valade also posted two point nights.
The Huskies outshot the Tigers 48-28 on the night, with Welsh turning away 24 saves for the win, while Chenard was outstanding with 43 saves in defeat.
The Huskies win improves their record to 13-10-0-1 on the season, and clinches a spot in the AUS Men's Hockey playoffs. Saint Mary's will hit the road to New Brunswick next weekend to take on the U SPORTS #1 ranked UNB REDS (24-0-0-0) on Friday and Moncton Aigles Bleus (13-8-3-0) on Saturday, with both games scheduled to drop the puck at 7 p.m.
The Tigers loss drops their record to 6-16-2-0 on the season. They'll be back on the road on Wednesday as they visit the St. FX X-Men (11-12-1-0) at 7 p.m. in Antigonish, NS.