By Daniel Simpkin
The St. Thomas Tommies defeated the Tigers 3-1 Friday night at the Halifax Forum.
The opening period was an action-packed defensive battle.
Dalhousie's goaltender Maggie Baxter (Mahone Bay, NS) stayed strong in net and staved off any chance of an early Tommies lead.
Equally, a huge saved shot on goal by STU's Goaltender Caroline Pietroski (Etobicoke, ON) to prevent Dalhousie forward Olivia Eustace (Riverview, NB) from breaking the stalemate at 13:45 kept the scores locked at zero through the first twenty minutes of play.
Dalhousie began the second period with four players after forward Emma Bishop (Bedford, NS) got a penalty for hooking in the last minute of the first period.
The Tommies managed to capitalize on the penalty advantage quickly. It took STU defender Aislynn Byers (Melancthon, ON) only forty-five seconds to skillfully place a shot into the back of the net, breaking the scoring drought in the process.
As the ever-supportive benches built into an all-out roar, both teams surged into an offensive frenzy. The puck was sent end-to-end five times back to back, but neither team could quite find the shot that would earn the second goal of the game.
The players would get a rare moment to catch their breath when Dalhousie forward Alix Yallowega (Winnipeg, MB) was sent off for holding on a loose puck breakaway with 10:07 left in the second period. The penalty resulted in a second Tommies numbers advantage.
Nothing would come of the penalty minutes and the defensive episode would continue until the buzzer broke the mounting tension of the high-intensity game. The Tommies headed into the second intermission with a 1-0 lead.
Less than a minute into the third period, STU defender Aislynn Byers (Melancthon, ON) got sent off for slashing giving Dalhousie their first power play of the game.
Soon after, STU forward Erin Arsenault (Oakville, ON) would come up big for the Tommies and notch their second goal of the game at 16:45 of the third period.
Dalhousie forward Taylor Joyce (Halifax, NS) would promptly answer back with a much-needed morale booster as the home crowd nearly tore the roof off the stadium after she scored the Tigers first goal with 11:38 left to play.
As the last minute counted down, the Tommies put an exclamation on the night as forward Lauren Legault (Winnipeg, MB) scored with 36 seconds to go, giving her team a third and final goal and a 3-1 win.
After the game, Tommies forward Erin Arsenault was awarded Subway AUS Player of the Game honours thanks to her crucial goal in the third period.
Up next, the Tommies take on the Saint Mary's University Huskies on Saturday, October 16th while the Tigers head to UPEI next Friday, October 22.