STU Awards

The St. Thomas University Athletics Banquet was held tonight, with the men's and women's hockey awards among those handed out. The Friends of STU announced the winner of this year's Tommy Hughes Award at a pre-banquet reception.

Women's Hockey

Most Valuable Player - Kayla Blackmore
Rookie of the Year - Amy Kelbaugh
Most Improved Player - Amanda Burns
Defensive Player of the Year - Lucrece Nussbaum

Men's Hockey

Most Valuable Player - Kenton Dulle
Rookie of the Year - Kenton Dulle
Unsung Hero - Scott Judson
Most Sportsmanlike Player - Devan Praught
Top Defenseman - Erick Tremblay
Tommy Hughes Award - Ryan Lehr

Also, the Men's Hockey Team was honoured with the Leroy Washburn Community Service Award.

Congratulations to all.

Jean Bourbeau called up to AHL Sound Tigers

Jean Bourbeau has been recalled to the AHL Bridgeport Sound Tigers from the Odessa Jackalopes of the Central Hockey League - Sound Tigers Article and Odessa Jackalopes. We would like to give a tap of our stick to UNBHockeyfans.com for pointing out this story.

"Bourbs" was set to start the playoffs last night for his first place Odessa team before he got called up to the AHL. Jean signed a two way contract with Bridgeport last fall.

Check out this 2 page article by Scott Reeves on Bourbeau. You can get a good sense on how tough minor pro hockey can be. Here is a little self promotion for STU from the article.

he played hockey in Canada at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The rigorous conditioning program at the school was designed to build flexibility and bulk. He graduated with a degree in psychology, but wanted to take a shot at hockey before going to graduate school. That desire took him to Odessa, Texas and the Jackalopes.

Way to go Bourbs. By the way, with Bourbeau out of the line-up, the Jackalopes were upset in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Texas Brahmas. They lost 5 to 2.

Jason Cassidy’s Blog: Head shot change must come from players

The latest from Jason Cassidy. Here is a little teaser.

With four weeks remaining in the season while I was working on a blog about head shots in the Canadian League, I – ironically enough – suffered a concussion. It’s my fifth (that I can remember) and I’ve been sidelined ever since. Throughout the entire recent media blitz over hits to the head, the long-term effects of concussions began to weigh on my mind. At what point should I make a decision to keep playing or shut it down? When should I begin to value the most important organ in my body? And who is responsible for making that decision?

For Jason's full story check out his blog at The Hockey News.

Were the '09-'10 Squirrels the best ever?

It's a slow time of year and this is an interesting AUS and CIS debate. Evan Daum over at the "South Campus Sports" blog looks at a few other teams that may test "the best ever team in CIS history that never won" theory as Bruce Hallihan of the Daily Gleaner put it last week.

Here is a quote.

While the series win by St. FX could very well go down as one of the biggest playoff upsets in CIS men’s hockey history, the most recent version of the V-Reds wasn’t the best team that never won.

That distinction goes to a team that UNB beat back in 2003/04 at the national tournament — the Alberta Golden Bears who were 40–0–2 heading into nationals. FULL BLOG POST

Interesting article, I hope all you CIS hockey fans enjoy it. Nice work Evan.

Lehr signs with Bucks, Chamberland with Americans

CIS All Canadian defenceman Ryan Lehr has signed a pro contract with the Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League.

"We needed to improve our defense and Lehr was one of the guys we have been looking at to bring in here," said Bucks President/General Manager and Head Coach Terry Ruskowski. "He’s a solid two-way defenseman who can help us down the stretch." Full Story

GOOD LUCK RYAN and thanks from Tommies fans.

UPDATE: Ryan scored a goal in his first professional game, a 6-1 win versus the Allen Americans. Of course Allen is where Justin Bowers is playing but what is also interesting to note is that Maxim Chamberland is also playing with the Americans. Thursday's Allen vs. Laredo boxscore.

Chamberland was signed on Tuesday. From an Allen press release "Forward Liam Huculak and blueliner Chris Kaufman were placed on 14-day injured reserve Monday, retroactive to Feb. 25 and Feb. 27 respectively. The Americans signed forward Maxim Chamberland today to fill the vacancy."

Moncton brings STU's season to a close

It wasn't to be. The Tommies fought down to the last seconds but first place Moncton skated away with a 3-1 victory in tonight's AUS semi-final.

UdeM sniper, Marieve Provost, opened the scoring at 5:41 of the first by weaving around a STU defenceman and tucking the puck between the legs of Julia Sharun. It was the only goal of the period in which UdeM out shot STU 14-8.

The Tommies would tie the game at 11:01 of the second when Katie Brewster took the Courtney Fox pass from centre, gained the blue line and passed the puck to Kayla Blackmore. Blackmore would take a few steps and fire a laser beam top shelf past a bewildered Kathy Desjardins in the Moncton net. Unfortunately the Tommies would surrender a goal 50 seconds later to Kristine Labrie that proved to be the winner. Moncton would score again at 11:10 of the third to salt this one away.

Moncton out shot St. Thomas 37-22 on the night.

With the loss St. Thomas hockey is done for another season.

Daily Gleaner: Tommies come up short in AUS women's hockey

Tommies force showdown tomorrow

With a convincing 5-1 victory over the UPEI Panthers tonight, the St. Thomas Tommies set up a showdown tomorrow evening versus Les Aigles Bleuse. Lyse Rossignol had a goal and 2 assists to help lead the Tommies charge.

The first period saw St. Thomas handle the Panthers but not able to get anything by UPEI goalie Kristy Dobson. It was UPEI that scored first when Tessa Roach banged one past Julia Sharun in tight at 11:25. Shots were 12-7 favouring STU after the first.

The Tommies came out firing in the second frame. STU was on the powerplay early when Lucrece Nussbaum fed Kayla Blackmore down low, who fired a pass to a waiting Lyse Rossignol in front of the Panthers net for the tying marker. St. Thomas would surge ahead at 8:05 when Kayla Blackmore sniped one top corner from Charity Walls and Katie Brewster. Sweet Caroline Hammerheim would increase the lead when she deflected the Jessica Holt point shot on the PP at 17:05. Rossignol collected the other assist feeding Holt at the point. Shots favoured UPEI 11-8. Many of the shots came as a result of an extended 2 man PP that the Panthers were unable to capitalize on.

UPEI received more of the same treatment in the third period when Dominique Bernier made a sweet move just in side the blue line and scored on the breakaway. Lyse Rossignol made a great pass up to her and Jillian Coughlin got the other helper. The goal was on the PP at 8:06. At 16:37, again on the PP, Katie Brewster whacked one in off a scramble in front of the net with assists to Bernier and Coughlin. Final shots on goal were 34-26 for STU. Julia Sharun picks up the win.

Tomorrow night, 7PM the Battle of New Brunswick will take place and will determine who goes to the AUS finals.

GO TOMMIES GO

Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues coach Denis Ross knows what to expect from the St. Thomas Tommies.

Tommies play a solid and disciplined defensive system, making it difficult for opposing teams to sustain any attack, Ross said last night.

Aigles Bleues square off against the Tommies tonight in the Subway Atlantic University Sport women's hockey conference championship tournament. Game time is 7 p.m. at the J-Louis Levesque Arena.

Times & Transcript - Aigles Bleues face Tommies

Tommies versus the UPEI Panthers in Game #4

The St. Thomas Tommies will play their first game of the AUS Championship playoffs versus the University of PEI Panthers tomorrow night at 7 PM. The Panthers lost to the defending champion and host team the UdeM Aigles Bleues 6-2 tonight.

The game can be heard on CHSR but will be tape delayed and can be heard immediately following the UNB vs. St-FX men's playoff game. The games will also be webcast by Aliant and you can watch live HERE.

GO TOMMIES!!!

Daily Gleaner: Olympian scheduled to be in STU lineup tonight

CIS women's hockey weekly

Just wanted to post this week's edition of CIS women's hockey weekly, courtesy of SSN Canada.

Also posting now as the USA/Canada Gold medal game just finished. A few things that I noted. 1.) The pride of Canadians when it comes to hockey. Sex of the player is irrelevant, as it should be. 2.) The class of Team USA and how the pro-Canadian Vancouver crowd showed their respect to a great hockey team. 3.) Team Finland - how proud they were to receive the bronze medal. I was struck by the comments of Cassie Campbell, who said something along the lines of, it isn't enough anymore just to have a men's team and be considered a hockey nation.

Nussbaum, Kelbaugh, and Wolfe garner AUS honours

Lucrece Nussbaum, fresh from a 5th place finish at the Olympics, has been named a 2nd team all-star on defence.

Speedy Amy Kellbaugh and Kristin Wolfe have both been named to the AUS rookie squad.

CHSR plans to cover St. Thomas games at this weekend's tournament in Moncton.

AUS Story

The Daily Gleaner gives us a great run down in today's edition. Swiss Olympian named 2nd team AUS all-star

Olympics - Team Switzerland 2 vs. Russia 1

With a little help from St. Thomas Tommies standout defenceman Lucrece Nussbaum, the Swiss Olympic hockey team captured 5th place at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, with a 2-1 shoot out victory over Russia.

Lukey had the first assist on Switzerland's only goal, registered 3 SOG, and played just under 29 minutes of ice time. CONGRATULATIONS ON A VERY SUCCESSFUL OLYMPIC GAMES!!!

With 1 goal, 2 assists, and a bucket full of minutes played against some of the world's best hockey players, Lukey led her team's defence with 3 points during the games. She should be returning to Fredericton on Thursday!!

WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!

Mike Sanderson - STU Journalism reports

A couple of great pieces by our very own music director of the St. Thomas Tommies hockey games. Great work Mike.....GO LEAFS...Thumbs up!

Jason Cassidy's Vlog - On the Road: challenges of being a student athlete

Another interesting piece by STU Journalism student Jason Cassidy.

Moncton powers past Tommies

In the regular season finale at the LBR, the story of the game was Moncton's potent powerplay and STU's missed opportunities. Five on five the Tommies were equal to or better than the Blue Ealges but the extra attacker propelled UdeM with all 3 goals and almost one quarter of their shots.

The first period was scoreless with STU holding the better of the play out shooting Moncton 13-10. The Tommies had 4 glorious chances to take the lead but UdeM's goalie Kathy Desjardin was the difference maker.

In the second frame les Aigles Bleues scored on the PP at 6:49 when Janelle Ouellete fired the puck from the left face-off circle and Kristine Labrie potted the goal off a perfect deflection. Valerie Boisclair would get the next power play goal at 16:58 from Kristine Labrie. STU out shot Moncton in the second period 7-6.

Captain Dominique Bernier would get STU close at 9:17 of the third when she fired home the Jillian Couglin pass to make it 2 to 1. Janelle Ouelette would round out the scoring at 12:54 beating Julia Sharun in tight. Final shots favoured the Tommies 30-26.

With the loss the Tommies do finish in fourth position but this ultimately may be a small blessing. STU should be in the same pool as UPEI and Moncton at the playoff tournament being hosted by UdeM next weekend. If the Tommies make it to the finals against St-FX they will receive the automatic backdoor berth to nationals being hosted by the X-Women.

Olympics - Team Switzerland 6 vs. China 0

Lucrece Nussbaum scored her first Olympic goal and Switzerland's third goal of the game (on the PP), as the Swiss cruised to an easy 6-0 victory over China. The Swiss will have one more game to play versus Russia to determine 5th place, game time is 1 AM (AST) on Tuesday morning/Monday night.

Lukey has consistently had 20 minutes of ice time per game in Vancouver and is on the second defence pairing for Team Switzerland. In last night's game she registered the goal, 2 shots on net, and 19:22 in ice time. Olympic box score

Please rest assured we will be looking for video of this goal.

Tommies slip back to fourth

The Tommies lose 4-1 to UPEI tonight on the Island, couple that with Saint Mary's 4-2 win versus Dalhousie, and STU sits one point back of the Huskies for third spot in the league.

St. Thomas out shot the Panthers 24-17. STU's only goal came off the stick of Kathleen Boyle (Bernier, Kelbaugh) at 15:05 of the second period making the game 2-1 at the time. PEI would score one more in the second and one more in the third for the 4-1 final. Julia Sharun takes the loss in net.

Next game for STU is Sunday afternoon at 3 PM against first place Moncton. This will be the Tommies final home game of the season.

Olympics - Team Switzerland 5 vs. Slovakia 2

Lucrece Nussbaum registered an assist and another 20 minutes of ice time as the Swiss finish round robin play in Vancouver with 1 win and 2 losses. They will have to wait for the winner of Russia vs. China to see who their opponent will be in the final classification games before the medal round begins. Team Switzerland finished 3rd in group A. Standings

UPDATE: Received a comment in the Tombits post below that stated Lukey deserves her own mention and shouldn't have to share. They were right and here it is.

As a result of Russia's 2-1 win versus the Chinese, the Swiss will play China in the classification game Saturday at 8:30 AST. If they win, it is off to the medal round.

Tombits

Bill Hunt makes a suggestion: This is in Bill's article today; "The blog run by a couple of St. Thomas Tommies fans is back in business and taking comments again after a period in which the comment section was closed.

The anonymous assembly has been calling, in no uncertain terms, for the skull of head coach and athletic director Mike Eagles as they digest a last-place finish in the Atlantic University Sport Men's Hockey Conference.

The pleas are vehement and they are passionate, but they are anonymous. And so they don't, or they shouldn't, carry any credibility among those who make decisions.

As long as the comments are all "anonymous," we have no way of knowing whether there are eight or 80 or 800 disgruntled denizens of Tommie nation.

I'd attach a lot more credibility to the movement if they signed a petition, say, and attached a $100 bill - or whatever a season pass costs at St. Thomas these days - saying they would be prepared to buy a pass with the attached if there were going to be changes to the hockey program. Then we'd see how strong the opposition is and how sincere the cyber mob really is. And now, until events warrant otherwise, I am hereby finished discussing men's hockey at St. Thomas University until September or so."

To sum it up, put your money where your mouth is.

Daily Gleaner: "Eagles determined to keep dual role": You can read Bruce Hallihan's full story HERE.

CIS women's hockey weekly

Some much deserved media attention for CIS women's hockey. John Bower and Stuart Bowlen team up and do a great job going over the week that was in CIS women's hockey. A few clips of Sunday's shoot out win versus Saint Mary's included, so check it out.

Also interesting to note that this past weekend was not a great one for those CIS teams looking to have a perfect season. Not only did UNB lose to St-FX locally in men's play but the Laurier Golden Hawks were denied perfection by the Windsor Lancers in women's action. Nice accomplishments by both teams nevertheless.

Video from SSN Canada at http://www.ssncananda.ca/

Olympics - Team Switzerland 1 vs. Canada 10

Lucrece Nussbaum and Team Switzerland hung with the powerful Canadian team for a while but ultimately the better team pulled away in the third period. Lukey played well and had 20 minutes of ice time, 4 penalty minutes, and was a minus 3. Game information and Pre-game CBC Vancouver article

Final game of the round robin for the Swiss is Wednesday versus Slovakia. GO LUKEY!

Third place battle won by Tommies

The St. Thomas Tommies and Saint Mary's Huskies were tied at the start of the day with 24 points apiece in the AUS standings but by the end of it someone was going to be all alone at number 3. It was the Tommies, as they picked up the hard fought 4 - 3 shoot out win against a tough Huskies team.

The game was a battle right from puck drop and felt almost like a playoff match up. STU would score the only goal of the first period when Caroline Hammerheim roofed a shot from the side of the net just after a PP expired with the only assist going to Kathleen Boyle. Shots favoured STU 13 to 7 in the period.

The Huskies would tie the score at 11:56 of the second when Melissa Young scored on a breakaway off a nice set up from the side boards from Danielle MacDougall. Shortly after that Kayla Blackmore was sprung on a breakaway but Jillian MacIsaac in the SMU net made a great save. Katie Brewster would bang one home in tight and regain the STU lead at 14:57 on the PP with helpers to Lyse Rossignol and Dominique Bernier. The second ended 2-1 and the shots were 12 - 6 for St. Thomas.

STU opened the scoring in the third at 1:26 as Katie Brewster scored her second of the day on the PP with Courtney Fox and Lyse Rossignol collecting the assists. Saint Mary's wouldn't fold their tent as Kaitlyn Abbass scored with a low shot at 8:48 and Kyla Thurston scored on a partial break away at 10:16 to tie the game. Shots were 10 to 7 for SMU.

Overtime solved nothing, so it went to a shoot out. Shots in OT were STU 2 for a game total of 34 and SMU 4 for a total of 29.

Here is how the shoot out went. Julia Sharun in net for STU, Jillian MacIsaac for SMU.

The Tommies scored on their first three shots, Dominique Bernier, Lyse Rossignol, and Kayla Blackmore. Caroline Hammerhiem missed on attempt #4, although there was some debate.

SMU's Kayla Thurston missed, Kori Cheverie scored, Lauren McCusker missed, and Danielle MacDougall missed.

Julia Sharun picks up the big win for the Tommies, who now sit all alone in third place, one point up on the Huskies. Next weekend St. Thomas plays UPEI on the Island and Sunday February 21st at home against our number 1 rival the U de M Aigles Bleues. We will wait and see if all-star Lucrece Nussbaum will be back from Vancouver for this one.

Men's and women's hockey story from The Daily Gleaner.

In other Tommies related news "The Has-Been Tommies", comprised of Catherine Boudreau, Rebekah Thompson, Amy MacLennan, Sarah Braam, and Kristina O'Brien, captured the championship in the inaugural women's division of the World Pond Hockey tournament in Plaster Rock, NB. Final score was 11-6. Photo and Daily Gleaner article

Season ends for Tommies with loss

The Tommies finished their season in Halifax with a 7-4 loss to the Saint Mary's Huskies. There is no way to sugar coat this folks, we miss the play offs for the second straight year and finish with a 7-19-2 record good for 16 points.

Scoring for the Tommies tonight were Jordan Scott with his first of the season, Scott Judson, Devan Praught, and Kenton Dulle.

Comments have been turned back on. STU fans, we are just like you...frustrated and tired but take a few minutes and think about what you are saying. Vent your frustrations but Please, if someone is an optimist, let them be. And for you optimists, let the frustrated fans be as well. We are all in this together. I don't think the powers that be read this anyway. It was just a fun way to support our hockey teams, it was never envisioned to be what it has become. Just getting tired, that's all.

Olympics - Team Switzerland 0 vs. Sweden 3

The Swiss women and the Tommies own Lucrece Nussbaum fell this afternoon to Sweden 3 - 0 at the Vancouver Olympics.

In 19 minutes and 21 seconds of ice time today, Lukey was a -1 but was solid.

Next game for Switzerland is against Team Canada on Monday afternoon. GO CANADA...sorry Lukey.

Women's hockey keeps growing in NB

Everywhere you look these days the opportunity for women to play the best sport in the world continues to grow. From Timbits in minor hockey right up to the University level, females playing hockey isn't the "surprise" it once was.

For example the annual World Pond Hockey tournament held in Plaster Rock, NB has added a women's division for the first time. A team comprised of former Tommies currently hold top spot at the tournament. We have our fingers crossed that Catherine Boudreau, Amy Nelson, Rebecca Connors and Sarah Braamm can bring home the championship and have "Has-Been-Tommies" (all former St. Thomas players) added as the inaugural winners of this tournament.

Daily Gleaner: Has-Been-Tommies are exact opposite on Pond

Axemen nail Tommies' coffin shut

This cruel hockey season is almost over for the Tommies. With a 5-2 loss at the hands of Acadia the Tommies are confined to the AUS basement and no chance at a playoff position.

Scoring for the Tommies this evening were Corey Banfield and Devan Praught. Shots on goal were 37 to 37. It really doesn't matter but the Tommies could not catch a break tonight to save themselves....literally. It was 1-1 after one, 3-1 after two, and your 5-2 final.

The comments have been closed on this post. Give it a rest for a while people and calm down for a bit.

Daily Gleaner: Tommies run out of chances, officially out ouf AUS playoffs

The Paradoxical Commandments

The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

Tombits

Nussbaum ready to roll: Although Lukie hurt her knee during the her last game before leaving for Vancouver, she will be playing for the Swiss at the Olympics. Here is a LINK to the Swiss roster. Here is a LINK to leave a message and wish Lucrece GOOD LUCK. The site is in German but is easy enough to understand.

Final weekend of regular season for men: Pending a miracle, we are looking at our last weekend of men's hockey until next fall. There certainly are some passionate STU fans out there and Dave Ritchie talks about the "vitriolic commentary" on this website concerning Coach Mike Eagles in his column today.

Women's weekend update: The Lady Tommies should be able to ice three complete forward lines on Sunday for the first time in several weeks. It was something else to see only five bodies on the bench during play against PEI a few weeks ago. The back end will still be light as Coach Murphy expects only four D will start. Jessica Holt could see spotty action, as she returns from her leg injury, but no one is rushing it. Kristin Wolfe will dress against SMU on Sunday but will back up all-star Julia Sharun.

Big game for the Ladies versus Saint Mary's as they sit two points back of the Tommies with one game in hand. Provided the game is won in regulation, we will be tied or sit four points up on the Huskies.

U de M runs over Tommies

Several of the walking wounded played this afternoon for the Lady Tommies but it was Moncton that walked away with the win, defeating the Tommies 5 - 2. Charity Walls, Jessica Holt, and Katie Brewster were all in the line up.

It didn't take long for the Aigles Bleues to get rolling. Janie LeBlanc scored 18 seconds into the game to stake Moncton to the early lead. It would grow 77 seconds later as Moncton crashed the net and Marieve Provost scored for the two goal cushion. In fact they crashed the net and goalie so hard that Kristin Wolfe had to be taken to the hospital. She suffered a concussion and bruised spine. The goal stood and Julia Sharun was forced to take over less than two minutes into the game. Marieve Provost, with her second of the game, would score at 15:31 to widen the gap to 3. Shots favoured Moncton 11-8.

The second period would see U de M surge ahead by four goals at 1:32 off the stick of Janelle Ouellette. That was the only goal of the period as Moncton out shot St. Thomas 8-5.

STU would counter early in the third when Katie Brewster snapped a quick shot from the low slot for a goal at the 42 second mark with the hard earned assists going to Charity Walls and Dominique Bernier. Moncton's Kristine Labrie would regain the four goal margin at 11:32. Charity Walls countered at 17:08 from Kayla Blackmore and Katie Brewster to make it a 5-2 UdeM victory.

Final shots were 34 to 19 for Moncton with St. Thomas' power play unit going 0 for 3 and the PK unit a perfect 6 for 6. STU still sits 2 points up on Saint Mary's for third in the AUS. The Huskies defeated Dalhousie 3-1 this afternoon. T & T article

Tommies on life support after loss to SMU

The Tommies faint playoff hopes took another hit tonight as STU lost to the Saint Mary's Huskies 5-2. With the loss, coupled with Dalhousie's loss to UNB this evening, the Tommies are still mathematically alive but with an extremely weak pulse.

Kenton Dulle opened the scoring at 8:07 with a shorthanded breakaway goal. SMU evened the score on the same powerplay at 8:36. The Huskies out shot the Tommies 14-10 in the first.

The Huskies Patrick O'Keefe scored the only goal of the second period at 5:09. It was 2-1 for SMU after two periods and STU was out shot 14-8.

Things got worse in the third with 3 consecutive Huskies' goals at 3:33, 7:59 and 11:42 to increase the lead to 5-1. Devan Praught gave the Tommies something to cheer about with his goal at 17:03 but it was too little, too late, as St. Thomas dropped the game 5-2. Final shots on goal were 41-27.

The Tommies are four points back of Dalhousie heading into the final weekend with Acadia and Saint Mary's on the road. STU needs four points and needs the Tigers and Les Aigles Bleus to go pointless in their final two games. DG: STU in need of a miracle

Tommies edge Mounties

The Lady Tommies fought through their short bench and defeated Mt. Allison 1-0 in Sackville this evening. Julia Sharun faced 24 shots for the shut out victory.

There was no scoring in the first period with both teams registering 8 shots. The Tommies picked it up in the second frame out shooting the Mounties 13 - 8 but STU could not solve Jennelle Hulan in the Mt. Allison net.

In the third period STU came out strong and were finally rewarded at 12:15 when Kayla Blackmore carried the puck over the the Mt. A blue line, Kelley Matthews drove to the net bringing two defenders with her. This allowed Sweet Caroline Hammerheim to go unchecked on the far side and when Blackmore's shot rebounded, Hammerheim shot the puck home. This was all Sharun would need as the Tommies dominated the third out shooting the Mounties 22-8.

Charity Walls and Jessica Holt did not dress for this game. Next action for the Ladies will be Sunday afternoon in Moncton against first place U de M.

UPDATE: Jason Cassidy passed along the original CBC audio interview that led to the Aquinian feature we linked to in this week's Tombits. Enjoy on YouTube.

Tommies comeback Axed

The STU Tommies fell to the Acadia Axemen 6-4 tonight at the LBR, casting a deeper pall on their playoff hopes. Though the Tommies put forth their best effort in several games, a lack of discipline was their downfall.

STU started out strong as Corey Banfield continued his good play since his return to the lineup, beating Axemen goaltender Kris Westblom on a wrist shot to make it 1-0. Acadia responded as David Lomas tapped home a pass from behind the net at 18:57 to even the score at 1-1. Westblom stoned Kenton Dulle late in the first, then time ran out on an Acadia 2-on-1 chance and the period ended with the teams tied. STU outshot Acadia 11-7 in the opening frame.

The teams played even through the first half of the second, but Lomas took advantage of the rebound off a Jonathan Laberge shot on the power play at 11:30 to give Acadia the 2-1 lead. Adam McIllwraith beat Charles Lavigne after a centering pass to give the Axemen a 3-1 lead at 16:51. Acadia outshot STU 13-6 in the second period.

The Tommies made it interesting in the third as Corey Banfield scored to pull the Tommies to within a goal at 3:58, but then penalty trouble became STU's undoing as Spencer Jezegou scored 12 seconds into a 2-man advantage to restore Acadia's two goal lead. Kenton Dulle received both a 10-minute and a game misconduct at 9:43. At 12:45, Tyler Dietrich received a 5-minute cross checking major and traded roughing minors with Westblom. Dietrich also received a game misconduct. On the ensuing major penalty Andrew Clark scored to give the Axemen a 5-2 lead. After digging themselves a huge hole, STU began the comeback with Devan Praught persevering, recovering the puck after a Westblom pokecheck to score into the empty net to make it 5-3. With Lavigne on the bench for the extra attacker, a nice centering pass from Andrew Andricopoulos found Alex Labonte in front of the net, who beat Westblom with a wrist shot to pull the Tommies to within a goal. However, the Tommies could not completely erase the deficit, as Philippe Bertrand scored into the empty net with 30 seconds remaining to seal the 6-4 win for Acadia. Shots on goal in the third favoured the Axemen 8-7, who outshot the Tommies 28-24 overall.

With the loss, STU remains 4 points back of 6th place Dalhousie, who lost 5-3 to UPEI, and fall 2 points back of Moncton, who lost to Saint Mary's 3-2 in overtime. With only 3 games remaining in the regular season, the situation is dire for the Tommies as they face #10 ranked Saint Mary's tomorrow night at the LBR at 7pm. Daily Gleaner: Eagles 'embarrassed' by display

Tombits

Ladies still shorthanded: The Tommies are in Sackville tomorrow evening to take on the last place Mt Allison Mounties. Perhaps it is easy to dismiss this game as a "gimme" but the Tommies will likely be down in numbers with Lyse Rossignol and Charity Walls being game time decisions. Jillian Coughlin, Jessica Holt, and Lucrece Nussbaum will be out of the line up. Julia Sharun will get the start in net. DG - Bill Hunt speaks with Coach Murphy

Men down but not out: The Tommies sit four point back of Dalhousie for the final play off position. Fourth ranked Acadia visit on Friday night and tenth ranked Saint Mary's on Saturday. Have a look around the LBR on Saturday to spot all the unfamiliar faces coming out to see the Mike Danton show. Daily Gleaner: Banfield knows feeling of winning Stanley Cup

STU's Olympian: Fresh from the Aquinian, Jason Cassidy catches up Lucrece Nussbaum, who will represent Switzerland at the Vancouver Olympics.

Panthers scratch away at Tommies playoff hopes

With a play off position slowly slipping from their grasp the Tommies couldn't get the needed W on PEI. The Panthers took the game 5 to 2.

The only goal in the first period was scored on the PP at 9:22 by Chad Locke. Corey Banfield rang one off the post during a PP but STU could not capitalize on three man advantages in the period. Shots were 11 to 7 for UPEI.

Matt Carter scored early in the 2nd period on the PP and Thomas Waugh at 16:47 for a 3 to 0 Panthers lead. Brad Gallant narrowed the lead 21 seconds later on a nice pass from Wes Welcher and Andrew Estey. Shots on goal were 13 to 12 for UPEI.

The third period saw Corey Banfield, who was back in the line-up for the first time since before Christmas, score at 17:30 to reduce the deficit to one. Trying to tie the game late, STU pulled Charles Lavigne, and it back fired with 2 empty netters by UPEI at 18:26 and 19:58.

St. Thomas still have a chance to catch Dalhousie but the task does not get any easier as Acadia and Saint Mary's are in town this weekend. Daily Gleaner: Tommies hopes take a hit

Tommies falter against Tigers

The critical four point game went to the Tigers tonight 3 to 2. No need to build up how important this game was for St. Thomas and now their play off hopes rest on beating teams they haven't been able to up to this point in the season and hope for help from other teams.

With several important bodies out of the line up tonight, including Tyler Dietrich, who was slapped with a 2 game suspension last night for clapping at the ref, the Tommies started off on the wrong foot by allowing a goal at the 22 second mark of the game. Brad Gallant answered at 4:06 on a pretty passing play with Max Chamberland and Devan Praught to tie it. It remained that way for the rest of the period.

Jacob Johnston put the Tigers ahead again early in the second frame on an unassisted goal. STU tied it one more time when Alex Labonte took a nice feed from Devan Praught at 16:15.

The Tigers would score the winner shorthanded at 2:18 of the third period when Francois Gauthier got the puck in the Tommies zone then spun and fired top shelf past Charles Lavigne.

And that was it. The Tommies couldn't muster the tying goal and now sit 3 points back of Dal. Next game for STU is Wednesday night at UPEI. One more of those "must win" games.

Tommies pull out victory over Panthers

With only seven forwards and five defensemen dressed for this afternoon's game versus the UPEI Panthers, the Lady Tommies found a way to win. Final score was 2 to 1 and the short bench got shorter as the Tommies had six forwards and four D at the final buzzer.

There was no scoring in the first, as St. Thomas controlled the play and outshot the Panthers 9 to 6. Lucrece Nussbaum, who is set to head off to Vancouver this week, had to be helped off the ice with less than a minute left in the period. She was taken to the hospital as a precaution and we hope she is alright. DAILY GLEANER: STU hockey player Olympics-bound, undeterred by recent knee injury

STU opened the scoring at 3:21 of the 2nd period as Amy Kelbaugh raced in on a 2 on 1 break with Kelly Matthews. Kelbaugh fed Matthews, who promptly deked Kristy Dobson, and slid the puck into the empty net. Kelbaugh would get the eventual winning goal on a 2 man advantage when she banged in a pass from Lyse Rossignol at 13:49. UPEI's only goal came just over 2 minutes later when Kelsey O'Donnell had a clear cut breakaway and fired it past Kristin Wolfe.

Lyse Rossignol would leave the game late in the second period and would not return. With only 2 forward lines and 2 defence pairings, the Tommies held on for the victory in the third. Final shots on goal favoured UPEI 23 to 21. Kristin Wolfe picks up her sixth win of the season. Big win for the Ladies considering how short staffed they are.

Tommies fall to X-Men

The Tommies lost another must win game in Antigonish tonight falling to the X-Men 4 to 2. The Dalhousie Tigers lost to Moncton 3 to 1. STU is still one point behind Dalhousie for the final playoff position and will face the Tigers tomorrow night.

Tonight at Keating Millennium Centre, the X-men took a 1 to 0 lead into the second period on a goal by Murdock McLellan. Tyler Dietrich scored on the PP 23 seconds into the 2nd with assists to Ryan Lehr and Matt Ealges. STU went ahead, again on the PP, when David Crossman scored his first of the season from Lehr and Max Chamberland. X responded 42 seconds later on their own PP to tie the game at 2. The score would remain deadlock until the third period.

At 3:43 of the final frame, Bret Robertson beat his man behind the Tommies net and sent a pass out front to Nick Pageau, who fired a shot past a helpless Charles Lavigne. It proved to be the winner as X would score into the empty net to cement the victory.

Final shots on goal favoured X 36 to 33. Tomorrow's game against Dalhousie starts at 6:30 PM and you can catch all the action with Randy Corey on 95.7 The Wolf. Fingers crossed everybody!!

Huskies shut down Tommies

Playing short handed with eight forwards and five defencemen, the Tommies were shut out 4 to 0 by the Saint Mary's Huskies. With the win the Huskies tie St. Thomas for third in the conference with 20 points.

Scoring three powerplay goals and one even strength goal just as a penalty expired, SMU took advantage of the short staffed Tommies. In the second frame Charity Walls went down leaving the team even further in the hole, as Walls is one of the Tommies best penalty killers. The PK was busy facing 10 SMU opportunities. Julia Sharun played well in the loss facing 49 shots.

The Tommies that remain will take to the LBR ice tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM against UPEI.

Tonight's Game Cancelled

Due to the inclement weather conditions, tonight's scheduled game for the STU Men vs. Dalhousie has been postponed until Sunday evening at 6:30 pm.

Awaiting confirmation, but expect tonight's game vs. Saint Mary's for the STU Women to be postponed as well. Tonight's game vs. Saint Mary's for the STU Women has been postponed. No word as yet on a makeup date. (Hat tip to R.L.) (Make up game is tonight at 5 PM)

Daily Gleaner update

Tombits

Tensions run high: The Daily Gleaner reports today that the men's hockey team had a little "dust up" between Jason Cassidy and Kenton Dulle. The over used "biggest game" of the season is coming up Friday night against Dalhousie so let's hope everything is smoothed over. This weekend will go a long way in determining if the Tommies get into the playoffs or miss them for the second year in a row.

Blackmore wins weekly honour at STU: With a four point game against Dalhousie on Sunday, Kayla Blackmore was awarded female athlete of the week at STU.

Reception for STU Olympian: St. Thomas defender Lucrece Nussbaum will be having a little send off reception before she leaves to join the Swiss Olympic Hockey Team at the Vancouver Olympics. STU notice

Blackmore keys win over Tigers

The St. Thomas Tommies firmed up their hold on third place in the AUS with a decisive 5 to 1 win over the Dalhousie Tigers this afternoon at the LBR. Kayla Blackmore scored 3 times and added an assist to pace STU.

STU got rolling midway through the first period when Katie Brewster scored on the PP at 11:42. Dominique Bernier and the ever present Blackmore drew assists. Less than a minute later Lucrece Nussbaum stormed down the left wing boards and fired a perfect pass to a wide open Kelly Matthews, who promptly deposited the puck top shelf past a helpless Ashley Boutilier in the Dalhousie net. Aided by 8 shots on the PP the Tigers out shot STU 13 to 6 in the period.

Kayla Blackmore, who was all over the puck on this day, scored at 8:18 of the second period for her first of the day from Charity Walls. STU had several other near misses including 2 missed break away attempts by Blackmore. Shots were 11 to 11 in the middle frame.

The final period saw Kayla score her second goal - on her fourth breakaway of the afternoon - at 14:15. Dalhousie's Monica Neal broke Kristin Wolfe's shut out bid at 15:53 on the PP but Blackmore replied 24 seconds later to break the Tigers back.

Kristin Wolfe played a phenomenal game stopping 30 of 31 Dalhousie shots. The Tommies fired 25 the other way. With the win the Tommies pull 4 points ahead of Dal. in the standings. Next game for the Ladies is Friday night in Halifax against SMU. Daily Gleaner - Tommies on the rebound

Squirrels offence goes nuts

Going to keep this short and sweet. No need to get into the gory details but the second period was the Tommies' undoing again tonight. STU led 3 to 2 after the first period but UNB scored five in the second en route to a 9 to 4 win.

Kenton Dulle, Tyler Dietrich, Mike Reich and Devan Praught scored for the Tommies. STU remains one point behind Dalhousie for the final playoff berth. The Tigers lost to Saint Mary's 7 to 3. Key match up coming up for STU on Friday night in Halifax against Dalhousie.

HCH AUS summary

Daily Gleaner article

X comes back to defeat Tommies

The Tommies hung tight with the X-Women this afternoon at the LBR but couldn't salvage any points from the effort. With a late empty net goal by Marilynn Hay, St.-FX took the game 3 to 1.

It was the Tommies who struck first on the powerplay at 12:16 of the first. Amy Kelbaugh, from the side of the net, banked the puck off of Katie Harvieux and into the net, 11 seconds after Jenna Downey took a hooking penalty. Caroline Hammerhiem and Lyse Rossignol picked up the assists.

The one goal lead would stick until late in the second period when Abygail Laking tied the score on the PP at 19:39. Jessica Shanahan would score the winner at 8:26 of the third, firing a high shot past a helpless Julia Sharun. The Tommies battled hard against the 1st place X-Women but the goal that was needed could not be found.

STU was out shot 32 - 16 with Sharun standing tall in the Tommies net time and time again. You can tell that St.-FX does not take St. Thomas lightly and came ready to play today. The Ladies stay 2 points up on Dalhousie, who lost to Moncton 6 to 1. The Tigers will be at the LBR tomorrow afternoon at 3 PM to take on the Tommies.

BIG day for St. Thomas Tommies hockey

It is hockey day on the campus of St. Thomas University. Three games are on tap today starting at noon hour.

12 PM - Alumni game pitting former Tommies against one another in the Green and Gold Alumni challenge.

2 PM - The Ladies take on first place St.-FX. This game is scheduled to be broadcast on CHSR.

5 PM - Formal inductions to the STU Tommies Wall of Fame will take place at the Forest Hill Conference Centre. Take a few minutes and read this article by Bill Hunt. An excellent piece on Brian Jones - a member of the 1961 hockey Tommies MIAU championship team - and also a list of all the inductees.

The other inductees include George, the 78-year-old Fredericton native who led the Tommies to three consecutive New Brunswick Canadian Rugby Football Union championships in the mid 1950s; McAloon, a Stanley native who lettered in both hockey and football while playing a record six years for the Tommies - he played at the university level while still in high school - along with McKee, who was a football and hockey star at STU and went on to become one of the "Flying Fathers"; Mills, a multi-sport star in the 1950s with the Tommies; Toner, lauded as a legendary coach and mentor to a generation of athletes and a recipient of the Order of Canada; and Washburn, the athletic director at the school for 30 years, from 1969 until his retirement in 1999.

7 PM - Puck drop on the 16th annual Lou Chabot Memorial Game.

Hoping everyone can make it out to these events. It's a Great Day to be a Tommie! GO TOMMIES!!

Wild West light up UPEI

With a thirteen point game from the Wild West Line, the St. Thomas Tommies rolled to an 8 to 5 victory over the visiting UPEI Panthers tonight at the LBR. Tyler Dietrich scored a hat trick plus 2 assists, Kenton Dulle had 2 goals and 3 assists and Mike Reich had 3 assists. With the win STU keeps pace with Dalhousie for the final playoff position as the Tigers defeated Acadia 4 to 3 in OT.

The first period saw STU firing from everywhere and were rewarded with a Dietrich goal at 7:44 and Dulle goal at 17:25. Matthew Carter had scored at 13:33 for a 2 to 1 lead heading to the second period and a 19 - 10 shot advantage for STU.

Cory Vitarelli tied the game early on in the second on the PP just as the first of 2 STU penalties expired. The Tommies would rattle off the next 4 goals in a row. Erick Tremblay at 5:11, Tyler Dietrich at 5:38, Devan Praught on the PP at 12:47, and Tyler Dietrich with his hat trick at 16:22 gave the team a big lead. UPEI replied with one more at 18:40 to slim the margin to 3 heading to the final period.

The Panthers showed life early in the third scoring at 2:42 and 5:38 on a horrible bounce of the end boards but that would prove to be it. It was a little to close for the fans liking, as memories of a game against X on October 23rd creeped into peoples heads.

Devan Praught would score on a nice passing play at 7:51 and Kenton Dulle scored into the empty net at 19:46 to put this game to bed. Charles Lavigne came within inches of scoring into the empty net just seconds before. Final shots favoured STU 37 to 34. Daily Gleaner: Tommies outlast Panthers

Some of you out of town fans probably noticed that there was no broadcast of tonight's game. Randy Corey has passed on his apologies for missing the game as a personal situation arose. Everything is alright and Randy expects to be back in the booth tomorrow night against UNB.

Tombits

Lady Tommies face tough weekend: The X-Women are in town to tangle with the Tommies on Saturday afternoon starting at 2 PM. St.-FX is ranked 6th in the country and will offer up a big test for STU. The last trip to the LBR didn't prove successful for X as they were beat 3 to 1 by St. Thomas on October 30th.

STU will also face Dalhousie for the third time in three weeks. The Tigers sit 2 points back of the third place Tommies with a game in hand. It really isn't a scheduling BLIP, an earlier game in the fall was postponed due to the H1N1 flu, and the game last weekend was the make up date.

Nicole Dube should return to the line up on Saturday but Jillian Coughlin is not expected to dress. Jessica Holt will be looked at before the weekend games but you have to think she will be out for a bit after suffering - what appeared to be - a serious leg injury last weekend. Julia Sharun, who picked up the win versus X on Oct. 30, will start on Saturday. Kristin Wolfe will get the nod versus Dalhousie. Daily Gleaner: Olympics looming but games to be won at STU

Quote of the week: Peter Murphy "Sometimes you have to look at the big picture as well and realize it can’t just be about wins and losses – you are building people here. That is something that does not show up on the scoreboard."

To the one or two persons that slagged Coach Murphy this week in the comments, you are certainly in the minority. Since becoming coach the team has progressively finished better each year under his guidance. A good recruiter and by the look of the quote above, I dare say someone who cares about his players as individuals and as a team.

Lou Chabot Memorial Game: Lots going on this weekend for sure but we hope you will take a few minutes to remember or perhaps get to know a little bit about who the game honours - Lou Chabot. This marks the 20th anniversary of Lou's untimely death and the 16th annual memorial game. (A tap of the stick to vredshockey.com for the verification)

St. Thomas University has several events planned for Saturday, including an alumni game, so check out what is going on HERE. Daily Gleaner: Tommies' hockey assumes spotlight and Daily Gleaner: STU paying homage to athletic excellence

Tommies lose crucial game to U de M

The Tommies lost a big game tonight to Moncton and find themselves on the outside looking in on a play-off spot. With two shorthanded markers in the second period, Moncton cruised to a 6 to 4 win. Dalhousie also won this evening beating St.-FX 5 to 4.

Scoring for the Tommies tonight was Brad Gallant tying the game at one in the first period. U de M scored the next two goals early in the second before Max Chamberland scored on the PP from Jason Cassidy to slim the lead. Moncton would score three more times in the second frame to pull this game out.

Other goal scorers for the Tommies were Devan Praught and Scott Judson with two seconds left in the game. Charles Lavigne suffered the loss allowing all six goals and was pulled with 5:04 remaining in the second period. Ben MacFarlane came on in relief and was brilliant by times, stopping everything thrown his way.

The Tommies had better regroup quickly as they face UPEI Friday night at the LBR. Daily Gleaner: Tommies slip out of playoff position

Blue Eagles waiting for Tommies

Another big game tonight for the Tommies, traveling to Moncton to take on the Aigles Bleus in a 7pm start. STU currently sits just 1 point up on the Dalhousie Tigers in the 6th and final AUS playoff spot, and could gain some ground on the 5th place UPEI Panthers, who they trail by 4 points, with a victory.

Times Transcript: Aigles Bleus playing for their playoff lives

The Tommies have taken 2 of 3 from Moncton this season, including a thrilling 2-1 win with the winning goal coming with less than 3 seconds on the clock at the LBR on January 9th.

UdeM will be playing desperate, and STU should be as well, promising a spirited - and hopefully entertaining - matchup. Dalhousie is also in action tonight, at home versus St. F-X, continuing to nip at the Tommies' heels.

On a quiet wintry night, cheer along our Tommies and tune in for all the action with Randy Corey and Harold DeCourcey on 95.7 The Wolf.

GO TOMMIES!

Tommies surge past Tigers

At the start of the day the St. Thomas Tommies and Dalhousie Tigers were tied in the AUS standings with 16 points apiece. Not any more. STU rode a 3 goal first period to a decisive 5 - 2 victory over Dalhousie this afternoon and sole possession of 3rd place in the league.

The Tommies got rolling on the powerplay at 6:08 when Sweet Caroline Hammerheim fired the puck home from the side of the net off a nice feed from Lyse Rossignol. Lucrese Nussbaum got the the second assist. Thirty two seconds later Katie Brewster would get her second goal of the season from Charity Walls and Dominique Bernier for a two goal lead. Dal would cut that lead in half at 11:22 when Miranda McMillan scored on the powerplay but Kelly Matthews would restore the 2 goal advantage at 19:28 from Rossignol and Kayla Blackmore.

Dominque Bernier would put St. Thomas up by three at 6:51 of the second frame off some fine passing on a 2 man powerplay. Nussbaum and Blackmore got the helpers. STU held the advantage in shots over two periods, 20 to 13.

Dalhousie came out desperate in the third but couldn't beat Julia Sharun to close the gap. When Katie Brewster took a hooking penalty at 12:20 of the period the Tigers gambled and pulled Ashley Boutilier in an attempt to spark the team. The gamble failed as Bernier gained control of the puck at the Tommies blueline and rushed up ice before feeding Amy Kelbaugh for the shorthanded empty net marker at 13:30. Miranda McMillan scored with 2 seconds remaining on a 5 on 3 powerplay at 18:29 but that was as close as the Tigers could get, as Julia Sharun picked up her 4th win of the season.

With her three points on the afternoon, Dominique Bernier received first star honours. Final shots on goal were even at 26 apiece. Next up for St. Thomas is a home game against first place St-FX next Saturday afternoon at 2 PM. This will be a great game.

X-Men prevail over Tommies

The Tommies couldn't pull off the perfect weekend tonight, falling 4 to 1 against St-FX. The X-Men were able to capitalize on their chances and STU's powerplay woes continued.

The first was a scoreless affair which kept the special teams on both sides busy, as referee Brad Mills called 9 penalties in the period. Shots favoured St. Thomas 6 to 5.

St-FX broke the goose egg at 2:08 of the second after Charles Lavigne was unable to handle a Murdock MacLellan shot that Brennan Wray whacked home on the rebound. At 4:20 the X-Men scored the lone PP goal of the night when Bryce Swan wired home a one timer from the slot. X out shot STU 10 to 8 in the period.

MacLellan added to the lead in the final period with a wrist shot off a 3 on 1 break to make it 3 to 0 at 2:02. The Tommies didn't quit and at 3:52 Matt Eagles picked up a loose puck in the slot and beat Bryan Gillis with a quick wrister. Alex Labonte and Erick Tremblay picked up the assists.

STU continued to press but couldn't beat Gillis and finally at 19:45 Phil Mangan scored into the empty net to seal the win. Final shots were 27 to 25 for X. Matt Eagles picked up STU player of the game honours.

The Tommies are right back to where they were at the beginning of the weekend, 1 point up on Dalhousie for the final play-off position, as the Tigers defeated Moncton 3 to 1. Also UPEI beat SMU 4 to 3 and move 4 points up on the Tommies, who have a game in hand. That game will be played on Wednesday night as STU meets Moncton on the road. Daily Gleaner Article

Huskies down Tommies in O/T

The Tommies were the better team for two of the 4 periods this afternoon at the LBR but it wasn't good enough to pull out a victory over the Saint Mary's Huskies. SMU won the game at 1:16 of OT to secure the two points with a 3 to 2 decision.

After a scoreless first period that saw the Tommies out shoot SMU 11 to 7, Lyse Rossignol scored at 0:23 of the second when the Huskies' goalie tried in vain to cover the puck but couldn't find it before Rossignol got it by her. Andrea Fischer and Lucrese Nussbaum got the assists.

The lead held until 16:46 when Saint Mary's Captain Kori Cheverie went end to end, undressed the entire STU team, and just slipped the puck past Kristin Wolfe in the STU net. The goal was shorthanded to add insult to injury. SMU held the shot advantage in the period 12 to 8.

STU brought their game in the third but Katie Brewster took a hooking penalty at 7:12 and things turned for the worse. Sarah Maynard put the puck up high over Wolfe at 8:14 on the PP and this set the SMU bench wild.

Things got worse for STU as they received a lengthy 2 man advantage. After swarming the SMU net and doing everything but score, Jessica Holt was hurt in a collision fighting for the puck. Holt had to be helped off the ice with a lower body injury. This must have rallied the troops to get one for their teammate because off the resulting face-off Sweet Caroline Hammerheim got the game tying marker from Rossignol and Kelbaugh. Time of the goal was 13:14 on the PP. STU totally out classed the Huskies in the late part of the third but had to settle for overtime, out shooting SMU 12 to 5.

It only took until the 1:46 mark of O/T for the Huskies to settle the game when Danielle MacDougall scored the game winner. Final shots on goal were 32 to 26 for STU.

The Tommies will regroup tonight and face the Dalhousie Tigers tomorrow at 4 PM. Remember the game will be aired on 97.9 FM CHSR.

Jason Cassidy's Blog: Danton deserves a second chance

We have always had great respect for Jason Cassidy, well that respect has just doubled. Cassidy has really nailed down the essence (in our opinion) of Mike Danton playing for SMU and has "shown up" some seasoned journalist with his views. For the record Damien Cox wouldn't know a CIS hockey game from a hole in the ground, and his article demonstrates his ignorance.

GREAT WORK JASON. Here is a little teaser from his article.

Only a few seasons ago, I was fortunate to line up against the likes of Corey Perry, John Tavares, Patrick Kane, Steven Stamkos and Bobby Ryan. Not only does the addition of a player with 92 games in the NHL not worry me, there have been others come before him with more impressive track records (Jared Aulin’s 224 NHL/AHL games before joining the Calgary Dinos in the CIS in 2007-08). Often, players come into the league having been drafted to the NHL or spent time in the ECHL, AHL, or at NHL training camps.

Read Jason's blog.

Here is another great read over at Neate Sager's CIS Blog. This is a very comprehensive story.

Daily Gleaner: "Rossignol delivering as advertised for Tommies"

Bruce Hallihan of the Daily Gleaner catches up with New Maryland native Lyse Rossignol. Lots of little nuggets in this article for fans to ingest.

"In the first half, we had so many people out sick that we couldn't get much chemistry going," Murphy said.

Rossignol will be reunited with Kayla Blackmore, who missed the entire first half with an upper body injury. Andrea Fischer, a rookie winger from Switzerland, completes the trio.

Blackmore was eased back into the lineup last Saturday, playing special teams only in a 4-1 loss at St. Francis Xavier, but played a regular shift from the second period on in Sunday's 2-1 victory at Dal.

Game times this weekend at the LBR are 3PM today versus SMU and 4 PM tomorrow against Dalhousie, also on CHSR 97.9 FM. Read the Full article

Tommies roar past Tigers

It was the proverbial four point game tonight at the LBR; lose and the Tommies are one point behind or win and go ahead of Dalhousie by three. It was the latter, as STU prevailed with a convincing 6 to 1 victory. Alex Labonte and Tyler Dietrich led the way with 2 goals each.

The Tommies opened the scoring at 10:15 when Dietrich cashed in on a rebound off an Erick Tremblay point shot. Ryan Stoddard replied at 17:57 when he collected a big rebound in front of Charles Lavigne. With St. Thomas killing a penalty, Dalhousie goaltender Bobby Nadeau saw Alex Labonte's dump in deflect off the bottom of his trapper and into the cage for a 2 to 1 Tommies lead at 19:14. Shots favoured STU in the period 12 - 11.

The teams played even through much of the second frame until Mike Reich caught up to a long pass from Dietrich, spun around from behind the net and put a centering shot off Tiger defender Kyle Raftis and into the net at 15:38. Shots in the second were 10 to 8 in favour of STU.

The Tigers came out with some pop in the third but STU capitalized at 11:37 when Ryan Lehr finished off a three on two break led by Devan Praught. This was immediately after Charles Lavigne made a great stop on a Dalhousie 2 on 1 break. Dietrich would get his second of the night when Nadeau came out of his net to clear away the puck but put it directly off Dietrich, who had an easy tap in to make it 5 to 1. STU finished off the scoring when Matt Eagles found Labonte on a perfect centering pass from behind the net and Labonte scored with the quick release.

Final shots on goal favoured Dal 34 - 33. Charles Lavigne was sharp again tonight and picked up second star honours behind Dietrich, who had 3 points. With the two points the Tommies strengthen their hold on sixth spot, only two points behind UPEI, who lost to Acadia 2 to 1 this evening. Daily Gleaner: Tommies trounce Tigers

Tombits

Lavigne is STU's athlete of the week: "The male athlete of the week is Charles Lavigne of the Men's Hockey Program. Charles made 38 stops in a 4-3 loss to UNB on Friday night and then made 28 saves leading our Men's Hockey team to a very important 2-1 win over UdeM on Saturday night. Charles is a first-year student from St. Bernadin, Ont." STU athletics.

Lady Tommies game on CHSR: The Dalhousie game, originally scheduled for October 31st/09, being played on Sunday at 4 PM, can be heard live on CHSR 97.9 FM or online at http://chsrfm.ca/listen-here/listen-live John "the hammer" Pickett will be handling the play by play and the talented Katherine Boudreau will be back doing the colour.

It will be a tough weekend for the Tommies as they face both Halifax teams in SMU and Dalhousie. With a little luck Lucrese Nussbaum and Nicole Dube should be back patrolling the blueline for St. Thomas. Both were out of the lineup last weekend.

Tigers stalking Tommies: In the standings that is. Both Dalhousie teams (men's and women's) are one point behind St. Thomas in the standings. The Ladies have wiggle room as they are in third spot but nevertheless an important game. The men do not have this luxury and are one point up on the Tigers for the 6th and final playoff spot. Huge game on Friday night to say the least.

The men defeated Dalhousie both times in the first half. The first game at the LBR on Oct. 24th was a romp 9 - 3 and in Halifax on Halloween afternoon, 4 - 3 in a shoot out. Corey Banfield scored the shoot out winner. Corey will not be in the line-up this weekend for the Tommies.

Daily Gleaner: "Playoffs well within Reich for Tommies"

In today's Gleaner, Bruce Hallihan profiles hard as nails Tommies' centre Mike Reich.

"Coming into junior, I was always looked at as a skill player with bite."

Reich misses fighting - sometimes.

"It was a bit of a difficult adjustment at first," he said. "There are a lot of 'tough guys' in the AUS because no one's allowed to fight. That leads to a lot of chirping and the odd dirty stickwork, but you've just got to adapt and go with the speed of the game."

Eagles is content with how Reich has chipped in offensively.

"Offence isn't something he should hang his hat on," Eagles said. "Mike Reich has to be an aggressive, physical player. His offence is a by-product of his hard work and competitiveness."

Whenever you go to a new league it is going to be an adjustment and we think "the Reicher" has done an exceptional job making that adjustment. Great work Mike! FULL STORY

Mike Danton to join Saint Mary's Huskies?

While this is not directly St. Thomas Tommies news, it would certainly have to be filed under general interest.

Former NHL'er Mike Danton has supposedly committed to play for the Saint Mary's Huskies and could suit up for the team in the very near future Ie. this weekend.

This is a very controversial situation. Based on the person, doesn't everyone deserve a second chance? Perhaps, but maybe Mr. Danton/Jefferson has already burnt too many bridges already? Maybe CIS hockey is the wrong sort of league for him to start playing in again?

How about Saint Mary's. It should improve their team but at what cost? Good players get better playing with and against other good players, is Danton's skill level still at NHL standards after half a decade in prison? How do the SMU players and their families react to this? It brings a lot of media coverage for the AUS but maybe for the wrong reasons? Maybe for good reasons as the league is considered good calibre?

January 12.Daily Gleaner Article: Danton looks to suit up with Huskies or TSN Story

UPDATE Jan. 13. HCH article: Danton "days’ from SMU debut
- Edmonton Journal: Josh MacKinnon article

UPDATE Jan 14. Daily Gleaner: Bruce Halliahn article (Good read, good points.)

Comments are open if you would like to share. If nothing else it should make life interesting in the AUS.

Tommies trim Tigers

St. Thomas exacted a little revenge this afternoon beating the Dalhousie Tigers 2 to 1 in Halfiax. The same score as October 17th, when the Tigers beat STU. With the win, STU moves one point ahead of Dalhousie for third in the AUS standings.

With an unexpected shorter than normal bench, the Tommies were up against it from the start but caught a lucky break in the first. Andrea Fisher, fresh out of the penalty box, got a breakaway - blowing past two defenders - and scored high blocker side at 8:40 unassisted.

The second period saw the Tigers tie the score at ones when Rachel Cox pushed the puck by Kristin Wolfe on a goal mouth scramble at 12:04. Dalhousie had a strong period outshooting STU 10 - 3.

With only 4 Ladies on defense today the third period started to take its toll. The Tigers pressured for much of the period but were unable to get the puck past a resilient Wolfe. The tide changed when Dalhousie took a holding the stick penalty with 6:10 to go. The Tommies capitalized at 15:19 on the PP when Courtney Fox blasted a point shot past Emelie Ederfors with assists to Bernier and Blackmore. Dalhousie was awarded a powerplay with less than 2 minutes remaining but the PK held strong and went 5 for 5 on the night.

Kayla Blackmore was back in line-up playing special teams to begin the game but started getting a regular shift in the 2nd period. She was awarded the player of the game and I think everyone is glad to have her back.

Kristin Wolfe gets the win facing 26 shots, while STU fired 16 the other way. For game photos please check out Richard Lafortune's game shots here.

The Tommies are back home next weekend facing off against Saint Mary's on Saturday and the Tigers on Sunday. Both games are afternoon starts.

Wild win for Tommies

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.

St-FX down Tommies

The Tommies did not get the result they were looking for today in Antigonish. The X-Women defeated STU 4 to 1.

X scored on a two man advantage early in the first period. With one Tommie still in the box after the goal St-FX would dent the twine again before the second penalty expired. X dominated play in the first leading 2 - 0 and out shooting STU 9 - 2.

In the second frame the Ladies came out hard as Dominique Bernier rang one off the crossbar on a 2 on 1 but no goals to show for their hard work. STU out shot X 9-5.

In the third it was X that would pot one early but Caroline Hammerhiem got one back with less than 8 minutes to go on the PP. Amy Kellbaugh and Lyse Rossignol with the helpers. STU pressed hard but X would get another one late in the third to round things out.

Final shots were 26-23 favouring the X-Women. Julia Sharun suffered the loss but played well regardless. The Tommies head to Halifax tomorrow to take on the Dalhousie Tigers. Go get them Ladies.

Tommies lose

AUS Story by UNB Sports Information. Now that I have cooled off sufficiently, it was good to see Jake Allen drop the puck and receive the warm greeting from 3500 + proud Canadians. Jake is the son of former Tommie Kurt Allen.

Daily Gleaner story here in the morning.

Tombits

Anthony Carlisle Memorial Trust Fund: The Tommies will pay tribute to Tony Carlisle on Saturday night when they take on the U deM Aigles Bleus. Carlisle played 3 years with St. Thomas and was killed in a car accident on December 15th. The proceeds of the 50/50 draw will be donated to the "Anthony Carlisle Memorial Trust Fund" to help fund the education of his 4 children. Donations can be made at any Royal Bank branch.

Battle of the Hill tomorrow: STU will head to Aitken Centre tomorrow night to take part in the 18th annual Mark Jeffrey Memorial game. The Tommies have battled the Squirrels hard this season and have 2 points to show for their efforts. Both teams will be short their top point producers as Kenton Dulle and Hunter Tremblay will be serving one game suspensions. Daily Gleaner: Lavigne may sit out Battle of the Hill

EDIT: Maybe tonight isn't the Mark Jeffrey memorial game ? ? ...whatever...throw tradition out the window at UNB as well. (Hey Tradition, say Hi to women's hockey) Perhaps some thought should be given to changing this quote at http://www.vredshockey.com/ "His #17 Jersey was retired by the team and the annual Mark Jeffrey Memorial Game is played every year now as UNB’s second home game of the season against STU." Our mistake on this one, we apologize for the confusion.

Nova Scotia trip this weekend: The Ladies will be hitting the road for a pair of tough games against St-FX and Dalhousie. The Tommies are chasing both teams in the standings, one point behind Dal and seven behind X. You can catch the webcast of the St FX game courtesy of SSN Canada. Game time is 2 PM Saturday, CLICK HERE.

Out of the "you have to be kidding me" file: The CBC ran a story before Christmas (yes, we missed it until now) about how the squirrels in Fredericton have been chewing up LED Christmas lights. That's fine, all squirrels are pests, granted...but they actually interviewed a UNB Squirrel.

Dave Morell, marketing director for the UNB Varsity Reds teams, said that his year-round backyard lights only seem tasty to squirrels if they're blue or white. They won't touch red bulbs. "The squirrels in the neighbourhood here on the north side of Fredericton seem to like every colour LED light, except the red ones," he said. "And they will take their time and they will eat through the bulbs of every light. Except the red ones."

Really Dave...really? They won't touch the red ones, sounds like they are anti X-Men to me?? And as one smart commenter observed..."do they suck them very slowly, or crunch them very fast. When you eat your light bulbs, do you eat the red ones last?" Also a shout out to Gary Munn, he gets it!!! CBC Story

UPEI vs. STU CANCELLED

The exhibition game between the UPEI Panthers and the St. Thomas Tommies scheduled for tonight at 7 PM has been CANCELLED due to the snow storm. There will not be a make up date.