The Christmas Break

Well folks the Christmas break in the AUS schedule is almost upon us, but with that being said your STU Tommies Men's hockey team has a two game home stand against the St. Mary's Huskies on Friday night at 7pm and another home game versus the St. FX X-Men on Saturday night also at 7pm.

The Tommies will have no easy feat on either team though, the Huskies are coming to the Grant-Harvey Centre after a 3-2 shootout win over the Acadia Axmen in Wolfville NS last Saturday night. The Axmen were bumped to second place in the AUS standings now being topped by the Squirrels over yonder.

On Saturday night the Tommies will face-off against X-Men who are coming into Fredericton after a 5-2 goal filled affair against the Dalhousie Tigers. The win keeps the X-Men in fourth place in the division.

The Tommies will be looking forward to getting some rest over the Holidays to put some familiar faces back on Coach Troy Ryan's bench. Although Randy Cameron looks like he could fit in as a coach behind the pine, it will be nice to see him hopping over the boards to add some offensive pressure against opposing teams hopefully in the New Year.

Come on out Friday and Saturday night folks both games are at 7pm at the home of the Tommies the Grant-Harvey Centre. Cheer on your Tommies to help them build up some momentum going into the second half of the regular season.

Murph
@wyldemurph on Twitter

Tommies end first half with shut out win

Julia Sharun made 28 saves today against Moncton to
earn her third shut out of the season.
Photo Courtesy Dyaln Buell

The Lady Tommies were in Moncton this afternoon to close out the first half of the 2012-13 regular season.  On the strength of a Julia Sharun shut out and three points by Captain Kayla Blackmore, St Thomas cruised to a 4 to 0 victory over U de M.

After missing last game due to academic commitments, Blackmore got STU rolling early in the first as she buried one by Jenna Van Belois at 2:54 unassisted.  Kayla would add to STU's lead at 12:15, again unassisted, with her eighth goal of the season.  Shots were 13 to 9 in the first.

St. Thomas would go ahead by three goals early in the middle frame when Blackmore feathered a great pass to Jordie Miller, who would complete the pretty give and go 2 on 1 at 1:24.  Kelty Apperson gained the second assist.  STU would come close when Cassidy McTaggart rang one off the goal post late in the period but would have to settle for a three goal lead and out shooting Moncton 9 to 5 in the second.

STU ran into a little bit a penalty trouble early in the third and leaned heavily on Sharun in net to make some saves as Moncton outshot the Tommies 14 to 5 in the period.  The Tommies would put this one to bed at 12:15, as Dani Miller scored the third unassisted marker of the afternoon and STU's fourth of the game.  That was more than enough as Julia Sharun collected her third shut out of the season.

Emily Ryan, Kenya Marcelline, and Erin MacIsaac were all scratches for today's game.

With the win the Tommies sit firmly in second position with a 9 - 2 - 1 record, 19 points, and 7 points ahead of third place U de M.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish the Lady Tommies the best of luck on their exams before Christmas and hope the break is beneficial to our injured players.

Tommies Loss in a Heart Breaking Affair

Colin Martin taking a bow after scoring his second
goal of the game.  Martin had 3 points on the night.
Photo courtesy Dyaln Buell

In the best game I have personally watched the STU Men's Tommies play all season long, the UPEI Panthers took the lead late in the game to win 4-3.

This hands the Tommies their 13th loss of the season but by no means something they should hang their heads in shame for. The guys played hard from beginning to end with a short bench, missing  from tonight's lineup were forwards Randy Cameron #17, John MacDonald #11, Alexandre Leduc #7 and the pair of D-Men, Christian Morin #2 and rookie Jordan Thomas #6.

A notable stand-in on the Tommies injury riddled bench was Yuri Cheremetiev #9 on the defensive line. The full-time forward spent the night on the blue line and played very well out of his regular position. Yuri did have a wardrobe malfunction though at the 11 minute mark in the third period. Cheremetiev was noticed hobbling off the ice, he was missing a skate blade which took him out of the game until 3:27 mark very late in the game when team trainer Patrick Carmichael had the stand-in blueliner back on the ice.

The first period had the Tommies pouring on early pressure against the UPEI Panthers although the shots on goal did not represent that. The Panthers held the Tommies to 8 shots to their own 15 on Tommies goalkeeper Jonathan Groenheyde #31 he kept the Panthers at bay in the first though, by playing a shutout period. Stephen Sanza #23 missed some time in the first period due to an injury that seemed to catch him in the mouth keeping him on the bench for a few shifts while being patched up. Very late in the opening period with the game clock at 19:52 Colin Martin put one in the Panthers net assisted by Sanza #23 and Robert Zandbeek #21 giving the Tommies their second game in a row where they jumped out to a 1-0 lead.

The second period started off with the Panthers tying the game up with a power play goal with Alex Labonte in the penalty box at 1:23 in the frame, the goal was scored by Chris Desousa #28, assisted by Reggie Traccitto #95 and Dana Fraser #12.  The Tommies though, not showing signs of giving up came right back with the skilled hands of Colin Martin planting his second goal of the night past Panthers goaltender Wayne Savage #1, the goal was assisted by Chris Morehouse #18 and Stephen Sanza. The Panthers managed to tie up the game on another goal from Chris Desousa with help from Dana Fraser getting his second of three assists on the night as well as Jordan Knox #9. At the end of the second period the Panthers lead the shots on goal 31-24.

The third period started off in the Tommies favour with UPEI going a man down late in the second period with Zach McCullough in the penalty box on a hooking call. The Tommies kept the Panthers in their own end for the power play but were unable to go ahead with the man advantage. Shortly after the power play was over UPEI scored their first go ahead goal of the game, on a goal from Tyler Brown #26 with assists from Jordan Mayer #83 and Matthew Brenton #57. St. Thomas though not to be left out came back with the tying goal at 8:11 on a fast play by Stephen Sanza, assisted by Colin Martin with his third point of the game and Chris Morehouse. The Tommies were unable though to hold the Panthers off for one last goal scored by Jordan Knox on his second point of the game scored at 11:32 in the final frame.

The Tommies pulled Groenheyde with two minutes left but were unable to get the tying goal by the time the buzzer called for the end of the game.

The final score of the game 4-3 UPEI, with Jonathan Groenheyde turning away 38 of 42 shots for the STU Tommies at the other end of the rink UPEI's Wayne Savage #1 was able to post the win for the Panthers after having stopped 32 of STU's 35 shots on goal.

As said earlier in the post the Tommies have nothing to be ashamed of, the team is starting to hit their stride from this fans perspective and is very excited by the teams upcoming games against the Saint Marys Huskies and the St. FX X-Men. They will be the last games before the first half of the season comes to an end and the team gets ready for exams and Christmas break.

Murph

Two words, TOMMIES WIN!!!!

An outstanding performance by goaltender Jon Groenhyde paced the St. Thomas Tommies to a 4 to 1 win tonight in Moncton.  A gutsy effort by a short staffed Tommies crew in a barn that is difficult for any team in the league to secure a win.  This is the Tommies first victory of the season. 

The W could not have come at a better time as the team has been hit with a number of injuries in recent weeks, leaving them short handed to play the remaining games prior to Christmas break.  Randy Cameron, John MacDonald and Alex. Leduc were out up front with Jordan Thomas and Christian Morin out on the back end.

The Tommies scored first when Jon Bonneau (Levesque-Reich) broke in all alone and roofed one at 16:55 as STU picked up their very first lead of the regular season. After 20 minutes of play St. Thomas led 1 - 0 despite being out shot 22-6.

UdeM tied the game at the 7:00 minute mark of the second but the Tommies converted on a PP. Felix Poulin (Sanza-Bonneau) would get the eventual winner with just 4 seconds left in the period to put STU back on top.  Shots were 15 to 9 in favour of Moncton.

In the third, Steve Sanza (Morehouse-Martin) fired a clapper past Andre Guay at 6:13 to give STU some much needed insurance and confidence.  STU played well the rest of the way and picked up an empty netter off the stick of Robert Zandbeek(Bonneau) at 18:27 to salt the game away for the Tommies.

Final shots were 47-20 in favour of UdeM. The Tommies were 1 for 3 on the PP while holding Les Aigles off the score sheet on 3 PP chances. 

Jon Groenhyde was 1st star and well deserved player of the game holding the Tommies in this game from the first period.  Box Score

Tommies return to the GHC tomorrow evening, 7:00 PM as they host the UPEI Panthers.

Short-staffed Tommies fall to Panthers

The Tommies women travelled to Charlottetown for a rare mid-week tilt tonight against the defending conference champion UPEI Panthers.  It was a light lineup with Emily Ryan and Kenya Marcelline sitting out recovering from injuries, as well as Julia Sharun, Kayla Blackmore and Courtney Fox all staying behind due to academic commitments.

After a scoreless first period in which STU outshot UPEI 8-4, the Tommies got on the board first with Katie Brewster (Caley Steinert) scoring her 8th of the season at 3:15.  Despite giving up 12 Panthers shots to their own 8, and back-to-back penalty kills at the end of the second, St. Thomas took the 1-0 lead to the dressing room after 40 minutes.  The Panthers took the lead in the third with goals from Keirstin Visser at 7:13 and Christina Kelly at 11:15, the latter on the power play.  But the Tommies fought back and tied the game at 14:31 on the 1st of the season from Steinert (Danielle Miller).  The teams played through a scoreless overtime and onto the shootout.  After Christina Kelly beat Kristin Wolfe on UPEI's first attempt, Kelty Apperson pulled STU even.  But that was all the Tommies could muster, and Ferran Brown collected the shootout winner for the Panthers, who prevailed 3-2.

With the shootout loss, St. Thomas gained a point on first-place St. F-X and sit in second place at 8-2-1 for 17 points.  Wolfe made 27 saves on 29 shots in the loss.  Erin MacIsaac did not play after the second period, suffering an upper body injury.  The Tommies travel to Moncton for a 2:00 pm matchup on Sunday afternoon.

Tommies fall to 0 - 12, lose to Huskies

No good news to report this evening for the men.  They drop a 4 - 0 decision to Saint Mary's.  Justin Collier got the start in net tonight and stopped 30 of 34 shots.

STU actually out shot the Huskies in the first period 11 - 9 but once SMU scored at 13:16 of the second period the wheels completely fell off.  Final shots on goal were 36 - 21.

St. Thomas has not led a game for one second this season and now find themselves at 0 - 12.  The Tommies are falling fast folks and it isn't pretty. Is there a parachute anywhere to be found??

Tommies bounce back with win over Huskies

Katie Brewster scored a goal today against SMU.
She was the Tommies player of the game.
Photo Courtesy Richard Lafortune

The Lady Tommies got back on the winning track this afternoon, dumping the Saint Mary's Huskies 3 to 2.  With the win the Tommies improve to 8 wins and 2 losses and will head out on the road to complete the remainder of the first half at UPEI this coming Wednesday and Moncton next Sunday.

STU was first on the board this afternoon when Amy Duffield potted her second straight first goal of the game.  Chelsea Fiander found Duffield all alone in front of the SMU net and Amy made no mistake  roofing the puck over Sienna Cooke.  This would be the only goal of the period.  The shots on goal were even at 7 apiece.

The Tommies would strike early in the second period at 2:23.  Katie Brewster would control the puck down low and come out and score an unassisted marker to give STU a two goal lead.  Kayla Blackmore would increase the margin to three at 11:18 while paying the price of getting banged up on the play.  St. Thomas had a .667 shooting percentage in the period as they only had 3 shots in total, in comparison to the Huskies with 5.

Rebecca Mosher  would score on the PP at 7:11 and Billee Canning, also on the PP, would fire a blast past Kristin Wolfe at 16:27 to make it close but the Tommies held on for the victory.  Final shots were 21 - 18 for SMU.  St. Thomas was 0 for 6 on the PP and 0 for 2 on the PK, as the Huskies scored both times with the extra player.

Katie Brewster was player of the game, Kayla Blackmore with her third game winning goal of the season was second star, and Cassiday McTaggart with a strong physical presence was third star.  Kristin Wolfe was solid stopping 19 of 21 shots.

St-FX posts two victories over Tommies

The St-FX X-Men and Women were both too much for St. Thomas teams tonight as the X-Men won 4 to 1 and the X-Women held on for a 4 to 3 win.

Tonight's home game for the women was in support of Hailey's Dreams and Fredericton fans showed their support.  Over 700 people came out to the Grant-Harvey Centre and over $3000 was raised for this incredible young Lady.  As I watched her come out to drop the ceremonial first puck my only wish was that she wasn't sick, so young.  I could also tell you that I was able to hold back my tears but I couldn't, I was so proud and sad at the same time.  Please take a moment and check out Hailey's Dreams on line.

In tonight's game the Tommies took the lead in the first to fire up the crowd but the X-Women rattled off the next 4 goals.  STU came back in the third with two goals in the third but couldn't find the tying marker.  Scoring for the Tommies were Amy Duffield, Cassidy McTaggart, and Jenna Scott.

In Antigonish, the men tied the game early in the second on a Jonathan Bonneau goal but the X-Men scored three in the second period and held on for a 4 to 1 win.  STU outshot the X-Men 26 to 20 and 16 to 2 in the third period.

ATTENTION Fredericton Hockey Fans....

For all the right reasons we hope to see you tonight at the Grant-Harvey Centre to watch a great hockey game between two first place teams and support a great cause for a local little girl.  The following is from Bill Hunt of The Daily Gleaner and was in today's edition.  Please give it a read and some consideration.

If you have to choose a game tonight: Go Tommies

If you have to pick a local hockey game to watch tonight, please pick this one: the St. Thomas Tommies women's team hosts the St. Francis Xavier X-Women in the comfort of the new Grant•Harvey Centre. It's a battle for first place in the Atlantic University Sport women's hockey conference for one thing, among two teams ranked among the top 10 in the country: seventh-ranked St. FX and ninth-ranked STU.

So, it's got the potential to be a pretty good hockey game. More importantly, however, it's for Hailey's Dreams.

Perhaps you've heard or read of the challenges facing the Fitzgerald family. Seven-year-old Hailey has been diagnosed with a rare degenerative brain disease. There are too many syllables to comprehend, but here's what you need to know: It's genetic, it's fatal and over the next three to five years, it will rob Hailey of her quality of life and a young family of their little girl.

Want to see a picture of a sweet little girl and hear her story? Go to haileysdreams.org/.

When the Tommies heard it, they felt the need to do their part.

'We said 'Wow, we're always trying to get our girls involved in community events,'' said Lise Blackmore, Kayla's mom and a driving force behind the Friends of the Tom­mies.

Coach Peter Murphy has had a couple of small Tommies jerseys made up for Hailey and her little brother Chase, and they'll drop the puck for the ceremonial faceoff after meeting the team in the dressing room before the game.

Imagine what a thrill it will be for that little girl, especially to do it before a full house.

Please, make it a full house.

Admission to the game tonight is $ 5. Get them in advance from Lise Blackmore at lbblackmore12@hotmail.ca or Peter Murphy at pmurphy@stu.ca.

In advance, please.

They can't donate proceeds from the walk-up crowd, but if you let them know you're coming, they'll go to some trouble to get you your tickets, or stick them in an envelope for you.

Proceeds from advance sales will be donated. Proceeds from the 50-50 will be donated too. And there's a bake sale, featuring 'T' shortbread cookies among a host of sweet treats, or an opportunity to make a straight cash donation.

Blackmore will make the rounds with the Pink Helmet - it yielded $266 in donations when the Tommies ran a Shoot for the Cure event earlier in the season - and you're invited to help fill it up.

The folks at the York Dental Clinic are the official game sponsors, but Dr. Andrew Smyth has agreed to surrender the spotlight for a bigger cause tonight.

And, while we don't traditionally take sides in scheduling conflicts, tonight we say: Go Tommies.

Truth be told, the game which figures to siphon off most of the fan support - the men's UNB Varsity Reds hosting the Dalhousie Tigers - doesn't figure to be much of a hockey game. With all due respect to the rebuilding Tigers, they're a longshot tonight against a UNB team that might finally be hitting its stride.

Tommies trounce Tigers

Kelty Apperson had two goals to help pace the Tommies
to a 7 to 1 victory over the Dalhousie Tigers.
Photo courtesy Richard Lafortune

Sparked by a four goal explosion in the second period, the Lady Tommies cruised to a 7 to 1 victory over the Dalhousie Tigers this afternoon at the Grant-Harvey Centre.  Without regulars Kayla Blackmore, Emily Ryan, and Paige MacDonald in the lineup the offensive output today was a little surprising but completely appreciated by the partisan home crowd.

STU would get things rolling in the first period on the powerplay.  Katie Brewster (unassisted) would find herself and the puck in the crease at the same time before swinging her stick around the goalie to pot the goal at 6:35.  Kelty Apperson (D. Miller, Steinert) scored her first of the afternoon at 17:56 before Dalhousie's Jenna Currie buried a loose puck in the crease that slipped past Julia Sharun at 19:16.  Shots in the first favoured STU 13 - 8.

Dalhousie seemed to take the momentum of the late first period goal and carry it forward to the early portion of the second period but the flood gates opened for STU at 5:26 when Katie Brewster was sent in on a breakaway from a nice pass off the stick of Kenya Marcelline.  Brewster made no mistake and went top shelf past Zoe Zivolak for a 3 to 1 lead.

 Jordan Miller (Fiander) scored 46 seconds later and Erin MacIsaac batted in an Emily Francis shot at 13:20 on the PP for a 5 to 1 lead.  This goal chased Zivolak from the Tigers net and in came rookie Mati Barrett to replace her.

Kelty Apperson (Steinert, MacIsaac) would get her second goal of the game to round out the scoring in the middle frame at the 18 minute mark to make it 6 to 1 for St. Thomas.  Shots in the period were 10 -  9 for Dal.

Courtney Fox would blast a rocket from the point past Barrett at 11:08 of third period to round out the scoring.  Marcelline and Francis would each get their second assists of the afternoon on the goal.  Julia Sharun closed the door the rest of the way and picked up her fifth win of the season stopping 23 of 24 shots.  The Tommies fired 29 the other way.

This will set up a first place show down Friday night at the Grant-Harvey Centre against the St-FX X-Women.  The X-Women defeated the Mt. A Mounties this afternoon 5 - 2 and sit tied with the Tommies, each with 14 points to lead the conference.   If you were thinking about coming to check out a women's game, make it this one.

Want to learn more about our Lady Tommies rookies?  Check out this video by Tommies TV's Nick Murray, edited and produced by Randy Corey.

Les Aigles hold off Tommies

Despite a solid comeback effort in the third period, the Tommies fell 3-2 to Les Aigles Bleus tonight at the Grant-Harvey Centre, leaving STU still searching for their first win of the season, falling to 0-10.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in the first period, with Moncton outshooting St. Thomas by a 10-8 margin.

UdeM opened the scoring at 7:46 of the second period, with Mathieu Bolduc's point shot deflecting past STU goaltender Justin Collier.  Alex Quesnel scored on the powerplay at 9:16 to make it 2-0, then Marc-Andre Cote scored a shorthanded breakaway goal at 18:30 to increase Moncton's lead to 3-0.  Les Aigles outshot the Tommies 17-12 in the middle frame.

The play shifted in St. Thomas' favour in the third, and Stephen Sanza (Chris Morehouse, Colin Martin) combined to put the Tommies on the board at 3:36 after Sanza converted a nice Morehouse touch pass from behind the net.  Despite some solid pressure and a strong forecheck throughout the period, it wasn't until 17:42 that Felix-Antoine Poulin (Martin, John MacDonald) batted the puck out of the air and behind UdeM goalie Andre Guay to make it 3-2.  With Collier on the bench for an extra attacker, the Tommies had a couple of good opportunities but could not find the equalizer and les Aigles escaped their first visit to the GHC with two points.  STU outshot Moncton 13-5 in the final period.  33-32 were the final shots on goal in favour of UdeM.

Tommies no match for Squirrels

Alex Labonte takes a shot towards UNB's net.
Photo Courtesy Dylan Buell

The UNB Varsity Reds outshot and out scored the St. Thomas Tommies on their way to a convincing 6-1 win Friday night at the Grant Harvey Centre.

The VReds took control of the game from the beginning and scored one goal in the first on 11 shots, They picked up the pace in the second scoring three times on 17 shots all the time not allowing their opponents much shooting room and only allowing one shot in the first and none in the second.

The Tommies finally got on the board in the third when Chris Morehouse converted a John MacDonald pass after UNB went up 5-0. That goal came just 9 seconds after the VReds fifth, one of four power play goals they got on seven opportunities. The Tommies were 0 on 3. Thomas Nesbitt, Tyler Carroll, Nick MacNeil, Bryce Swan, Geordie Wudrick and Chris Culligan scored for the VReds. Daine Todd and Cam Braes each had a pair of assists while Colby Pridham, Ben Shutron, Swan, Cam Braes (2), Cam Chritchlow, Culligan and Marc Antoine Desnoyes each had singles.

Travis Fullerton was the winner in nets with six saves. Jonathan Groenheyde started the game and played tremendously making 30 saves on 34 shots. He was replaced by Justin Colllier for the last 14:47 of the game because of an injury and made 9 saves on 11 shots.

With files from Hockeyscene.com

Tommies tops in AUS with win over Mounties

Kayla Blackmore scored her fifth goal of the season this
afternoon against the Mount Allison Mounties.
Photo Credit: Richard Lafourtune

Chalk up another win for the Lady Tommies.  Back stopped by a 20 save performance by Kristin Wolfe, STU vaulted into sole possession of first place in the AUS with a 2 to 1 victory over the Mount Allison Mounties.

St. Thomas did all of their goal scoring in the first period.  Kayla Blackmore scored her fifth goal of the season on a partial breakaway unassisted.  Blackmore muscled through the MT A. defender to beat all-star goalie Meagan Corley-Byrne at 3:46.

Sophomore Erin MacIsaac would get the eventual game winning goal at 15:16.  Once again the goal was unassisted. Shots were 14 to 8 in the period for STU.

The second period was scoreless with the Tommies holding the shot advantage 11 to 8 and both goalies playing well.

In the third, MT. A would "mount" a comeback as Samantha Bujold would score at 7:40 but STU and Wolfe would shut the door to any further damage.  Shots were 10 - 5 in favour of the Tommies and 35 to 21 overall.

Game notes:

STU is struggling on the powerplay going 0 for 3 with the advantage today.  The Tommies can't seem to get the PP going well.

St. Thomas is playing very disciplined hockey, only taking one penalty today. Yes, they were perfect on the PK, killing off MT A's only opportunity.

The Tommies will not see action again until next Sunday afternoon when the Dalhousie Tigers pay their first visit to the Grant-Harvey Centre.  Come on out and watch the Lady Tommies fight for first place.

I was happy to see at least 4 or 5 regulars to men's games at yesterdays Lady's game.  Remember that your season's pass to the men's games is also good for the Lady Tommies.  Get the biggest bang for your bucks and come on out next Sunday afternoon and support St. Thomas Hockey.

Sharun stars in Tommies victory

Julia Sharun stopped 21 shots in a 3 - 0 STU victory
Photo Credit - Dylan Buell

The St. Thomas Tommies were looking to regain top position in the AUS this afternoon against the reigning champion UPEI Panthers and thanks to Julia Sharun's excellent play they did just that.  With a 21 save performance she back stopped STU to a 3 - 0 victory, while also picking up player of the game honours.

The first period was scoreless and the shots were even at six.  Their were no great chances and both goalies were solid in net.

When the second period began the ice at the new Grant-Harvey Centre was still very wet and the puck was slowed substantially because of this.  It proved to be an advantage for STU, as Kayla Blackmore stole the puck in the Panthers' end, after a defensive miscue, and proceeded to snipe one blocker side past goalie Kristy Dobson.

Katie Brewster would hit the score sheet on the powerplay at 6:58 when Dobson couldn't cover the puck in the crease and Brewster eventually pushed it under her for the goal.  The only assist to Caley Steinert.

The Tommies would pot one more in the period as Kayla Blackmore (box score says Paige MacDonald) pushed the puck ahead from the Tommies blue line to a streaking Emily Francis, who made no mistake on a breakaway to give STU a commanding three goal lead at 10:08.  Heading to the final period shots were 15 to 13 for UPEI.

In the third, Sharun made the lead hold, as she was called upon to make several key saves to earn the all important win and her second shutout of the season.  With the victory the Tommies leap back into a first place tie with the St-FX X-Women with 10 points.  X lost last night to Saint Mary's 2 to 1.

Game notes:

For the third game in a row the Tommies were without the services of injured rookie forward Emily Ryan.

This was Sharun's second shut out of the season, her first at home.

STU was 1 for 6 on the PP and were a perfect 2 - 0 on the PK.

Rookie Eliza Snider looked like a seasoned veteran and played an excellent game.

STU will head to Sackville tomorrow afternoon and play the Mt. Allison Mounties.  Game time is 2 PM.

Tigers shut out Tommies

The Tommies can't find a way to win.  Tonight in Halifax the Dalhousie Tigers scored the game winning goal at 11:33 of the third period and salted it away with an empty netter at 19:22 to ensure the Tommies fell to 0 and 8 on the season.

I know it sounds like a broken record but Jon Groenheyde was sharp in the STU net stopping 39 of 40 Tiger shots.

Hang in there Tommie fans it is always darkest just before the dawn.  Just hold on.

Tommies win some confidence, lose to Acadia

The Tommies lost tonight to Acadia 3 to 2 but something changed. Unless you watched tonight’s game you won’t know quite what I mean but the Tommies found something they hadn’t been able to find all season, some confidence. After making the game close, STU looked like a different team but they did look like a TEAM.

The first period saw Acadia heavily out shoot the Tommies 19 – 2 but the margin was deceiving as STU played a structured system keeping the Axemen to the perimeter.

The Axemen came out flying early in the second and their hard work paid off as Joe Gaynor banged home a loose puck 52 seconds into the period. A few minutes later an Acadia forward was left all alone in front of the STU net but Justin Collier made an incredible pad save to rob the Axemen. Unfortunately for STU the one goal deficit became two goals at 11:58 as Brett Thompson skated down the left side and snapped one blocker side past Collier. Acadia dominated the shot clock 20 – 6 in the period.

The Tommies had no answer early in the third period and Acadia scored at 2:19 when Mike Cazzola was left all alone at the side of the net to pot an easy one.

STU looked beat but Felix-Antoine Poulin (Reich, Henegan) would bank one in off of Peter DiSalvo to reduce the lead to two at 8:38. Then Jonathan Bonneau (Sanza, Levesque) would snipe one top corner at 11:42 to breath new life into the entire team. They had been out shot 46 to 11 up until that point but a whole different group appeared on the ice and while the come back did fall short, perhaps a change is in the making. Final shots on goal were 49 to 17 for Acadia.

Justin Collier was outstanding in the STU net.

The Tommies will head to Halifax tomorrow for a 7 PM start time against the Dalhousie Tigers. The game will be held at the Halifax Metro Centre. Which STU team shows up? The confident play with any team Tommies or the hang your head low we can’t score Tommies? Tune in tomorrow night to find out, webcast for the game can be found here. http://playerv2.streamit.ca/PlayerV2.aspx?eventid=303