If the Tommies headed into the newly renovated Matthews Arena looking for a good fight they certainly found one. While the arena was not full, the fans who are in attendance are loud. With the final score being 7 to 5, STU hung with their opponent and can claim the moral victory based on several predictions of them losing soundly to top ranked NCAA competition.
STU took an early 1 to 0 lead 5 minutes into the first when Matt Eagles batted in a loose puck shortly after a Northeastern penalty expired. The Huskies responded by scoring the next 3, the first at 11:49, the second at 12:59 on a delayed penalty, and the third at 16:37. Ben MacFarlane got the start in net. Shots on goal are 21 to 5 for NU. Territorial play is all Huskies in the first with power play opportunities favouring NU 4 to 1, including a full 2 minute 4 on 3.
St. Thomas came out much better in the second period and scored right off the bat at the 28 second mark but NU scored two quick ones at 3:25 and 3:53 to pull away. The Huskies kept up the pressure on several power play opportunities but could not convert. Devan Praught scored STU's 3rd goal at 4:49 off a nice pass from Max Chamberland. Alex Labonte, with his second of the period, scored on the PP at the 11:00 mark to shrink the deficit to one. Shots on goal were 8 to 6 favouring Northeastern.
The third period saw Max Chamberland tie the score in the first minute but it wouldn't stand for long. The Huskies scored at 4:13 to regain the lead and again at 14:57 to finish out the scoring. The audio went out on the video feed around the 5 minute mark of the period and while I couldn't tell what the penalties were for, the Tommies spent most of the last 10 minutes in the box. STU killed off an entire 2 minutes of 5 on 3 and had several shorthanded opportunities late. Final shots on goal were 44 to 15. With the exception of the first period, the Tommies hung strong against a good opponent and certainly look to be on the upswing. Game recap and box score from gonu.com. The Huntington News: Huskies win wild exhibition affair over St. Thomas
St. Thomas heads to Connecticut to play Sacred Heart tomorrow afternoon. You can follow the game live with Gametracker. It starts at 4:30 Atlantic time.
Listening to the audio feed. Too bad our Tommies anouncers weren't there.
ReplyDeleteits not that bad being down by one going into the third against an NCAA power. Maybe the loss to UPEI was a fluke and the UNB game should have been closer.
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Funny hearing the "announcers" talk about the "goonery" of the Tommies. For all the Tommies' many faults, I don't think goonery is one of them. To quote Mike Milbury, the NCAA is an example of the "pansification" of the game of hockey if they're feeling bullied by the Tommies.
ReplyDeleteThat's a typical American refrain. Canadian teams are too rough. Having stated that, the Tommies are traditionally a team that spends way too much time in the penalty box.
ReplyDeleteThey need to be more disciplined, otherwise, their best players will be overtaxed simply killing penalties. You can't win like that.
Solid effort by STU...definitely kept it closer than I anticipated
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