Kenton Dulle, Mike Reich, and Tyler Dietrich did the damage tonight as the Wild West line combined for 5 points in a 2 to 1 victory over the Moncton Aigles Bleus.
The Tommies opened the scoring at 3:47 of the first period. Dietrich started the play in the neutral zone and fed Dulle, who delivered a nifty pass to Mike Reich. Reich went top shelf on Kevin Lachance for the goal. The Tommies hard working penalty kill, combined with Charles Lavigne's excellent goaltending, were also big factors in the win tonight, going a perfect 6 for 6 on the PK.
Moncton would get on the board at 7:17 of the second period when Francis Rochon finished off a Francois Marchand pass on a 2 on 1 rush. As good as the PK was for the Tommies, the PP unit was the exact opposite. STU squandered three and a half minutes of 5 on 3 powerplay play time late in the second period and early in the third.
Wasted opportunity could have been the story of the game until a mad scramble developed in front of the Blue Eagles net with only seconds remaining in the game. Dulle found the puck at the side of the crease and with soft hands deposited it behind Lachance before a Moncton player dislodged the net with less than 3 seconds left on the clock.
Kenton Dulle was the first star of the game and Charles Lavigne picked up second star honours. Final shots on goal favoured U de M 29 to 18.
Before the game St. Thomas remembered former Tommies defenceman Tony Carlisle with a moment of silence. A nice touch by the Tommies to wear Carlisle's #12 on their helmets and good to see our current #12, Tyler Dietrich, get 2 points on this special night. The proceeds from the 50/50 draw were donated to the Anthony Carlisle Memorial Trust fund, set up as an education fund for Tony's 4 children. The winner of the draw, Mel MacKenzie, a former Tommie himself, generously donated back the entire winnings. Well over $500 was raised between the draw and donations. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!
With the win the Tommies leap frog past Dalhousie, who fell to Saint Mary's 8 to 3, to regain the sixth and final playoff spot in the AUS. STU hosts the Tigers next Friday night at the LBR.
Daily Gleaner article. Check out this quote by Charles Lavigne..."Apparently having an X on your back is more of a badge of honor than anything else, though.
"I hope so," Lavigne said. "That's what I want. I want to be a target for other teams. It takes the pressure off other guys.""
How many times do you hear the goalie say that?
Charles - NO -.......Respectfully....SIR Charles.
On Friday night,January the 9th I decided to go watch Lakehead and the UWO stangs and listen to the the STU/UNB game on my laptop,Western is the #3 ranked and Lakehead the # 10th ranked in the Nation,the game was won by UWO 7-2,just for the record the Tommies would have beaten either team on that night and as for the respective rankings,just so much uninformed opinions.
ReplyDeleteI suggested once before that the National rankings should be simple ie just publish the current AUS standings as is and add any 2 other CIS teams at the end to fill out the top 10 and there you have it.
As a retired gentleman of leisure I make a point to see as many CIS hockey each year across the country and there is no better hockey being played in the CIS hockey than in Fredericton's backyard and STU's relative accomplishments need to be evaluated in those terms,ie 6th in the AUS is #1 in the OUA and probably #2 in the West.
Manitoba,so called the #7 in the country was beaten soundly by #10 Lakehead twice by large scores over the holidays and so I think that you can see what I mean.
The 3 results of the Tommies vs UNB this year is an example of what good coaching can do in playing winning style hockey resulting in sometimes discrepant total shots but games are decided on goals scored,so ALL ranters take note,the Tommies are realistically a couple of forwards and a couple of D-men away from rising from the pack and the AUS 6 or 7 is the new CIS top 4 or 5.
Fans get out and see for yourself,the best CIS hockey is being played by and in the AUS top to bottom and you can't beat it.Next weekends tilt vs Dal should be a fine example of that.
It is not a good idea to try and watch one game and listen on the internet to another,one's cheering gets all out of sinc.
Last nigh's late Tommie's victory was enjoyed here in London by a few fans as I listened to Randy and Harold.Lakehead lost again last night 8-3( #3 vs #10) which is really the new #11 & # 12.
One more point,I believe that I heard reported that a Moncton player dissloged the net in an attempt to have the winning goal dissallowed? if so ,I believe that there should have been a call for a penalty shot as less than 2 minutes left on the clock,can somebody clarify this and if so was everybody asleep at the switch except an internet listener in London,Ontario?
ReplyDeleteKenton Dulle= Clutch...im talking Jordan Eberle clutch last night.
ReplyDeleteI think we learned somethings last night.
1) Never forget your keys at the LBR (right Dan ;)
2) Charlie was stellar
3) We have a very good penalty kill
4) Not surprising when STU wins, the haters dont replay, but when they lose, especially to UNB, they are up in arms. Anyone? Anyone?
~Tommies Video Guy~
It was a great game and a good win.I was on the edge of my seat the last part of the third period.It was exciting and it was so great they scored like that.Even better are back in a playoff spot.
ReplyDeleteNice to see the amount of money raised for Tony's family.
OilSlick
Since you're calling me out, apologies for not rushing to my computer to post. I'm not a "hater" as you would suggest. I'm a fan. Being a fan shouldn't preclude the right to criticize. Yes, we do have a very good penalty kill. And yes, we do have an excellent goaltender, who could well be the best in the AUS and could have stats to prove it given the proper pieces in place to support him. Yes, Mike Eagles had a good recruiting year last summer. But there still exists a gaping hole of top end talent thanks to recruiting failures in years prior. Who thinks he can continue to climb out of the hole this summer? Anyone? Anyone?
ReplyDeleteWe have enough talent to get into the playoffs. We just need to cut down on the needless penalties (a lot of them were last night). We have a top end guy in Mathieu Melanson coming in, and maybe by name more guys will come back. In theory, we only lose Guy next year as the only 4th year guy logically. Things are on the upswing
ReplyDelete10 years ago, the Tommies would be a top threat in the conference. Trouble is, the conference has gotten so much better, so teams need to do what they can to keep pace. But there's lot of talented players here and if Mike can get another couple of good offensive players and a playmaking defenceman, the team will be in pretty good shape.
ReplyDeleteKenton Dulle is the best forward. Need 2 more as good or better, plus 2 defensemen, a playmaker and a physical/shutdown guy. Equal/improved versions of Andricopoulos & Tremblay. Melanson could well be 1 of those forwards.
ReplyDeleteLehr and Chamberland are also graduating
ReplyDeleteAgree, Lavigne might be the best goaltender in the Conference right now. He's certainly in the conversation. Whether the Tommies make the playoffs or not will depend largely on how his groin (and maybe his temper) hold up down the stretch.
ReplyDeleteThe Tommies can't keep letting him get run over, and I believe the groin is still fragile...he looked like he felt it a couple of times in the Moncton game.
I think the winner of the game Friday makes the playoffs.
Lavigne is hot-headed - emotional and quick to rise to bait. We will watch as year progresses whether that is a strength or becomes a weakness. But in terms of stopping puck, he does that well.
ReplyDeleteLavigne does a good job stopping the puck, but needs to keep temper in check, penalty kill is also good, power play sucks, usually they don't even get a shot because everyone wants the picture perfect goal and they end up losing the puck, need more enforcement on bench to keep penalties in check
ReplyDeletei am still laughing at the way Bureau and the Moncton fans were up in arms after Bureau slewfooted Lavinge right in front of the offical. It was unreal. One of those rare occasions when I yell across the ice at the fans on the other sides.
ReplyDelete~Tommies Video Guy~