Game recap by Kirk Jessome

(Halifax, NS) – As part of their Parents Weekend festivities, the Dalhousie Tigers hosted the UNB Reds at the Halifax Forum on Saturday night. Despite giving a last-minute goal, the Reds were able to hang on to take home a 3-2 win over the Tigers.  

Starting off the opening period with tough forechecking pressure, the Tigers were able to generate turnovers and shots on goal with some long stints of possession in the early minutes of the game, but were unable to find the back of the net.  

That pressure finally paid off for the Tigers as Brooklyn Paisley (Shawnigan Lake, BC) picked up loose puck on a turnover in the slot to turn and fire a quick wrist shot that found the back of the net through a crowd to open the scoring late in the period. 

The Reds were on the attack early in the second period, after a scramble in front of the Tigers goal left the puck free, Myah Bowal (Terrace, BC) was able to secure it and lifted an off-balance shot over the pad of Fabiana Petricca (Woodbridge, ON) to even it up at 1-1.  

Just as it was looking like that would be the way the teams would head into the third period, Sage McElroy-Scott (Morden, MB) sent a rolling shot toward goal that took a strange bounce on its way and hopped up over the shoulder of Petricca to give the Reds a surprise goal and a 2-1 lead with just 30 seconds left in the second period.  

The Tigers found themselves in trouble early in the third period as the Reds were on an extended 5-on-3 advantage. The Tigers were aggressive in their penalty kill and managed to kill it off, but just seconds after the teams were back at even strength, Paige Grenier (Olds, AB) jumped on a rebound in front to hammer it home and give her team a big 3-1 advantage.  

The Tigers were pressuring hard late in the game, looking to get back into it, and with under a minute to go, Kennedy Whelan (Alliston, ON) picked up the puck on the neutral zone and made a great move to cut into the slot and fire a shot under the glove of Hailey Martens (Ladysmith, BC) to make it a one goal game with just seconds to go. 

The Tigers pulled Petricca in an effort to find the equalizer, but ran out of time. As the final buzzer sounded, the Reds were able to hold on for a 3-2 win.  

Fabiana Petricca was strong once again for the Tigers, making 38 stops in the loss, which included 8 penalties for her team to kill. On the other end, Paige Grenier earned herself the Subway Player of the Game title for finding the game winning goal, while Hailey Martens was able to stop 21 to earn the victory for the Reds. 

The Tigers will continue their fight for a playoff spot when they travel to Moncton next Saturday, while the Reds will continue their road trip to face UPEI Sunday.