Friday 31 January 2014

Men's Tommies Complete Season Sweep of the Tigers

Rookie, Michael Beaudry, four goals, one assist (File Photo)
It was a goal filled affair as the men's Tommies completed the season sweep of the Dalhousie Tigers. This was a the first season sweep for the Tommies in two seasons, the last time they did it was against the St. FX X-men. The crowd in attendance and watching online on AUStv.ca were treated to a game that had 14 goals scored in it, with the Tommies coming out on top 8-6.

Dal opened the scoring early in the game, but not to be out-done, Michael Beaudry (Sanza, Bissonnette) tied the game up. Both teams settled into their game plans after this though till 15:30 into the game before the Tommies were able to put another marker on the board from Matt Bissonnette (Childerley, Beaudry) making it 2-1 for STU. The Tommies lead the shots on goal in the first 16-8.

The second period started much the same way as the first period did, with Dal tying the game up with a goal early on at 3:24. The Tommies again though showing their resilience, scored just under a minute later off the stick of Sebastien Bernier (Levesque, Cameron) and then another nine seconds later from Beaudry (Unassisted) while catching Tigers goaltender Wendell Vye out of his net, making the score 4-2. Dal came back though making a game of it tying it up going into the third period, with 4 goals a piece. The Tigers lead the shots on goal 10-8 in the second.

Jonathan Bonneau, one goal and two assists (File Photo)
The third period was filled with offense, Jon Bonneau (Levesque, Cameron) opened the scoring breaking the stalemate with a career highlight of a toe drag to beat Tigers keeper, Wendell Vye. Under two minutes later Yuri Cheremetiev(unassisted) scored on a partial breakaway, making it a 6-4 game. Michael Beaudry(Bonneau, Bissonnette) scored what should have been the insurance marker taking the score to 7-4. Dal showing resilience of their own though managed to put two goals in the Tommies net within the last two minutes of the game, making it 7-6. The Tommies added the final goal of the game though with six seconds left on the clock, in a move of complete unselfishness with Beaudry passing the puck to Jon Bonneau in front of the empty net and Bonneau putting the puck back on Beaudry's(Bonneau, Leduc) tape making the final score 8-6. The Tommies lead the shots on goal in the third period 16-10, as well as the game 40-28.

The Tommies are back in action as they make the trip to Wolfville, NS to take on the Acadia Axemen, at 7pm, Saturday night. Catch the action on AUStv.ca


 

Lady Tommies drop Dalhousie

The St. Thomas Tommies got both their goals in the first period and held on to defeat the Dalhousie Tigers 2 to 1 tonight in Halifax.

Kenya Marcelline scored both goals for STU, her first at 7:44 when she had just exited the penalty box and went in on a 3 on 1 break with Teah Anderson and Kelty Apperson.  Apperson made the perfect pass and Marcelline buried it into the open net.  Her second goal and eventual game winner was scored at 11:57 on the PP from Eliza Snider and Myfanwy Thomson.

Dalhousie scored early in the second period to cut the lead in half but Kristin Wolfe was solid when called upon and denied the Tigers the remainder of the night.   STU out shot Dalhousie 30 to 26.

With the win St. Thomas reclaims third place in the AUS standings, one point up on Moncton with one extra game played. The Tommies will stay in Halifax tonight and play the second place SMU Huskies tomorrow afternoon at 3PM.  They better be ready.

Saturday 25 January 2014

Moncton defeats Tommies

Another tough outing for the guys in green and gold as the U de M Aigles Bleus dismantled the Tommies 5 to 1.  Moncton scored when they were given chances and STU was not able to convert.

U de M scored one goal in the first period and three goals in the second period to take command of the game.

Yuri Cheremetiev (Bernier, Cameron) scored a  powerplay maker early in the third for STU's lone goal.

An interesting play occurred at 5:52 of the third period.  STU was killing a penalty when a player lost his stick.  Sebastien Bernier tried to shoot/direct the loose stick out of the middle of the ice by moving it with the blade of his stick.  The stick ended up sliding toward a Moncton player that had just received a pass.  The stick hit the puck and forced the Moncton player to loss control of the puck.  The referee immediately blew the play dead and awarded U de M a penalty shot.  I suppose it was for "throwing the stick"?  It was inadvertent, as there was no way Bernier could have planned what happened.  There was no scoring chance that was ruined but nevertheless a penalty shot was called.  Jon Groenheyde did eventually make the save on the penalty shot but U de M carried on with the powerplay and would score their fifth goal with one second left on it.

The rest of the third period got chippy and 31 minutes in penalties were handed out in the final 11 minutes of the game.  Final shots on goal were 34 - 21 for Moncton.  STU was 1 for 5 on the PP and 5 for 7 on the PK.

Men's Tommies Lose Heartbreaker to UNB

Steve Sanza, with two goals on the night.
The Tommies played in the annual Mark Jeffrey Memorial game at the AUC tonight against cross campus rivals, UNB. The game which celebrates the life of former player and coach for the then UNB Red Devils. The 2100+ fans were treated to a great game which unfortunately ended up with the Squirrels coming out on top.

The Tommies were missing a few regular faces at the puck drop, with D-man Jordan Thomas still out with a lower body injury, Jason Trott was not in tonight's line-up, and Colin Martin came out with the team for warm-ups but was scratched before the game began.

The first period was full of excitement as the Tommies came out and scored two goals off the stick of rookie forward Matt Bissonnette, the first one scored at 1:57 into the game unassisted and the second on a power play at 3:49 assisted by Jonathan Bonneau and Brendan Childerley. UNB did lead the shots on goal though doubling the Tommies, 12-6. STU's goaltender Jonathan Groenheyde kept UNB off the board turning away all 12 shots.

The second period started with a goaltender change, with UNB pulling former Tommie, Charlie Lavigne and replacing him with back-up, Joel Vienneau. Steve Sanza(Yuri Cheremetiev & Alex Leduc) came out and scored less then a minute into the frame making it a 3-0 hockey game, UNB not to be outdone scored shortly after making it a 3-1 game still in favour of the Tommies. UNB would add another on a power play but 0:21 seconds later, Steve Sanza(Sebastien Bernier) added his second goal of the night, 4-2 Tommies at this point. UNB would add another marker though before the end of the period making it a 4-3 game going into the third period. UNB had doubled the Tommies again in the shots on goal category 10-5, for a two period total of 22-11.

The Tommies hung in turning away UNB in the third period until 12:49, when the Squirrels tied the game up, they would then add another a little over three minutes later and an empty net goal with 1:20 left on the game clock. The final score of the game was 6-4 for the Squirrels. UNB lead the shots on goal 16 to STU's, 1. The final shots on goal were 38 to 12. The Tommies did better the Squirrels on the power play though, scoring on 2 of 6 chances, while UNB scored on 2 of 9 chances.

The Tommies are back in action Saturday evening at the GHC and the game time is 7pm. Come on out and cheer on the Green and Gold!
Rookie forward Matt Bissonnette to the right of the picture scoring on former Tommie, Charlie Lavigne. Matt had two goals on the night.

Friday 24 January 2014

Wolfe and Apperson lead Tommies over X

With some timely goal scoring by Kelty Apperson and the solid goaltending of Kristin Wolfe, the Lady Tommies defeated the St-FX X-Women 3 to 2 in a shoot out.  It was STU's first win at the Grant-Harvey Center over X in four tries since opening the building back in the fall of 2012.

Tonight, it was Apperson who opened the scoring for STU at the 8:00 minute mark of the first period when she took a Katie Brewster pass at the side of the net and fired it home from a sharp angle.  Connor Garagan tied the game for X 1:17 later.  The match would remain tied until the third period.

St. FX would take their first lead of the game at 6:08 of the third period on the powerplay.  With time running out on the Tommies, Kelty Apperson (Steinert, Brewster) tied the game with 1:41 to go.  She also missed on a breakaway with under 30 seconds to play and was a force all night creating havoc in the X-Women's end from the "get go".

After regulation the game was tied at 2 and the shots favoured X, 38 to 25.

The overtime period solved nothing.

In the shootout Kristin Wolfe was spectacular stopping all 5 X-Women shooters and Jenna Scott put one in the attic knocking the water bottle off the net for STU's only goal.

This was a huge win for the Tommies and an important 2 points in the standings.  

Sunday 19 January 2014

UdeM Get a "Win" From Lady Tommies

Forward Kelty Apperson, one assist on the night.
In a hard fought game by our Lady Tommies, the UdeM Aigles Bleues came out on top by the final buzzer. UdeM won the game 4-1 and led the shots on goal as well, 31-20.

UdeM opened the scoring just under the five minute mark at 4:45 of the first period on an unassisted goal in front of the Tommies net on keeper Kristin Wolfe. The Tommies answered back though on a goal from Captain Katie Brewster (Kelty Apperson) at 11:38. UdeM led the period in shots on goal 10-5.

The second period started with UdeM scoring a goal at 6:38 into the frame. Alternate Captain Cassidy McTaggart left the ice after having a collision with a UdeM player on the visiting teams blue line, McTaggart did return to the game. Moncton did have another goal at 14:39 on a power play, making the score 3-1 in favour of the Aigles Bleues. UdeM led the shots on goal in the period 10-9.

Moncton added their final goal at 3:18 in the third period, making the final score 4-1. The Tommies did have quite a few quality chances on UdeM keeper Emilie Bouchard but could not capitalize. Tommies keeper, Kristin Wolfe had several great saves during the game, but really kept the Ladies in the game in the third period. Jordan Miller did leave the ice during the frame after being hit into the boards in front of the "Home" team penalty box, Miller did not return to the game. UdeM hung on to the shots on goal, 11-6.

The Lady Tommies are back in action on Friday night at the GHC at 7:00pm to face the St. FX X-Women. Come on out and cheer on your Tommies.

Tommies alternate captain Cassidy McTaggart, with a UdeM D-Lady in hot pursuit.

Saturday 18 January 2014

X-Men hang on for win over Tommies


Three goals in just under six minutes of the second period proved to be the difference as the St-FX X-Men defeated the Tommies 4 to 2 tonight in Antigonish.  

St. Thomas was first on the board at 15:28 of the first period as Felix Poulin scored his 4th goal of the year on the powerplay with the only assist going to Jon Bonneau.  For the most part the X-Men controlled the period out shooting the Tommies 10 to 4 but STU took the lead into the intermission.

St-FX scored three goals in a row at 4:56, 9:54 and 10:50 of the second period to take a 3 to 1 lead.  STU fought back scoring their second goal of the night off the stick of Matt Bissonnette (Childerley, Beaudry) at 15:07 cutting the advantage to one.  

STU battled hard in the third but couldn't find the equalizer and X scored into the empty net with 9 seconds left in the game to seal the win.  Final shots on goal were 31 to 20 for St-FX.

The Tommies next action will be this Friday night at the AUC when they take on the Varsity Reds.  

Tonights game report is compliments of our Friends at Coca-Cola

Friday 17 January 2014

Lady Tommies Take Down the Tigers

Captain Katie Brewster during warm-ups, also check out the new uniforms.
The Lady Tommies won a hard fought battle over the Dal Tigers. The Tommies went up 1-0 three quarters of the way through the first period on a goal from captain Katie Brewster (Teah Anderson), they led at the end of one, shots were tied seven a piece.

During the second period, the Tommies scored early at 4:33 on a breakaway goal from alternate captain Cassidy McTaggart(Unassisted), it was a beauty of a heads up breakaway goal with McTaggart picking the puck up at centre ice and skating into the Dal zone uncontested. Dal lead the Tommies in the second period with shots 10-6 in their favour.

The third period started with Dal scoring extremely early in the frame at 0:30 seconds in. This was the only goal scored during the period though giving the Tommies a 2-1 win at home. The Lady Tommies also lead the shots on goal during the third period 10-9.

Kristin Wolfe stood her ground turning away 25 of 26 shots on net, the Player of the Game was Eliza Snider, and the Hardest Working Tommie was captain Katie Brewster. It was a very disciplined game for the most part on behalf of both teams with there only being three penalties called in the game, two for the Tommies and one for Dal.

The Lady Tommies are back in action again tomorrow night when they host UdeM at the GHC at 7pm. Come on out and support your Tommies.

Tommies shut out in Halifax

For the first time this season the Tommies couldn't find the back of the net and were shut out 4 to 0 by the Saint Mary's Huskies.

SMU scored two goals in the first, one in the second, and an empty net goal late in the third period for the win.  STU's powerplay went 0 for 6 on the night including several extended 5 on 3 chances.  Jon Groenheyde made some big saves, stopping 34 of 37 shots that he faced.

St. Thomas will head to Antigonish tomorrow night to take on St-FX at 7 PM.  The X-Men dropped a 3 - 0 decision tonight to UPEI.


Wednesday 15 January 2014

Weekend Preview

This weekend both the Men's and Women's Tommies are in action. The Men are on the road, while the Ladies are at home in the GHC. The Men are in Halifax on Friday night to play against the St. Mary's Huskies at 7pm and then again on Saturday night at 7pm in Antigonish to face the X-Men. The Ladies are playing Friday night against the Dalhousie Tigers and on Saturday to play UdeM. Both of the Lady's games are at 7pm.

Jon Bonneau facing off against Steven Kuhn of St. FX.
The last time the Men faced off against the Huskies it was a 2-1 loss at home for the Tommies, this was a big rebound for the guys as they had lost the first game to SMU 9-1 at the Forum in Halifax. The first half of the season was a split decision against the X-Men, in which X took a 6-5 win at home and the Tommies took a 5-4 win at the GHC. The Tommies took this win into the Holiday break. STU is going into Bluenose country with a few new weapons up Coach Pat Powers sleeve, Matt Bissonnette, Michael Beaudry, Ian Saab and Sawyer Hannay. Bissonnette was STU's Male Athlete of the Week after picking up four assists in two games against UdeM and UPEI.

Caley Steinert with a Dal Tiger in pursuit.
The Lady Tommies have split wins and losses with the Dal Tigers, the first game was a 1-0 loss in Halifax for the Tommies while the second one was a 5-2 win at home. The Ladies have three losses in a row to UdeM, although the Lady Tommies were able to get a win in the preseason, UdeM have had their number during regular season play winning games 3-2, 3-2, and 4-1.

Come on out and cheer on your Tommies to victory! If you are unable to make it to the games this weekend, all games will be broadcast on AUStv.ca and tweet at us @STUTommies.

Go Tommies!!

Saturday 11 January 2014

Panthers clip Tommies in OT

Forward Steve Sanza on his goal scoring penalty shot.
The Tommies put in a good effort tonight against UPEI but were on the wrong side of a 4 to 3 overtime defeat.  STU showed resilience in coming back to tie the game twice in the game but it was the Panthers that got the two points.

St. Thomas was first on the board at 9:11 of the opening period when Marc-Andre Levesque (Bissonnette, Bernier) re-directed a shot past Wayne Savage in the UPEI cage.  The Tommies would hold the lead throughout the period that saw the Panthers hold an 18 to 8 advantage in shots.

In the middle stanza, UPEI scored a shorthanded marker at 3:55 and a powerplay marker at 7:20 to take the lead.  Steve Sanza was hooked on breakaway and earned a penalty shot at 11:33.  He made no mistake and went upstairs for the tying goal.  With under a minute to play in the period the Panther's Chris DeSousa zig zagged through the entire Tommies team and scored to regain their lead going into the third.

Not to be outdone, new comers Michael Beaudry and Matt Bissonnette teamed up for a beauty marker at 8:39 to tie the game at three.  Beaudry's highlight package goal was also assisted by Colin Martin.  With about 7 minutes to go in the period goaltender Jonathan Groenheyde's helmet came off as the Panthers buzzed the STU net.  UPEI scored but the goal was disallowed because the goalies mask had been knocked off.  Jon also took a stick or skate to the head and was bleeding badly and had to be taken off the ice for repairs.  Alex St-Arnaud came in for 3 minutes and 34 seconds and didn't have to face a shot.  Groenheyde was repaired and came back before the period ended and the game went to OT.

In the overtime period STU got stuck in their own end and as the puck was cleared toward the blue line, UPEI's Reggie Traccitto wristed a puck with eyes toward the net and it went in top corner.

Final shots on goal were 40 to 31 for UPEI.

In women's action earlier in the afternoon, the Lady Tommies were defeated 4 to 1 by Moncton.  STU's only goal was scored in the third by Caley Steinert (Em Francis).  It was Steinert's first goal since she scored her overtime beauty at the LBR two years ago. STU was outshot 26 to 19.

Tonight's game report is compliments of our Friends at Trius Truck Center 500 Bishop Drive. 457-9000

Jonathan Groenheyde, after coming back into the game from some off-ice repairs.

Friday 10 January 2014

Moncton takes down Tommies

A sharp shooting U de M team made the most of their chances tonight defeating the Tommies 6 - 2 in Moncton.   STU's powerplay failed to get anything going and went 0 for 5, while the PK allowed 2 goals on 6 chances.  Jon Groenheyde suffered the loss in net.

Les Aigles scored first at 2:14 but 13 seconds later Colin Martin (Bissonnette) came right back down the ice and tied the game at ones.  Moncton capitalized on some opportunistic bounces midway through the opening frame scoring two goals in eleven seconds at 10:49 and 11:00.  Both goals were scored 4 on 4.

Moncton would score two more goals in the second period at 13:04 and 18:17 for a 5 - 1 lead.

Colin Martin (Bissonnette, S. MacDonald) would score his second of the night at 4:06 to shrink the lead to three but Moncton would add a late tally at 17:24 for a 6 to 2 final.

On the plus side SMU, St-FX, and UPEI also lost tonight.  This sets up a big game tomorrow night versus the Panthers at the Grant-Harvey Centre.  Game time 7 PM.

In women's hockey action, the Lady Tommies were edged by the St-FX X-Women 4 to 3.  STU's Kenya Marcelline scored 2 goals and Kelty Apperson had the other.  Kristin Wolfe took the loss in net facing 30 shots.  Box Score




Sunday 5 January 2014

Lady Tommies defeat Carleton at Theresa Hume Tournament

Amanda Burns and Jenna Scott guard Kristin Wolfe after
she covers the puck vs. Concordia on Saturday night.
Photo Courtesy Concordia Athletics
In weekend exhibition women's action from Concordia University in Montreal, the Lady Tommies defeated the Carleton Ravens this afternoon 2 to 1 to earn their first win of the tournament.  STU had lost their first two games,  5 to 2 against Ottawa and 3 to 2 versus host Concordia.

In today's game, Carleton struck first at 12:08 of the opening period but Erin MacIsaac from Emily Francis responded with 1:16 to go in the frame to tie the score.

Rookie Teah Anderson scored her third goal of the tournament at 7:59 of the second period with assists to Kelty Apperson and Caley Stienert.  The goal would end up being the game winning marker, as Kristin Wolfe grounded the Ravens stopping 29 of 30 shots.

Last night the Tommies spotted the host Concordia Stingers a 3 goal lead before Kelty Apperson and Teah Anderson scored to make things interesting.  The Tommies couldn't find the equalizer and lost 3 to 2.  STU was out shot 34 to 7.  Kristin Wolfe was solid for the Green and Gold.

Here are the final results of the Theresa Hume Tournament hosted by Concordia University.

Queen's 3-0
York 2-1
Concordia 1-2
St. Thomas 1-2
Carleton 1-2
Ottawa 1-2

Saturday 4 January 2014

Tommies victorious in must win game

Rookie forward, Michael Beaudry with his first career CIS goal.
In AUS men's hockey action tonight at the GHC, the St. Thomas Tommies proved it isn't the way you start the game but how you finish it.  STU scored with under 2 minutes to play in the third for their first lead of the night plus scored an empty net goal to upend the Dalhousie Tigers 6 to 4.  Plain and simple this was a must win for the Tommies.

It was going to be an uphill battle right from the start, as Coach Powers was suspended after being ejected from last night's game vs. Acadia. Quade Lightbody took over behind the bench and watched as the Tigers out scored the Tommies  3 to 1 in the first period.  Felix Poulin (Orr, Cheremetiev) marked the only goal for the Tommies.

STU couldn't buy a goal for the first 14 minutes of the second period but when Michael Beaudry (Hannay) scored his first in Green and Gold at 14:03 things started to look up.  Matt Bissonnette, fresh out of the penalty box, went in and scored his first for the Tommies at 15:45, on a nice set up from Kody Orr to tie the game up.  The tie score would hold until the third period.

In the final frame Dalhousie scored early on the PP to regain the lead and the Tommies went down to having only  four defencemen.  Sawyer Hannay was ejected for having 3 stick infraction penalties and Ian Saab was ejected for fighting Brad McConnell.  The Tommies didn't give up and 1:45 after the Tigers went ahead, Alex Leduc (Orr, Cheremetiev) tied the game at 4:03.

The Tommies would get their first lead of the night at 18:03 as Felix Poulin scored his second of the night  and the game winner off a great pass from Michael Beaudry and Matt Bissonnette.  Alex Leduc would score his second on the night into the open net with 39 seconds to play with the only assist going to Jon Groenheyde.  Final shots on goal favoured the Tommies 29 to 24.

Quade Lightbody picked up his first CIS win as coach, while Kody Orr led the team with 3 points.  Next up for STU is UdeM on the road Friday and back home Saturday night versus UPEI.  Both games are huge for St. Thomas fighting for their playoff lives.

Tonight's game summary is compliments of our Friends at 6 Colour Copy, 830 Hanwell Road. 450-3028.
Rookie Forward, Matt Bissonnette scoring his first CIS goal.

Friday 3 January 2014

Axemen trounce Tommies

Tommies rookie D-Man, Ian Saab
 In AUS men's hockey action tonight at GHC the Acadia Axemen showed why they are the #1 team in the conference as they out hustled, out shot and out scored the Tommies cruising to a 9-1 win.

The Axemen scored 5 unanswered goals before the Tommies were able to get on the score board at 11:03 of the 3rd when Brendan Childerley counted an unassisted PP goal.

The Tommies were out shot 41-11 and although Jon Groenheyde made several outstanding saves especially in the first 2 periods, the team could not muster any offensive threat.

The Tommies now need to regroup, forget about tonight and prepare for the Dalhousie Tigers tomorrow evening.

In AUS Women's exhibition action from Concordia University this afternoon, the Lady Tommies were defeated 5 to 2 by the University of Ottawa.

The Tommies allowed two goals in the first period but rebounded in the second frame to tie the game with goals from Teah Anderson (J. Scott) and Jordan Miller (Savoie, Thomson).

The Gee Gees scored 3 unanswered goals in the third for the win.  Kristin Wolfe was tagged with the loss facing 35 shots.  STU fired 17 shots at the Ottawa net.

Next game for the Ladies is tomorrow evening at 7 PM AST vs. Concordia.

Wednesday 1 January 2014

Let the Second Half Begin

Tommies Alternate Captain, Stephen Sanza looking for a shot on goal against Axemen keeper Evan Mosher
This weekend the STU Tommies Men's hockey team will begin its second half of the 2013-14 season. The Tommies, who finished the first half on a winning note against the St. FX X-Men, will be hosting the Axemen from Acadia on Friday night and the Dalhousie Tigers on Saturday night. Both games have a 7 PM start time at the GHC.

Come on out and support the guys as they make a push for the playoffs with some new reinforcements to help out. They only sit four points from a playoff position and every win is going to be crucial.

Meanwhile in exhibition women's hockey action the Tommies travel to Montreal for the annual Theresa Hume Tournament hosted by Concordia University.  Here is STU's game schedule.

Friday Jan. 7th vs. Ottawa Gee Gees.  1 PM EST.
Saturday Jan. 8th vs. Concordia Stingers.  6 PM EST
Sunday Jan. 9th vs. Carleton Ravens.  10 AM EST

We'll let you know any information we can gather.

The Lady Tommies start up their second half next week on the road January 10 and 11 in Antigonish and Moncton.