Leduc suspended indefinitely by Tommies

Alexandre Leduc has been suspended indefinitely by the St. Thomas Tommies after an incident at 6:08 of the third period of Saturday night's game versus the Saint Mary's Huskies.  The following is a quote from today's Daily Gleaner.

The Tommies sophomore head coach has suspended forward Alex Leduc indefinitely for conduct unbecoming a student athlete. During the third period of the Tommies' 5-0 loss to the Saint Mary's Huskies on home ice Saturday night, Leduc, who transferred to STU from the Université de Moncton in the off season, was penalized for four minutes for spearing Saint Mary's forward Brad Smith, who suffered a broken ankle on the play. Ryan said in a statement that Leduc showed clear intent to injure an opposing player. 'That type of behaviour is not acceptable and it will not be tolerated by our men's hockey program,' said Ryan in a statement. 'On behalf of our program, I would like to apologize to Brad Smith and the Saint Mary's hockey program. I know that this does not make the situation any better, but hopefully it will prevent similar situations from happening again. In my opinion, it was completely out of frustration and was done so thinking there would be no consequences. Smith was the target because he happened to be in a vulnerable situation and Alex took his frustrations out on him.' Leduc, a 23-year-old native of Verdun, Que., played last season for UdeM, scoring eight goals and seven assists for 15 points while accumulating 40 penalty minutes in 23 games.

After being checked from behind by Huskies forward Josh Domingues close to the players benches, Leduc lashed out at Smith, who happened to be the closest SMU player to him at the time.  Smith layed on the ice in obvious discomfort, as a scrum ensued between several players, including Leduc, immediately in the area where both incidents occurred.  STU's Athletic Therapist Patrick Carmichael would assist in helping Smith from the ice and to the Tommies medical area for treatment.

From the Chronicle Herald "Tommies forward suspended for intent to injure SMU player"

SMU head coach Trevor Stien­burg praised his St. Thomas counterpart, Troy Ryan, for tak­ing action on Leduc. It’s a breath of fresh air to have a coach in this league to take a stand like he did," Stien­burg said Tuesday. “Troy stood behind his principles and it speaks clearly of what kind of coach, and person, he is."

Blackmore propels Tommies in Overtime

Kayla Blackmore celebrates OT winner vs SMU.
Tommies win the game 2 to 1.

Photo courtesy Richard Lafortune

The Lady Tommies pulled one out tonight in Halifax scoring a late third period goal and a somewhat flukey goal in overtime for a 2 to 1 victory over the Saint Mary's Huskies.  The Tommies were full marks for the win but it sure was cutting it close.

It was the Huskies who scored first at 16:53 of the opening period when Haley Tretiak potted one on the powerplay.   Shots were even at seven apiece at the end of the period.

There was no scoring in the second period and nothing doing until late in the third.  Emily Francis banged home the tying goal at 18:18 with assists to Blackmore and Marcelline.  After regulation was over the shots favoured STU 28 - 22 and we headed to overtime.

In the extra period the Huskies had more shots but it was the hustle of Kayla Blackmore that paid off big for the Tommies.  She stole the puck in the Huskies end and tucked the puck behind a stunned Bria Sharkey for a come from behind STU win.

Julia Sharun picked up the win facing 28 Huskies shots and was solid all evening.

This was a big come back win for the Ladies, not only in the game itself but also rebounding after last nights humbling loss in Antigonish.  Sometimes some adversity is a good thing for a team to have.  They will learn what it takes to be a winner.

CIS BOXSCORE

Tommies suffer major power outage

It will be a short and sweet post tonight on the men's Tommies.  STU didn't score and got hammered 5 to 0 by the Saint Mary's Huskies.  The only bright spot for STU was the play of goalie Jon Groenheyde who faced 49 shots in the losing effort.  STU managed to shoot 17 pucks toward the Huskie goaltender.  SMU had period leads of 1 - 0, 2 - 0, and your final 5 - 0.

Why do the third and fourth year guys for the Tommies even bother showing up?  I wonder sometimes.

X-Women teach Tommies a lesson

The Lady Tommies found out the hard way that you have to play a complete 60 minutes or else!  STU also learned that the St-FX X-Women are for real and got thumped 6 to 1 tonight in Antigonish.  It is probably for the best that this happened now and the new found team success is brought into focus by a seasoned winning program like X.

The first period saw St. Thomas jump out in front early as Kayla Blackmore scored at 6:47 from Erin MacIsaac.  STU controlled much of the play in the opening frame and out shot X 9 to 7.  All looked good but this was as good as it would get on the night.  St-FX woke up.

The X-Women would score three in the second and three in the third to cement the victory and would out shoot the Tommies 28 - 18.  Julia Shurun was tagged with the loss but could hardly be faulted as most -  less one - of the goals were rockets or top shelf bullets.

Game notes:

STU was without veteran defensewoman Courtney Fox due to academic commitments.  Amy Duffield played her first regular season game in relief.

Rookie forward Emily Ryan was out due to illness.  The lines were not as fluid this evening as they had been in the past several games.  This of course may have been caused more by X than by STU.

This is the Tommies first regulation loss of the season.  Benchmark it and learn.  Here is the team you want to beat, learn from it.  The X-Women will be in Fredericton on November 16th, lets see what the Lady Tommies do between now and then.

Tommies' come up short versus X-Men

The St. Thomas Tommies can't catch a break, outshooting the St. F-X X-Men 31 - 22 but being on the wrong side of a 3 - 2 decision tonight at the Grant-Harvey Centre. X scored in the final three minutes of the game when Josh Day snapped one past Jon Groenheyde in the STU net.

Both teams scored in each of the first two periods and for most of the game the Tommies held the edge in shots and by game's end had outshot their opponents by a 3 to 2 margin. St. F-X jumped out to a lead in the first on a goal by Jason Bast,  Brennan Wray and Ted Stephens assisting. However the Tommies kept the pressure on and six minutes later tied it up on a goal by Alexandre Leduc assisted by Sebastien Bernier and Marc-Andre Levesque.

The X-Men took the lead again in the second period scoring on a power play just over ten minutes into the frame as Spencer McAvoy converted a pass from Michael Kirkpatrick and Bast. It wasn't until late in the period that the Tommies drew even once again as Christian Morin fired home a shot from the blue line that eluded the X keeper. Jordan Thomas picked up the only asssist.

That left it tied going into the third and it was a closely played game with both teams trying for the winning goal and just when the fans were beginning to think of overtime, Day put the X-Men back in the lead to stay, assisted by Bast and Wray.

Drew Owsley took the win making 29 saves. Jonathan Groenheyde was tagged with the loss making 19 saves.

Jason Bast was named the game's first star with Wray number two and John MacDonald from the Tommies third star.

With files from Hockeyscene.com

Tommies tame Tigers to remain undefeated

Another game, another impressive victory for the Lady Tommies.  Today in Halifax the Lady Tommies raced out to an early lead and never looked back, defeating the Dalhousie Tigers 4 to 0.  Julia Sharun picked up the easiest shut out of her St. Thomas career stopping 14 shots.

The game wasn't a minute old when Katie Brewster did what she does best - score the game's first goal - for the third time in a row. The goal was on the powerplay at 0:53 with Kelty Apperson drawing the only assist.

Stephanie Gates (J. Miller, Burns) would score her first goal of the season firing one past Mati Barrett in the DAL net at 12:51 after some aggressive forechecking by the fourth line.  STU would increase the lead on the powerplay at 15:08 when Emily Ryan (Brewster, Gates) dented the twine.  The official box score says Brewster got the goal but Ryan was the actual gunner.

Late in the period Cassidy McTaggart would fire a long range wrister that found the top shelf at 17:01 with Amanda Burns collecting her second assist of the afternoon.  STU dominated the period and out shot the Tigers 12 - 3.

Little changed in the second and third periods as the Tommies continually pressed Dalhousie and caused them to take penalty after penalty.  Shots were 8 to 5 in the second and 10 to 6 the third for a game total of 30 - 14 for STU.  Sharun was excellent when called upon to earn the Tommies second shut out in a row.  CIS Box Score

With the win the Tommies now share first place with the St-FX X-Women, who are also 3 and 0 after winning both of their games this weekend.  STU will travel to Antigonish this Friday night for a first place showdown with X.

Tigers bite down on Tommies

The Dalhousie Tigers enjoyed the new confines of the Grant-Harvey Centre a little too much this evening, defeating the Tommies 5 - 2 before 660 unimpressed fans.  

The Tigers led 1-0 after the first 20 minutes and were up 3 - 0 heading into the third period.

Dalhousie scored 25 seconds into the final frame before the Tommies started to fight back. Alex Labonte scored at 3:19 from Matt Hobbs and M-A Levesque to make it 4 - 1. Then Mike Reich from Sanza and Poulin made it 4 - 2 at 9:04 on the powerplay.   The Tommies could not get any closer and DAL scored an empty netter to give the final score of 5 - 2. 

Jon Groenheyde faced 35 shots while STU fired 34 at Bobby Nadeau, who was awarded the first star on the night.

The CIS #10 ranked Lady Tommies head to Halifax tomorrow and will take on the Lady Tigers at 3:30 PM.  The game will be webcast HERE  

Axemen embarras Tommies at Grant-Harvey opener

Stephen Sanza scores the first Grant-Harvey Centere goal for 

the men at 7:38 of the second period.  The Tommies were

blasted 7 - 1 by Acadia tonight.

Photo courtesy: Dylan Buell

What can I say folks, it wasn't good.  It wasn't what we expected.  It was downright hard to watch.  The Acadia Axemen foiled STU's home opener in a cake walk 7 to 1.  Jon Groenheyde and Justin Collier shared time in the Tommies net.

The only goal for St. Thomas was scored by Stephen Sanza on the powerplay with the assist going to Jonathan Bonneau at 7:38 of the second period.  That made it a 2 - 1 game and from there it went into the toilet.  Box Score

Tomorrow night the Dalhousie Tigers come to town.  Please come out and watch.  They may not win but surely they will have a better effort than tonight.  It couldn't be much worse, right?

Hockey Canada Female Skills Development Camp Coming to Fredericton

Tuesday October 16, 2012

Hockey New Brunswick and the St. Thomas University Lady Tommies have partnered to offer local minor hockey players an opportunity to take part in a Hockey Canada Skills Development Camp on Monday November 12^th at Willie O’Ree Place in Fredericton, NB.

The primary focus of the camp is centred around on-ice fundamental skills, with off-ice time scheduled for life skill enhancement in areas such as respect, fitness, and teamwork.  Off-ice fitness sessions are included involving games with team work and proper stretching.

Members of the St. Thomas University Female team will be on-site to assist with on-ice, as well as off-ice sessions.

The Hockey Canada Skills Development Camps are designed for Novice, Atom Peewee and Bantam players and have the following objectives:

§  To develop/enhance the fundamental skills of skating, passing, stick handling, and shooting.

§  To create opportunity for players to meet other players and develop friendships.

§  To promote the fun of the game.

§  To teach the concepts of fair play, fitness, safety, team work, and the importance of a positive attitude.

§  To provide a memorable experience for all who attend.

The camp will be $65/player.  The first 68 players registered will be accepted.

Players who attend the camp will receive: 

§  2 – 75 minute on-ice sessions

§  Team building session

§  Fitness session

§  Hockey Canada Practice Jersey

§  Gatorade Water Bottle

To register for this camp please CLICK HERE – please note that players who register online will be required to pay on-site at the camp.

For more information on this camp please contact Nic Jansen @

Phone: (506) 453-0866

Email: njansen@hnb.ca

POUR PUBLICATION IMMÉDIATE

Le 16 octobre 2012

Hockey Canada Développement des compétences camp féminin venant à Fredericton

Hockey Nouveau-Brunswick et L’Université St. Thomas « Lady Tommies » se sont associés pour joueurs de hockey mineur local offre une occasion de prendre part à un camp de hockey de développement des compétences du Canada le lundi 12 novembre du place Willie O’Ree, Fredericton, Nouveau-Brunswick.

Le camp est axé sur les habiletés fondamentales sur la glace. Des séances auront également lieu à l’extérieur de la patinoire dans le but de développer des habiletés essentielles à la vie de tous les jours comme le respect, la forme physique et le travail en équipe. Des séances sur la forme physique visant le travail en équipe et les étirements appropriés ainsi qu’une séance pour les parents auront aussi lieu hors glace.

Les membres de l’équipe feminin de l’Université St. Thomas aidera sur la glace, ainsi que des séances hors glace.

Les objectifs des camps de développement des habiletés Hockey Canada, qui sont conçus pour les joueurs du hockey récréatif des catégories novice, atome pee-wee, et bantam sont les suivants : 

§  Développer et perfectionner les habiletés fondamentales que sont le patinage, les passes, le maniement du bâton et les tirs.

§  Donner l’occasion aux joueurs de rencontrer d’autres joueurs et de se faire des amis.

§  Faire la promotion du plaisir de jouer.

§  Enseigner les notions du franc-jeu, de la forme physique, de la sécurité, du travail en équipe et l’importance d’une attitude positive.

§  Offrir une expérience mémorable à tous ceux qui y assistent.

Le coût du camp sera de 65$ par joueur. Les 68 premières inscriptions seront acceptées.

Ceux qui participeront au camp recevront :

§  Chandail d’entraînement de Hockey Canada

§  Gourde Gatorade

Pour vous inscrire à ce camp veuillez : CLIQUEZ ICI

Nic Jansen

Téléphone : 453-0866

Adresse électronique : njansen@hnb.ca

We're #10! We're #10! Lady Tommies nationally ranked for first time in program history

The St. Thomas University Lady Tommies continue to make history.  After opening the Grant-Harvey Centre with a pair of victories over the weekend (1st goal: Katie Brewster, 1st shutout: Kristin Wolfe), the 2-0 Tommies make their first ever appearance in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Top 10 rankings, sliding in at number 10.  Here are the complete rankings:

Women's Hockey (regular season record) / (previous rankings)
1. Calgary (4-0-0) / (1)
2. McGill (2-0-0) / (2)
3. Montreal (1-0-0) / (3)
4. Alberta (4-0-0) / (4)
5. StFX (1-0-0) / (5)
6. Guelph (3-1-0) / (6)
7. Queen's (3-0-1) / (9)
8. Wilfrid Laurier (3-1-0) / (7)
9. Western (3-1-0) / (8)
10. St. Thomas (2-0-0) / (NR)

The X-Women from St. F-X are the only other AUS team in the rankings, and they are surely squarely in the Tommies' sights for an October 26th showdown in Antigonish (though we don't expect STU to be looking past Dalhousie next weekend by any stretch).

Congratulations to Peter Murphy and his staff for building a history-making team, and to each and every Tommie, past and present, who have contributed to the program over the years.  In the words of Coach Murphy - "no one cares what you did yesterday". It's a long season, and many battles en route to a championship, but congratulations Tommies, you've made it onto the ladder, let's keep climbing!  We're all proud of you!

Tommies roll past Mounties

Dear St. Thomas Tommies women's hockey team; Its not the way you rock, its the way that you roll that matters, and you are ROLLING!!  On the strength of a two point performance by Kenya Marcelline and Katie Brewster, plus an excellent outing by Kristin Wolfe, STU downed the Mount Alison Mounties 5 to 0 this afternoon at the Grant-Harvey Centre.

The first period was scoreless but rookie Emily Francis had the best chance of the period on a breakaway but shot the puck over all-star goalie Meghan Corley-Byrne and the net.  The shots were 8 to 3 for STU in the opening frame.

Katie Brewster scored the first goal - again - unassisted at 1:48 of the second when she drove hard to the net and was able to direct the puck past the Mt. A keeper.  The lead would be increased at 18:23 when Kenya Marcelline scored with assists to Blackmore and Jenna Scott.  Eight seconds after that at 18:32 Emily Francis would get her first of the night from Blackmore and Marcelline to stake the Tommies to a 3 - 0 lead after two periods.  Shots were 11 - 10 in St. Thomas' favour.

St. Thomas would put the game out of reach on a goal by Kelty Apperson at 13:25 of the third period with assists to Brewster and Emily Ryan.  The final dagger in the Mounties heart came with 32 seconds remaining in the game as Dani Miller scored off a pass from Erin MacIsaac to give the final score of 5 - 0.  Overall the shots were 30 - 20 for the Tommies.

Just like yesterday's game the Tommies had a balanced effort with the top three lines producing goals.  The goaltenders were excellent with Kristin Wolfe earning the shut out today and Kenya Marcelline picking up player of the game honours.

The Lady Tommies will not be back in action until next Sunday when they take on the Dalhousie Tigers at the venerable Halifax Forum.  Let's hope there is a webcast.  Dal to hit the road for home games

MTA vs STU Box Score

Tommies win at Grant-Harvey Centre debut

The Lady Tommies proved they could make a great exit last winter when they finished off their time at the LBR with a win and they proved they could make a great entrance as well, defeating the U de M Aigles Bleues 4 to 2 this afternoon in front of 450 fans at the new Grant-Harvey Centre.

Emily Francis gets her first goal as a Tommie
Courtesy Dylan Buell

After Danny Grant and the widow of Buster Harvey dropped the ceremonial first puck, you knew the Tommies were going to come out looking to be the first on the board.  Dani Miller had a great opportunity in the first 7 minutes of the game on a breakaway but the Moncton keeper stymied the chance, making a good save.

The first goal in STU Tommies GHC hockey history would be scored at 11:36 of the first period when Katie Brewster found herself all alone in front of the Moncton net and buried a beauty wrister for a 1 - 0 lead.  After the unassisted goal Brewster raced to the STU bench and launched herself into the waiting embrace of her teammates.  The new home for St. Thomas Hockey was christened by a Tommie and we couldn't be happier for Katie and all of our hockey players.

Brewster's goal would stand for the rest of the period and the Tommies would take the 1 - 0 lead into the intermission.  Shots were even at 10 - 10.

Kayla Blackmoe celebrates her first goal at GHC.
Courtesy Dylan Buell

Moncton would get a powerplay opportunity early on and would capitalize on it when Genevieve David wired a slap shot past a helpless Julia Sharun in the STU net with one second left on the PP at 8:36.  A bewildered Tommies team almost appeared to fall asleep and Danielle Eustache would put Moncton up a goal 27 seconds later at 9:03.

The second U de M goal woke the Tommies up, quickly.  Dani Miller - denied on a breakaway in the first - would score for STU at 9:29 to tie the game again.  Three goals in fifty-three seconds.  Newcomer Emily Francis would muck home a goal at 16:30 from Kayla Blackmore and then return the  favour by setting up Blackmore with 1.2 seconds left in the period.  Kenya Marcelline also drew a helper.  The Tommies would take the  4 - 2 lead into the third period with the shots even at 18 for both teams.

A real good game.
Courtesy Dylan Buell

In the final frame the Tommies would get out shot 7 to 4 but Julia Sharun stood tall in the STU net for a big win over Les Aigles.

So the answer to future trivia questions about STU's first game at the GHC are Katie Brewster and 4 - 2 win over U de M.

The Ladies are back at it tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM when they host the Mount Alison Mounties.

CIS Box Score

Panthers shut out Tommies

The Tommies dropped a 3 - 0 decision to the UPEI Panthers this evening in Charlottetown.  The Panthers scored three goals in the first 22:08 of the game - two of them on the PP -  and held on from there.  Shots were 16 - 5 after the first and 35 - 8 after the second for UPEI.  STU dominated the third 14 - 3 but could not convert.

Jon Groenheyde was solid in the Tommies nets giving them a chance all night. CIS BOX SCORE  

Squirrels too much for Tommies

The 2012-13 edition of the new "deluxe" Porsche model Squirrels handled the new "regular" go-kart model Tommies 5 to 2 in both teams first game of the AUS regular season.  UNB was never in any true danger, as they stormed out to an early lead and kept St. Thomas at bay for the most part.

UNB scored two early goals in the first period before Mike Riech (Labonte, Morehouse) would trim the lead at 16:28 but the Squirrels would score again before the period ended to go up 3 to 1.

The second period would see UNB increase the lead to three goals at 7:30, only to have the Tommies answer back on a 2 man PP at 14:19 on a nice deflection from Steve Sanza off a Felix Poulin point shot. Jonathan Bonneau had the other helper on the play.

The game would stay at 4 to 2 until 15:36 of the third when Tyler Carrol would score his third goal on the night for UNB's fifth and final tally.  Final shots were 34 - 19 for UNB.

Three of the UNB goals were nice goals that Tommies' goalie Jon Groenheyde had no chance at all to save.  While the Rogers TV crew gave him the third star, UNB denied him the "honour" and gave it to another Squirrel.

Nobody likes the loss but I was impressed by this bunch of Tommies.  Even some UNB fans commented that this STU team looked and played different than the last 3 or 4 years.  I guess we'll see tomorrow how they make out against UPEI.

AUS Box Score

Regular season starts tonight

It is a new season! Our Tommies are back in Fredericton tonight as they travel to the Aitken University Centre and will take on our good old rodent friends the UNB Squirrels.  Game time is 7 PM and for those of you outside of Fredericton who can't make it to the game, it will be broadcast live on Rogers TV in New Brunswick with a familiar voice, Randy Corey, calling all the action.  If you don't subscribe to Rogers or live outside of NB, please check out the following link for the Squirrels webcast.   

Today's Daily Gleaner has Bruce Hallihan's annual AUS Hockey Preview.  We learn from within its pages that the Tommies have lost $50,000 from the men's hockey budget this year. 

The school trimmed $50,000 out of the men's hockey budget. 'If athletics or the university have to cut our budget a little bit, so be it. It is what it is,' Ryan said. 'We're in no position to complain about anything. We have a brand-new building.' Can the Tommies make the playoffs? 'I honestly think that talk in itself is a loser mentality,' Ryan said. 'I don't want that to be our gauge every year. I want to find a way to get into the top four, whether that happens this year, next year or in three years' time. So you squeeze into the playoffs, you get your one home game and you're done. What's the difference? If that's what we've achieved, is that success? If we play one more game than we played last year will they hold a parade on Queen Street in downtown Fredericton?'

Well Troy, it is obvious that you did a great job recruiting this year - considering the news above - but what I read is the University has given you a steak knife to fight the other teams who have guns.  It doesn't mean the Tommies are going to lose but it certainly stacks the odds against them before they start.  For the record the Tommies were picked to finish 8th, here is how Bruce summed it up. 

The new Grant•Harvey Centre will allow fans to watch them lose in comfort. And, yes, sometimes win. The Tommies improved from 10 points to 15 points last season, but another five-point improvement, which is an attainable goal, would still leave them on the outside looking in. Lack of depth and firepower is a bad combination.

All this means Tommie fans is it will be that much sweeter when we prove them wrong.  Our guys in Green and Gold "will" prove them wrong and it starts tonight against the Squirrels.  GO TOMMIES GO. 

Tommies post exhibition victory over Sacred Heart

Tommies celebrate at the end of a hard fought 4 - 3 win
Photo Courtesy Greg Francis

The St. Thomas Tommies picked up their first win of the preseason this afternoon with a hard fought 4 - 3 victory over the NCAA Sacred Heart Pioneers in Milford, Connecticut.   Justin Collier got the impressive W with a 29 save performance.

The Tommies didn't wait long to get on the board, as Steve Sanza (Bonneau) scored 14 seconds into the contest.  Four minutes later at 4:14 Alexander Labonte (Bernier, Levesque) would score on the powerplay to increase the lead.

Sacred Heart would respond at 8:29 when Ben Lake would score and tied the game on the powerplay at 13:06 on a Jacob Brightbill goal.   Shots were 13 - 6 for the Pioneers in the period.

The only goal of the second period was scored at 15:46 by the Pioneers' Beau Walker to give Sacred Heart a 3 to 2 lead heading to the third.  Shots were even at 10 apiece.

Jonathan Bonneau (Sanza, Cameron) would tie the game at 6:39 for STU and John MacDonald, unassisted, scored the eventual winner with under five minutes to play at 15:30.  MacDonald would then get called for interference at 17:50, the Pioneers would pull their goalie, and Steve Sanza would get a tripping call with 23 seconds left in the game to give SHU a 3 man advantage for 13 seconds. The Tommies and Justin Collier stood tall to preserve the win and a happy bus ride back to New Brunswick.

St. Thomas and Sacred Heart were both 1 for 4 on the PP and the final shots were 32 to 25 for the Pioneers.

The Tommies will come back to Fredericton and prepare for their regular season opener versus the Squirrels on Friday night at the Aitken Centre.

Box Score

SHU Game Story

Crusaders slip past Tommies

Holy Cross defeated STU today 2 - 1.
Courtesy - Greg Francis

The St. Thomas Tommies played their first exhibition game on the road this season and dropped a close one to the NCAA's Holy Cross Crusaders 2 - 1.  Rookie Jon Groenheyde was solid stopping 27 of 29 shots in the loss today.

The first period was scoreless but the Tommies were unable to find any jump being out played and out shot 10 - 1.  STU took three straight cross checking penalties but would eventually kill them off, including 20 seconds of five on three play that carried over into the second period.

St. Thomas got it together in the second but it was Holy Cross that would score the only goal of the period.  Rob Linsmayer would score on the PP at 5:15 from right in front of the Tommies net.     STU would finally get a couple of power play opportunities after the goal was scored but could not find the back of the net.  Shots favoured the Crusaders 11 - 10.

Holy Cross would pull ahead by two goals at 3:43 of the third period off the stick of Mike McNamara.  The Tommies would respond with their only goal 2 minutes later when Marc-Andre Levesque (Cheremetiev, Leduc) scored on the power play.  STU couldn't get Groenheyde out of the net long enough late in the third period to launch any sort of attack.  Final shots were 29 - 16 for Holy Cross.

The Tommies will try to find a road win tomorrow in Connecticut as they take on the Sacred Heart Pioneers  at 4 PM.

BOX SCORE
Holy Cross article 

X-Men squeak past Tommies

The St. Thomas Tommies began their 2012-2013 season with a close 3 - 2 loss to the St-FX X-Men tonight in Fredericton Junction. The Green and Gold battled hard against a strong X team but couldn't find the tying goal in the third period.

The Tommies were first on the board this evening when team captain Felix Poulin (Hobbs, Cameron) fired one home on the PP at 8:16.  The X-Men tied the game on a bad giveaway at 11:27 when Mike Kirkpatrick blasted one past Jon Groenheyde.  Shots were 14 - 11 for STU.

Jason Bast would get his first of two goals in the second period at 6:13 after the X-men had hemmed the Tommies into their own zone.  Justin Collier came into the game at 9:16 of the period and just over two minutes later Bast would blast one from the point that eluded Collier's pads and found the back of the net for a 3 - 1 X lead. Shots were 11 a piece in the frame.

The X-Men had the territorial advantage in the third but would slip two men down a few minutes past the midway point.  Felix Poulin (Reich) would make them pay as he fired a bullet past Morgan Clark in the St-FX net.  The goal was scored at 13:11 and with one second left in the 5 on 3 advantage.  Try as the might, STU could not find the equalizer.  Final shots were 33 - 29 for St. Francis.

Game notes:

Jonathan Bonneau left the game in the second period with an upper body injury and is questionable for Saturday's exhibition game.

New recruit Colin Martin looked good in his Tommies debut.  Wearing #19 he looked very similar to former Tommie and current women's assistant coach Kyle McAllister.

Matt Hobbs and Marc-Andre Levesque were solid on defense all night, although it was Hobbs that coughed up the puck to Kirkpatrick in the first period.  These things happen sometimes.

STU will head to the USA tomorrow and will play Holy Cross and Sacred Heart on Saturday and Sunday.

Tommies get underway tomorrow

The long, long, long wait is finally coming to an end.  The Tommies will have their first game of the 2012-2013 preseason tomorrow evening against the St-FX X-Men in Fredericton Junction.  Game time is 7:30 PM at the Tri-County Complex.

Under Troy Ryan, last year's Tommies improved by 5 points over the previous year and made strides towards respectability.  This year's team will have to do without former Tommie and assistant coach Eric Bissonnette, one of the more important summer time causalities.  His replacement is former FHS Blackcat head coach Tim Smith.

From the forward ranks the Tommies lost two players to graduation and one to injury.  Brad Gallant and Jordan Scott graduated, while Matt Eagles playing days came to an end due to concussion problems sustained over his hockey career.  That translates into 34 combined points being lost for the three forwards, including 10 goals and 24 assists.

Coach Ryan has brought in Colin Martin from the OHL Champion London Knights and former Universite de Moncton forward Alexandre Leduc to fill the voids.  Martin is a big strong winger that can play in any situation.  He is very likely going to see duty on the top two lines and will probably contribute to both special teams.  Leduc finished third in points for Moncton back in 2010-2011 and only played 23 games. STU is going to be looking for him to put some pucks in the net.  It is very likely these two players will cover the 34 point hole left by the graduating players.

Most of the losses from last year occurred on defense.  Bryan Main, Andrew Andricopoulos and Erick Tremblay graduated and Chris Van Laren did not return.  There is lots of experience being lost but the three defensemen brought in to replace them should do just that.  Matt Hobbs should be able to cover Andricopoulos' 8 points from last season and Marc-Andre Levesque is of equal size to Van Laren, plus has more offensive upside.  Bryan Main might be a little harder to replace but Jordan Thomas is bigger and won't quit until he succeeds.  Thomas might have a learning curve to figure out, coming from the MHL, but he'll be forced to get there sooner, rather than later. Tremblay only played home games last season and there is no replacement for the former Captain.

Our biggest loss was goaltender Charles Lavigne.  Charlie kept us in games, it is that simple.  His replacement did the same thing for the WHL Swift Current Broncos last season, so that bodes well for the Tommies.  Jon Groenheyde is no doubt going to be seeing some rubber coming at him this winter and for the Tommies to return to the post season, he will have to steal a few games for us.  If anyone will be capable of making that big stop, it will be Groenheyde.

It is pretty obvious that St. Thomas has little room for error or bad luck.  In the AUS the average team has 20 to 24 skaters on the roster and we only have eighteen.  STU will need all the help from above they can get. So if anyone from above is listening, keep those boys safe and send reinforcements.  

Lady Tommies - Looking forward to the regular season

With the exhibition season in the books for the Lady Tommies I figured it was time to dissect the figures and perhaps get an idea of what we can look forward to when the regular season begins on October 13 versus U de M.

Forwards:  I took a little slack for the calling the 2011-2012 Tommies offense “anemic” a few weeks back but the facts don’t lie folks, they had the second worst offense in the league.  It won’t happen again this year.  The top line of Francis, Blackmore, and Marcelline led the team in points in the five preseason games with 18.  Kayla Blackmore had 4 goals and 4 assists; Emily Francis had 2 goals and 4 assists, while Kenya Marcelline had 2 goals and 2 assists.  Its early, this line is only going to get better.  When the two rookies settle in and get to know each other a little better, get to know the league, and what each other is capable of….look out.  Blackmore is a proven star in the AUS and her presence is going to be a stabilizing factor on all the Tommies.  

The second line for the Tommies didn’t register a point in five games played.  The newly dubbed 3M line of Cassidy McTaggart, Dani Miller, and Erin MacIsaac will get their points too, they just didn’t connect early on.  They had their chances but I’ll give them points for something else.  They have size.  They cause turnovers.  They exhaust the opposing teams D and the other Tommie lines benefit because of it.  This very well may be the most important line on the ice every single night if they don’t record a point all season.  Between McTaggart and Miller you have almost 12 feet of western grit that will ware down the best defenses in the AUS, add in some Nova Scotia speed and this line will get points this season…. sometimes after they have hit the bench and the next line after them scores because of them.

The third line is comprised of Kelty Apperson, Katie Brewster, and Emily Ryan.  These kids clicked almost from the start.  Over the course of five games this line had 11 points.  All three of these ladies posses speed and have some pretty good mitts.  If one or two doesn’t get ya, number three will.  This line is smooth and there are going to be some pretty goals coming from Nova Saskatchewan.

There has never been a time that anyone could discuss a fourth line on the Tommies.  That’s not the way it is this year.  You really don’t look for offensive production from your fourth line but in five games they had 3 goals and 3 assists.  Not too shabby.  Jordan Miller, Stephanie Gates, and Chelsea Fiander give you everything night in and night out.  If your fourth line plays “even” every game, they have done their job.  If they chip in with a few points, bonus time.

St. Thomas’ defense had three assists over the exhibition schedule with Jenna Scott, Amy Duffield, and Caley Stienert all getting one.  The D will be sound and put up a few points here and there but more importantly will help keep points away from the other teams.  Eliza Snider, Courtney Fox, Amanda Burns, and Paige MacDonald will all help in the stingy defense that minimize any threat on the goalies.

Our goalies…the last line…the larcenous masked women.  In five games they had a combined 1.58 GAA and went a combined 4 – 0 – 1, including a shut out.  Julia Sharun had a sterling 1.33 GAA and Kristin Wolfe wasn’t too far behind with a 1.95 GAA.  The goalies have always been there over the last couple of years to bail out the Tommies in times of need but maybe this year they won’t be leaned on quite as much.  Will the reduced number of shots bother them?  I doubt it, look for both of them to be the solid walls they have always been.

Good luck to our Lady Tommies in 2012-2013.  It’s going to be a banner year. #TommiesPride