Tommies score 8 unanswered goals for a final score of 10-4
The St. Thomas men’s hockey team overcame a three-goall deficit en route to a 10-4 victory over the Dalhouise Tigers in Atlantic University Sport men’s hockey action last week.
STU was slow out of the gate, and found themselves down 3-0 less than ten minutes into the game.
About halfway through the first period, a wrist shot from the blue line deflected off a skate in front of the net. The red light came on. St. Thomas goaltender Charlie Lavigne looked stunned.
But the Tommies came to life in the later part of the period and kept on rolling. It was the forward line of Matt Eagles, Wes Wlecher and Alex Labonte that sparked the Tommies ofference.
With about 6:30 left in the first period, Welcher made a nice drop pass to Labonte, who took a hard, low shot to the net. The Dalhousie goalie made the save, but Matt Eagles was there to bat in the puck out of the air and into the back of the net.
The Tommies cruised through the second frame and took a 6-3 heading into the third period.
Save for the first minutes of the game, Lavigne was flawless between the pipes for STU, stopping all ten shots he faced in the second peried.
He made one jaw dropping save on a Tigers’ power play, as he moved left to right and sprawled out on the ice to stop a one-timer with his pad.
Four minutes into the third period, Jason Cassidy took a pass from Max Chamberland and slid the puck into the net, giving the Tommies a 7-3 lead. During the play, however, STU defenseman Bryan Main was given a five minute major penalty and was kicked out of the game. The Tommies penalty killing, which was weak last season, would be put to the test.
After killing off a Dalhousie power play, the Tommies went back on the offensive attack. Devan Praught skated in on the right side and took a wrist shot on net. The shot was perfectly placed, hitting the inside of the far post and into the mesh. With only a few minutes left in the game, STU had an 8-3 lead.
The game started to get more physical and chippy. Dalhousie was frustrated and knew that they would lose the game. Mike Eagles and the coaching staff tried to keep their players calm and prevent them from retaliating.
“It’s hard because some of us are used to fighting. In the Q [Quebec Major Junior Hockey League] we would be up 8-2 and there would be four fights in a row,” said Labonte.
After Dalhousie scored to make it 8-4, the Tommies went back on the attack. When the puck was sitting in the crease, a Dalhousie defenseman put his hand on the puck and threw it out. The Tommies were awarded a penalty shot. Devan praught would be the one taking it.
Praught skated smoothly in on Chris Wall, he faked the shot, moved to his right and went top shelf. A magnificent goal to say the least.
“We were up [by four goals] so I decided to get fancy,” said Praught. “It was the first time I tried that move in a game.”
To add insult to injury, Tyler Dietrich scored with just seconds remaining.
“From day one, they have had a willingness to listen and a willingness to work,” said head coach Mike Eagles. “We didn’t get the start we wanted, but we got to be pleased with how they responded.”
