Tigers rip Aigles Blues

By: Josh Young

The Dalhousie Tigers men’s hockey team beat L’universite de Moncton (UdeM) 6–1 on Saturday, Jan. 23rd at Aréna Louis-Lévesque in Moncton, New Brunswick.

For the third straight game, the Tigers have allowed the first goal in the first minute of the game. UdeM forward Alex Saulnier passed the puck down to his brother Allain Saulnier who was to the right of the Tigers’ net. Allain then passed the puck in front of the Tigers’ net to teammate Jean-Francois Plante. Plante shot the puck past Tigers goaltender Corbin Boes to give UdeM an early lead.

Thirty-two seconds later the Tigers struck back. Tigers forward Colton Parsons had the puck on the left wing and fired it in front of UdeM’s net. UdeM goaltender Brandon Thibeau made the save but the rebound came out to Fabian Walsh. Walsh banged away at the puck but teammate JP Harvey came in and whacked the puck into the net.

At the 11:41 mark, the Tigers took the lead. Captain Luke Madill shot the puck from the point however it was blocked. The Tigers managed to get the puck loose to Steven Johnston in the slot. Johnston took the puck and fired it over Thibeault’s blocker and into the net. Andrew Wiggington and Felix Page were credited with the assists.

The Tigers stretched their lead to 3–1 on a power-play goal 8:40 into the second period. Fabian Walsh shot the puck from the point Thibeault made the save but Wiggington passed the rebound over to Felix Page near the left side of the net. Page shot the puck past Thibault and into the back of the net.

Almost a minute and a half into the third period the Tigers stretched their lead to 4–1. Fabian Walsh got the puck at the top of the left face-off circle and fired a wrist shot over Thibeault’s glove and in. Parsons and Harvey were credited with the assists.

With seven minutes left in the third period, the Tigers scored again. Wiggington intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and skated down the right wing. He passed the puck over to Parsons in the middle of the ice and Parsons shot the puck past Thibeault and into the net.

The Tigers capped the game off with another power-play goal with two minutes left in the game. Wiggington skated to the top of the right face-off circle and passed the puck over to Johnston at the left side of the net. Johnston shot the puck into the net to make the score 6–1.

The Tigers power-play was terrific in the game, scoring on both of their two-power play chances. Their penalty-kill was just as good killing UdeM’s four power play chances.

Even with the loss, UdeM still outshot the Tigers 32–30. UdeM goaltender Brandon Thibeau made 24 saves; Tigers goaltender Corbin Boes made 31 saves.

The win improves the Tigers record to six wins, 12 losses and four overtime losses (6–12–4). The loss drops UdeM’s record to 8–11–2. The Tigers’ next game is at home on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at the Halifax Forum at 7 p.m. against Saint Mary’s. That game takes place on Bell Let’s Talk Day. There will be a lot of activities for fans to enjoy the game, win prizes and help spread mental health awareness. Admission is free.