Round 4 Vs. The Squirrels-Preview

This Friday, February 1st @ 7pm, the UNB Varsity Squirrels come into the Grant Harvey Centre for the fourth round of the "Battle of the Hill". The game will be the second time the Squirrels have played at the G/H Centre this season.

In the first tilt at the G/H Centre, UNB took the Tommies down 6-1. The V-Reds have been a tough team to solve this year out scoring the Tommies 18-3 this season. This number is not to scare anyone but it is a fact of the stats. It certainly doesn't mean that the Tommies aren't giving it their "all" but the shortened bench has been a factor.

The injury bug has certainly bit the team hard over the last few weeks, both defenceman Christian Morin and forward Colin Martin will be out for this weekend and on the doubtful list are forwards Jonathan Bonneau, Robert Zandbeek and a pair of rookie defencemen Jordan Thomas, Nick Brown.

Tommies goaltender Jonathan Groenheyde #31 is coming off a game in which he stood on his head to keep our Tommies in the game against the Acadia Axemen where he faced 70 shots on net and only allowing 4 goals. I'm sure he will be ready to do it again on Friday night against the Squirrels.

The Tommies are going to need the "7th Man" loud in the stands to show the Tree Rats we aren't afraid of them and stop them from trying to build a nest in our trench! Bring your noise makers and be prepared to make lots of noise to scare the Squirrels off.


Murph

WyldeMurph on Twitter

Panthers squeak past Tommies

In a playoff style game tonight in Charlottetown, the UPEI Panthers scored a first period goal past Julia Sharun and held on for a 1 - 0 win over the Tommies.  This was no small game either, as UPEI now sits two points back of the Tommies for second place and they have 2 games in hand. After a terrible start to the season, the defending AUS Champion Panthers are now 9 and 1 in their past 10 games.

No boxscore is available over 30 minutes after the end of the game so I can't tell you much other than UPEI led in shots 22 to 21.  Emily Ryan, Emily Francis, and Caley Steinert were all out of the lineup tonight.

STU will not be back in action for two weeks when they take on the Mount Allison Mounties on Feb. 9th in Sackville.  On the 10th the Panthers will come to the Grant-Harvey for a rematch of tonight's game.  Should be a good one.

Groenheyde amazing in Tommies loss

How many letters in the word amazing?  By my count ten and you spell it G-R-O-E-N-H-E-Y-D-E.  The beleaguered STU goaltender faced 70 shots (EN goal was 71) in a 5 to 2 defeat at the hands of the Acadia Axemen tonight in Wolfville.

If not for the "Groenheyde" work of the STU goaltender the game could have easily of been 10 to 2 or worse.  It would be super easy here to cut up the entire Tommies team in front of him but by the end of the night the 12 skaters on the ice for St. Thomas had nothing left in the tank.

After allowing 3 goals in the first period the Tommies made it close in the middle frame with goals from  Jon Bonneau and Alex Labonte.  Acadia scored their fourth goal midway through the third period to seal the win and an empty netter for good measure.  The Axemen had 29, 12, and 30 shots respectively through three periods of play.

Acadia gave Groenheyde first star honours in facing 70 shots, even though their own player, Mike Cazzola, scored a hat trick.  A real classy move, kudos to them!

You really have to think that Groenheyde has to get some consideration for the AUS Rookie Team that will be announced in March.  I realize that St-FX's Drew Owsley has better statistics but he also has a better team in front of him.  But to be honest I have little faith in the AUS considering Felix Poulin should have been on it last year without question and was not. We'll see.

Tigers roll over Tommies

In AUS men's hockey action from Halifax, the Dalhousie Tigers jumped out to a 3 to 1 first period lead and added two more unanswered goals in the second, as they cruised to a 5 to 2 win over the Tommies.

Sebastien Bernier (Zandbeek-Poulin) and Steve Sanza (Bernier-Labonte) were the Tommies scorers in the first and third periods respectively.

DAL out shot the Tommies 33-30. STU was 1 for 4 on the PP.

The Tommies move on to Wolfville tomorrow to face the Acadia Axemen at 7:00PM.

Tommies take down Huskies

Julia Sharun picked up her 4th shut out of the season
this afternoon versus the SMU Huskies.
Photo Courtesy Dylan Buell

With a hat trick of Tommies' players having a big game this afternoon, St. Thomas defeated the Saint Mary's Huskies 2 to 0.  Jordan Miller and Cassidy McTaggart each had two points and Julia Sharun earned her fourth shut out of the season.

The first period was uneventful with no goals being scored.  Saint Mary's did not register their first shot on net until the 12 minute mark of the period, as STU out shot SMU 9 to 4 in the first.

Cassidy McTaggart would score the eventual game winning tally at 15:03 of the second period with the helpers to Jordan Miller and Erin MacIsaac.  Sharun closed the door on 10 Huskies shots in the period while STU fired 9 the other way.

St. Thomas would get a little insurance at 4:09 of third.  SMU's goalie Sienna Cooke made a nice save on Jordan Miller that resulted in a face off to her right.  Cassidy McTaggart won the draw back to Paige MacDonald, who promptly sent a perfect pass to a waiting Jordan Miller at the side of the SMU net and fired a quick shot for a two goal Tommies advantage.

The Huskies would pull their goalie late in the third period trying to get on the board but Julia Sharun was up to the task and denied everything that was thrown her way the rest of the game.  Final shots on goal favoured STU 30 to 27.

The win was huge as the Huskies sat 1 point behind the Tommies for second in the AUS standings at the start of the game.  STU now has a 3 point advantage on SMU and 4 points on UPEI, who they play  next Saturday night in Charlottetown.

Pressing Offense

The Tommies Men's hockey drove the net hard all night, leading the UPEI Panthers 31-29 in shots. UPEI led the goal column though beating the Tommies 7-2.

Tonight is a case where the goal column did not tell the whole story, the Tommies opened the scoring in the first period on a goal from Robert Zandbeek #21 (Morehouse#18, Poulin#8), the Panthers answered back though scoring a pair of goals also in the first from Dana Fraser#12 (MacIssac#19, Desousa#28) and Mike MacIssac#19 (Brown#26, Fraser#12). The Tommies led the period in shots though 11-10.

The second period started with UPEI scoring another pair of goals off the sticks of Dana Fraser#12 (Brenton#57, MacIssac#19) and Travis MacIssac#18 (Knox#9, Desousa#28). The Tommies did score a powerplay marker though, Yuri Cheremetiev#9 (Morehouse#18, Hobbs#12) making the score 4-2 after 2 periods of play for UPEI. The Tommies goaltender Jonathan Groenheyde#31 was visibly frustrated after breaking his stick on the cross-bar. The shots at the end of the period were 13-9 for the Tommies.

The third period opened with a scoring onslaught from UPEI picking up three goals in a matter of four and a half minutes. Tyler Brown#26 (MacIssac#14, Taylor#3), Mike MacIssac#14 (Fraser#12, Brenton#57), Cole MacMillian#79 (McQuaid#89, McCullough#4). Shortly after the last goal was scored Tommies goaltender Groenheyde#31 was replaced by Fredericton native Tyler Piercy #35, who faced and stopped four shots in the remaining minutes of the third period. The shots at the end of the third period were 10-7 for UPEI, the only time all evening that UPEI led the shots column.

It was a tough night for the Tommies this evening, the biggest positive that came from tonight's game was the amount of shots the Tommies were able to get on UPEI goaltender Wayne Savage#1. Savage was tough to solve, bailing out the Panthers on 29 of 31 shots the Tommies put his way.

The Tommies are facing the Dalhousie Tigers on January 25 and Acadia Axemen on January 26, both games are on the road before the Tommies come back to Fredericton to play their two remaining home games of the '12-13' season versus the Squirrels on February 1 and UdeM on February 3 in the annual Lou Chabot game.

Murph

WyldeMurph on Twitter

X-Women complete season sweep of Tommies

Another case of deja vu this afternoon as the Tommies lost 3 to 1 against the St-FX X-Women.  STU open the scoring for the fourth time in four games this season versus X and took it to the X-Women in the opening five minutes of play, only to have them roar back and win the game.

Today it was Kayla Blackmore's turn to open the scoring for the Tommies at 3:35.  Dani Miller drew the only assist as she worked hard to get the puck to the front of the net and whacked away it before Kayla was able to bang it home in a furious scramble in front of the X goal keeper.

STU's Amy Duffield would draw a tripping call at 5:53 and the X-Women would make the Tommies pay, as they scored at 6:11 to knot the game at ones.  There would be no more scoring in the period.

You have to give credit to the Tommies, as they hung tough with St-FX for most of the game, but X would score the eventual game winning goal with under 2 minutes to play in the second period as Catherine Civitarese slipped one past Kristin Wolfe in the the STU net.

In the third period the Tommies came precariously close to tying the game as Katie Brewster raced down the left wing side and fired a bullet off the crossbar.  Of course, as luck would have it, X brought the puck back down ice and would score at 8:30 to make it 3 to 1.

STU had several powerplay chances after the goal to get closer but the X-Women shut the door.

Final shots on goal favoured St-FX 33 to 22.  Kristin Wolfe was solid in the loss.

Comeback falls short in Moncton

After falling behind U de M 5 to 1 early in the second period, the Tommies pushed hard to come back but fell short 5 to 4.  As short staffed as STU is, there is no quit in this team and they battled hard right to the very end.

This evening in Moncton, U de M scored two goals in the first 2:23 of the opening period and again at 10:23 for a three goal lead.  Alex Labonte fed a nice pass to Felix Poulin, who was all alone in front, to cut the lead to two.  Moncton scored at 13:41 to regain the three goal advantage and would take that to the locker room after the first period.  Shots were 14 to 4 for U de M.

The Tommies would have a power play to start the second period but it was Moncton shorthanded that scored at the 51 second mark for a 5 to 1 lead. Jon Groenheyde would come up big a few times in the remainder of the period as U de M would take the four goal lead to the final period.

Either U de M feel asleep in the third period or the short bench Tommies put together one of their best periods of the season.  Steve Sanza (Zandbeek, Cameron) scored at 4:14 to cut the lead to three, then Rob Zandbeek scored from a bad angle at 8:47 to make it 5 to 3.

St. Thomas pressed and missed several good chances in the final 10 minutes.  Yuri Cheremetiev (MacDonald, Morehouse) would make a beauty rush late in the third and score the highlight of the night at 18:31 but STU couldn't find the tying goal and ended up dropping the game 5 to 4 despite the strong comeback effort.  STU outshot Moncton 16 to 7 in the third.

The Tommies come back to Fredericton tonight and will take on UPEI tomorrow at 7 PM.  The Panthers dropped an overtime heartbreaker to UNB tonight 3 to 2.  UPEI was up 2 to 0 at one point in the game.

There's Always Tomorrow!

Tonight the Tommies had a hard game against the Squirrels at the Aitken Centre, in the annual Mark Jeffrey Memorial game, UNB beat the Tommies 7-0. 

The Tommies playing with the short bench tonight was certainly a key contributor in the loss, Christian Morin #2, Jordan Thomas #6, and Colin Martin #19 were all out of the line up. Yuri Cheremetiev #9 setup on the blue line tonight to help out the depleted defense.

I'm only going to write about the positives that I watched tonight, the score speaks for itself.  

The Tommies were strong on their penalty kill all evening, giving the V-Reds five power plays and not allowing them to score on any of them. Jonathan Groenheyde #31 turned away 43 of the Squirrels shots, and made some amazing saves in the process.  

The Tommies did have some problems staying out of the box, including 3 in the first 8 minutes of the game, towards the end of the game it did get quite chippy. I have to commend Tommies forward Chris Morehouse #18, while taking punches from V-Reds forward Matt Fillier #27 (with gloves off), Morehouse did not drop his gloves or stick, he did take a 10 minute misconduct for roughing.

The Tommies face off with UdeM Aigles Bleus (Last game vs. STU was a 4-1 win Tommies) on the road on Friday night and are back home on Saturday night at the Grant/Harvey Centre versus the UPEI Panthers (Last game vs. STU was a 4-3 win Panthers). 

Murph

WyldeMurph on Twitter

Hunting for a "W" at the Squirrel's Nest

So after a big win on Friday night against the Dalhousie Tigers (2-1) and a rough loss to the Acadia Axemen (6-3) on Saturday night, the St. Thomas Tommies Men's Hockey Team is going into the Squirrel's nest Wednesday night for the annual Mark Jeffrey Memorial game against UNB. The Squirrels are coming into the game on a win over the X-Men (5-2) and a loss to the surging St. Mary's Huskies (5-3) in Halifax.

Something I would love to see is lots of Green and Gold in the stands and I would really like to hear lots of noise so the Squirrels know we're there, you know how Squirrels react to loud sounds. The Tommies are going to need our help if they want to take a run at the top mmmmmmm......... Rodents?? The guys should feel like this is a home game as it is just down the hill and all.

The Tommies were playing with a short bench again on the weekend with rookie Colin Martin and Robert Zandbeek both in their street clothes due to injuries, hopefully they will be back in the line-up on Wednesday night. Also rookie defenceman Jordan Thomas will be out of the lineup with a knee injury sustained on the weekend versus the Acadia Axemen.

Also a big shout-out to Tommies forward Jonathan Bonneau for getting the nod for being named the STU Male Athlete of the week as well as check out the great article in the Daily Gleaner (January 15, 2013) on Tommies goaltender Jonathan Groenheyde.

So bring out the Green and Gold also don't forget those noise makers for the Wednesday night game at the AUC for a 7pm start!

Murph Wants Noise!!!!

WyldeMurph on Twitter

Tommies end slump, defeat Mounties

Dani Miller scored the winning goal vs. MTA today.
Photo Courtesy Dylan Buell

The losing streak is over at three games and the Lady Tommies picked up their first win of 2013 after defeating the Mount Allison Mounties 3 to 2 this afternoon at the Grant-Harvey Centre.

St. Thomas hit the score sheet fast and furious in the first period registering two goals in 14 seconds.  Kenya Marcelline ( J. Miller) scored her first of the second half on the power play at 9:48.  The Tommies won the ensuing face-off and forced the puck back into Mt A's end.  Katie Brewster would fire one under Jenelle Hulan at 10:02 with assists to Stephanie Gates and Kelty Apperson.

The two quick goals would hold up through the first twenty minutes as STU led 2 - 0 and out shot the Mounties 13 - 10 in the period.

Mount Allison would eventually answer with a goal at 12:24 of the second period.  Marissa Simard would come out from behind the net and pound a puck past Julia Sharun, who was tight to the right goal post but not enough to keep MT. A off the board.

STU came right back at 15:04 as Dani Miller would accept a Kayla Blackmore pass and shoot a quick one that went right through Hulan.  The goal would prove to be huge.

The Mounties came out hungry in the third period and would trim the lead at the 9:47 mark.  Kristen Cooze would make a nice deflection on a Randi Sullivan point shot to get closer to STU and cut the lead to one. .  The Tommies would be forced to weather the Mt. A storm, including a 4 minute penalty to Katie Brewster with only 5:37 to go.

The Tommies would pull out the victory 3 to 2 but were out shot in the game 30 to 27, including 10 to 5 in the third.  With the win STU pulls 3 points ahead of SMU and MCT for second position.

STU's next game will be next Saturday afternoon at 3PM when they entertain the ST- FX X-Women.

Acadia rolls over Tommies

The Tommies tore out to a 3 - 0 lead after one period against Acadia but couldn't hold on, as the Axemen came back for a 6 - 3 victory. 

Scoring in the first period for STU were Chris Morehouse (Cameron, Levesque), Chermetiev (Bonneau, Hobbs) and Bernier (Cameron, Morehouse) on the PP. 

Acadia scored four goals in the second period and two more in the third.  They dominated both periods out shooting STU 38 to 4. 

Moncton scrapes past Tommies

In a tight game this afternoon in Moncton, the Tommies were defeated by Les Aigles Bleues 2 to 1.  This is the Tommies third straight loss after Christmas break and one could say that STU is officially reeling.

Moncton jumped out to a 2 to 0 lead after the first period as they scored at 2:28 on the PP and at 12:31. Kristin Wolfe was sharp the rest of the way and wouldn't allow another goal in the game.  Shots favoured Moncton in the first period 8 to 6.

STU came out better in the second period and Jordan Miller scored at 14:15 to cut the deficit in half but try as they might, the Tommies could not solve Emilie Bouchard in the Moncton net.  She was the difference, as she held her team solid, especially when the Tommies pressed hard late in the third period.  Final shots on goal were 21 to 20 for STU.

The Tommies were without Erin McIsaac and Emily Ryan in the line-up.  

Tommies Take the Tigers Down

Tommies Forward Jon Bonneau #51 with the first goal.
Photo courtesy of Dylan Buell

Troy Ryan wanted sweat equity and he is getting it from his STU Tommies Men's Hockey team. The Dalhousie Tigers came to town and they are leaving with a loss. The Tommies who now have a winning streak at home, beat the Tigers 2-1, in a very close game from beginning to end.

The Tommies had two familiar faces in their line-up at home tonight with Christian Morin #2 and Randy Cameron #17 back on the bench. Two faces that were not on the bench though were Colin Martin #19 (Upper Body) and Robert Zandbeek #21 (Lower Body).

The first period opened with Jon Bonneau #51 taking a penalty at 0:18 into the game for roughing, shortly after that penalty was killed off Felix Poulin #8 was in the box for tripping at the 3:15 mark. During the penalty kill Tommies goaltender Jonathan Groenheyde #31 made some amazing saves even after having his stick knocked away. At the 13:54 mark on the clock the Tigers put the Tommies on the power-play, with a hooking call on Daniel Joyce #19, the Tommies were unable to capitalise with the extra man though. At 18:29 though the Tommies Alternate Captain Jon Bonneau #51 scored the Tommies first goal of the game on an odd play where he had been checked from behind, behind the Tigers net and was slow to get back up, he had crossed the blue line back into the neutral zone where he caught a pass from Matt Hobbs #12 and walked in and scored the beauty of a goal passed the Tigers net-minder Wendell Vye #33.  The shots on goal at the end of the first were 8-8 a peice.

The second period started much the same way the first did with Alex Labonte #4 taking a penalty at 2:31 for cross-checking. Dal did not use the opportunity to take advantage of being a man up and the Tommies killed off another penalty. The Tommies had two more chances one right after the other with a penalty at 5:27 to Matthew English #15 for boarding within seconds of the Tigers killing that penalty off they were back in the box with Brett Plouffe #7 going in for a high stick at 7:29. The Tommies were unable to score on the power-plays but did put lots of shots on net in the period. The shots on goal in the period were 9 for the Tommies and 6 for the Tigers. Totalling 17 for the Tommies and 14 for the Tigers.

The third period started with the Tigers pouring on lots of pressure trying to get the equalizer. At 10:06 they were given the chance with Jon Bonneau going to the box for hooking but were unable to solve Groenheyde during the man advantage. At 10:44 the Dal Tigers forward Brett Theberge left the ice with a laceration complaining to the officials that he had been slashed, there was some blood on the ice and took the Linesmen a few minutes to clean it up, this allowed the Tommies to regroup and settle down going into the last minutes of the game. With 48 seconds left in the game the Tommies came back and scored an insurance marker off the stick of Jon Bonneau #51 assisted by Alex Labonte #4 in an empty Dal net. It was a much needed goal because 17 seconds later the Tigers came back and scored a goal of their own, Andrew Wigginton got the marker with assists to Andrew Langan #26 and Chris Ivanko #71, Dal did not let up in the last 30 seconds of the game but goalie Jon Groenheyde stood his ground and kept the off the board. The Tigers put 17 shots on goal in the third to the Tommies 6.

Close call from Cameron and Morehouse
Photo courtesy of Dylan Buell

With all that said the Tommies WIN!!!!! 2-1, Shots on goal were 31 for the Tigers and 23 for the Tommies. The AUS Player of the game was Jonathan Bonneu with two goals in the game.

The Tommies penalty kill is looking strong and the team is making positive strides in the right direction. Saturday night they are taking on the Acadia Axmen who are coming to the Grant Harvey Centre from UdeM and a 4-3 loss, game time is 7pm.

Murph

WydeMurph on Twitter

Dal & Acadia Come to Freddy Beach

Well after a long hard weekend in the Bluenose Province the St. Thomas Tommies Men's hockey team suffered two losses in NS to the Saint Mary's Huskies and the St. FX X-Men.

This weekend the guys take on the Dalhousie Tigers on Friday night and the Acadia Axemen on Saturday, both games are at the GH Centre at 7pm. These are the first home games for the Tommies who are coming back after the Christmas break

The Tigers are coming into Freddy Beach Friday night on the heels of two losses, one to UPEI (2-1) and the other a shut-out loss to the Squirrels (3-0). The Tigers are coming to town with some controversy following them after an announcement that some players have received financial awards above and beyond tuition and fees. At this point the CIS has not handed down any suspensions or placed the team under any sanctions.

On Saturday night the Tommies are taking on Acadia. The Axemen are headed into town after a loss to the Squirrels (4-2) and a loss to UPEI also (4-2). Even with two losses last weekend this team is still plenty dangerous.  The teams leading scorer Andrew Clark will be on a mission to get the ship back on course and make a move to get back in front of the Squirrels in the AUS standings.

The Tommies did have an addition to the line-up over the Christmas break, goaltender Tyler Piercy has joined the team. Tyler is joining the Green and Gold after playing for the Woodstock Slammers and Miramichi Timberwolves of the MHL also having played a handful of games in the QMJHL for Lewiston MAINEiacs as well as the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

Also defenceman Christian Morin back in the line-up, he is a welcome addition back to the blue-line for the Tommies, also hopefully we will see the return of forward Randy Cameron. Unfortunately with the loss of Robert Zandbeek due to injury as a result of blocking a shot during the game against St. FX, having Morin and Cameron back on the ice will be a welcome sight.

Come on out to the Grant/Harvey Centre for a pair of what will be exciting games in AUS Men's hockey action!


Murph

WyldeMurph on Twitter

X-Women dominate Tommies

We are going to chalk up the first weekend of 2013 as a learning experience for a young Tommies team.  This afternoon they lost 6 to 1 to St-FX and went 0 - 2 on their Nova Scotia road trip.

The game started the same way as all the other games versus X this year have gone, the Tommies dominate the first 10 or 15 minutes of the first period, score the first goal, then the X-Women wake up and take control.  Today was exactly that, Jordan Miller scored at 3:30 to give STU a 1 - 0 lead but that was it.

St-FX scored on Julia Sharun at 8:34 on their first shot of the game and then again with under two minutes to play for a lead they would never relinquish.  STU ran into penalty trouble in the second frame and X would capitalize three times on the PP to make it 5 to 1 after two periods.

The X-Women would add one more in the third to give the final score of 6 to 1.

Emily Francis was helped off the ice after taking a high hit in the second period.  She is "ok" but will probably be out of the lineup for the next few weeks with an upper body injury.

X-Men shut out Tommies

A strong first period didn't hold up for STU, as the St-FX X-Men defeated the Tommies 3 to 0.  Jon Groenheyde was solid again for STU facing 28 shots in the loss.

The first period was scoreless, X scored one in the second period, and two in the final period for the win.  STU did have a few opportunities around the X-Men's net but were not able to convert.

Final shots on goal were 28 to 10 for the X-Men.  The Tommies return home next weekend and will take on Dalhousie on Friday night and Acadia on Saturday.

Huskies stun Tommies

Emily Francis scores STU's first goal
Courtesy Richard Lafortune

Sometimes hockey is a game of patience and the Saint Mary's Huskies showed they had some this afternoon, upsetting the Tommies 3 to 2.  The Tommies were up 2 to 0 at one point in the game but SMU scored the final three goals for the win.

STU was first on the board when Emily Francis, from her knees, scored at 18:34 of the first.  Kayla Blackmore and Dani Miller got the assists on the play.  Shots were 10 - 7 for STU in the first period.

The Tommies built on the lead at 2:35 of the second period when Stephanie Gates scored her third of the season with the only assist going to Courtney Fox.

An offensive zone gaff by the Tommies on the powerplay led to SMU's first goal, as Lindsay Gray went in on a breakaway and beat Kristin Wolfe high and glove side at 14:03.  The second period ended 2 to 1 and saw STU lead in the shot department 19 to 15.

St. Thomas came close to scoring several times in the third but it was the Huskies that converted on their chances.  Kaitlyn Abbass scored to tie the game at 12:07 as she found the puck down low and popped a high shot passed Wolfe.

Katie Brewster was called for holding at 17:44 on an innocuous looking play.  The ref for the game, up to that point, had been ignoring more blatant physical plays but chose to call this one at a critical juncture.  The penalty was costly as SMU's Maggie Pollseno banged home the winning goal with 2:02 to go in the game and only 14 seconds into the  favourable powerplay opportunity.

STU tried to get the tying goal but couldn't get things rolling in time.  They out shot the Huskies 30 to 20.

Emily Ryan returned to action for the Tommies but Kenya Marcelline and Erin MacIssac were both out due to injuries.  Kristin Wolfe was tagged with her second loss of the year.

Huskies cruise to victory over Tommies

On the strength of five third period goals the Saint Mary's Huskies pounded the Tommies 7 to 1 tonight in Halifax.  The first two periods were close but after a couple of quick powerplay goals in the third made the score 4 to 1, there just didn't seem to be a way to stop the SMU surge.

It was St. Thomas who scored first at the 12:00 minute mark of the first when Marc-Andre Levesque (Sanza, Labonte) wired home a point shot for his first goal this season.  The lead lasted until 17:19 when a bad bounce off the end boards resulted in a SMU powerplay goal. 

The second period saw SMU score the eventual game winner early at 1:23 for a 2 to 1 lead.  The Huskies would control much of the play in the period but would settle for the one goal margin heading into the third.  

The final period saw STU go to the PP early, where they rung one off the post, but two successive penalties to the Tommies soon after would have the Huskies licking their chops.  SMU scored on the 4 on 3 when the STU forward lost his stick to make it effectively a 4 on 2 and would score again shortly there after on a 5 on 4 to make the score 4 to 1.  

SMU would score one more goal on Jon Groenheyde to make it 5 to 1 and newcomer Tyler Piercy was summoned to play between the pipes.  Tyler would allow two more goals to make the final score 7 to 1. 

The Tommies will try and regroup tonight and head to Antigonish tomorrow evening and take on the X-Men, who defeated UdeM tonight 5 to 1. 

Second half begins in Nova Scotia for Tommies

Both the Men's and Women's hockey Tommies hit the road this weekend to kick off the second half of their seasons. The Men will head to Halifax on Friday night and Antigonish on Saturday, while the nationally 10th ranked Women will follow suit playing in Halifax on Saturday afternoon and Antigonish on Sunday afternoon.

Katie Brewster leads STU with 8 goals.
Photo Courtesy Richard Lafortune

The Ladies had a great first half and sit firmly in second place in the AUS with 19 points, five ahead of Moncton and Saint Mary's in third, each with 14 points. STU does have a game in hand on the Huskies, who they will play Saturday at 3 PM. The game should be broadcast online HERE.  St. Thomas won both games in the first half against SMU by scores of 2 - 1 in OT in Halifax and 3  - 2 at home.  There will be no easy two points against this team but with any luck the Tommies will have rookie Emily Ryan back in the line up for the first time since October 14th.

On Sunday the Tommies will visit the St-FX X-Women at the Keating Millennium Centre, game time is 2 PM.  Watch the game live HERE.   The X-Women rolled to an easy 6 to 1 win when these two teams met on October 26th and a tight 4 to 3 win on November 16th.  All hands (hopefully) will be on deck for STU versus St-FX on Sunday.  If St. Thomas has intentions of winning an AUS championship this season they will most likely have to beat this team to do it.  The X-Women will be waiting, can STU beat the best to be the best?

Steve Sanza had 13 points for STU in the first half
Photo Courtesy Dylan Buell

The Men head into battle Friday night against the Huskies looking to push their points streak to 3 games.  Game time is 7 PM and the game should be available HERE.  STU sits 7 points behind 6th place UPEI for the last playoff position, so every point is an important one.  The Tommies will be without Alexandre Leduc and Mike Reich for the second half,  but do look forward to the return of Randy Cameron who hasn't played a game since October 20th.  SMU, who currently sit in third, are in a dog fight for first place with UNB and Acadia, only two points behind the Axemen.  STU pushed them to a shoot out the last time they played on November 30th, so let's hope for more of the same on Friday.

On Saturday night the Tommies head up the Nova Scotia highway to Antigonish and will take on the X-Men.  Game time is 7 PM and you can watch the game HERE.  STU is coming off their first home win of the season versus St-FX on December 1st and will look to knock off the 4th place X-Men again.   Look for Steve Sanza, Randy Cameron, and Felix Poulin to have big games and Jon Groenheyde to continue his great play in the Tommies net.

Best of luck to our Tommies in the second half.