Written by Troy Langstaff
HALIFAX, NS - Dalhousie forward Emma Bishop scored twice as the Dalhousie Tigers took down the Saint Mary's Huskies 2-1 at the Dauphinee Centre on Wednesday night.
The hosting Huskies got out to a quick start and controlled the flow of play in the first period but were unable to break through on the scoreboard. Chances by Abby McCarthy (Falmouth, NS), Kara MacLean (Antigonish, NS), and Erin Denny (Eskasoni, NS) were all stopped by Maggie Baxter (Mahone Bay, NS) who was the Tigers best player in the opening frame. Shots were 9-0 in favour of SMU at the first intermission.
Dalhousie got an early powerplay in the second period when McCarthy headed to the penalty box for roughing. The Tigers made quick work of the advantage when Emma Bishop (Bedford, NS) deflected the Olivia Eustace (Riverview, NB) shot underneath Ridleigh Hansen (Red Deer, AB) for the game's first goal.
Huskies star forward Shae Demale (Red Deer, AB) found herself in the box minutes later but this time the Huskies were able to kill it off. As the penalty expired and Demale exited the box, she stole the puck in the neutral zone, went in on a breakaway and fired the shot off the crossbar.
SMU's Mary McDonald (Calgary, AB) had a chance late in the period to tie the game. She got a quick pass into the slot and made a quick move to the backhand but just missed the net. Shots were 11-7 SMU after two periods.
The Huskies looked to even things up quickly in the third period but shots by Eve Leblanc (Petit-Rocher, NB) and Demale rang off the post just seconds apart. The Tigers got the momentum back after a successful penalty kill and midway through the frame Dahousie's Kennedy Whelan (Alliston, ON) forced the puck off the SMU defender. Bishop swooped by, scooped up the puck and fired a hard accurate shot into the top right corner to double the visiting team's lead.
Saint Mary's wouldn't go away and just three minutes later MacLean slid a one timer shot inside the right post to bring the game to 2-1.
Even with an extra attacker the Huskies were unable to get another goal by Baxter as the Tigers held on to win 2-1 and clinch a playoff spot.
Final shots were 38-9 in favour of the Huskies. Tigers goaltender Maggie Baxter was excellent with 37 saves on the night.
Dalhousie's Emma Bishop earned Subway Player of the Game honours with a pair of goals.
The Tigers win improves their record to 11-8-1 on the season. They'll be back in action on Saturday night, hosting the Moncton Aigles Bleues, with puck-drop scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Civic Arena.
The Huskies loss drops their record to 13-9-1 on the season. They'll be back on home ice on Friday night, as they host the Moncton Aigles Bleues, with puck-drop scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Dauphinee Centre.