Tommies Need Shootout to Complete Comeback Against Tigers

The second matchup of the season between the St. Thomas Tommies and the Dalhousie Tigers brought a mostly one-sided game, with a last minute comeback by the Tommies to secure the 3-2 win in a shootout.

St. Thomas had a strong opening shift; however, the Tigers quickly took control of the game at the Forum in Halifax, and held momentum for much of the first two periods. Isabella Weist would score the first goal early off a rebound and Kennedy Whelan would quickly add a second before the first period ended. The Tommies struggled to keep up with Dalhousie, walking off the wall in the defensive zone and were kept to only 8 shots in the opening frame, with a faceoff percentage of a mere 23%.

The second period brought continued pressure from Dalhousie, who were able to kill off all of STU's powerplays. Both teams were held scoreless, though the Tigers did their best to open the ice with a sneaky stretch pass on multiple occasions. The Tommies finally put the puck in the net in the third period as winger Erin Arsenault (Oakville, ON) walked out from the corner and ripped it top shelf. Her goal would give St. Thomas some momentum to finish the third, and veteran Olivia Reid (Aurora, ON) would tie it up with 1:07 remaining in the third period. Her quick one timer was the first time STU was able to capitalize on the powerplay, after having five man advantages earlier in the game.  

A tie game brought 3-on-3 over time, where the Tommies maintained their newfound momentum and had majority puck possession for the entire five minutes. Offensive pressure from the likes of Emma Pye (Oshawa, ON) and Mariah Carey (Avonsport, NS) made it an exciting watch, but ultimately the time ran out, leading to a shootout where goaltenders Caroline Pietroski (Etobicoke, ON) and Taylor Beam (Brooklin, ON) would face off. After both goalies stopped their first shots, assistant captain Lauren Legault (Elie, MB) would step onto the ice for STU. In her fifth year of eligibility, Legault has had her fair share of shootout opportunities, and says she "reflected on past shootouts and where I'd had success, and I was just thinking blocker side, blocker every time." She adds that she felt a lot of excitement from the bench, which gave her the energy to execute as planned, wiring it high blocker side. Her goal would be the game winning goal for STU as Pietroski would stop the next two shots from the Tigers.

The win improves STU's record to 8-7, as they hope to pick up another two points against St. Francis Xavier University in their last game of 2021. Today's matchup marked the last regular season game of the first half for the Tigers, who won't have to wait long to challenge St. Thomas once again, as they face off in the first game of the second half on January 7^th at the Grant Harvey Centre. 

 Recap: Martina Barclay