Huskies top Tigers 5-4 in final exhibition play
The Saint Mary's Huskies and the Dalhousie Tigers put on a fantastic show to close out their four-game exhibition series on Saturday night at the Dauphinee Centre – which saw Shae Demale (Red Deer, Alta.) poke in the game-winner with only 1:25 remaining in regulation to secure a 5-4 victory for the Huskies.
The opening 20 minutes was a wide-open, offensively plentiful affair which saw five goals scored in total. The Huskies opened things up just over three minutes in as Miranda Hatt (Regina, SK) went forehand-backhand and through the five-hole to put SMU up 1-0. The lead was short lived, however, as Dal's Brooklyn Paisley (Shawnigan Lake, BC) would score her first of two to tie things up at one.
The Huskies would retake the lead at 13:05 when Laura Horwood (Grandfalls-Windsor, Nfld.) beat Taylor Beam (Brooklin, ONT) to make it 2-1. The Tigers would respond quickly – just seven seconds later – to tie the game at two as Catherine O'Connor (Halifax, NS) tipped in a nice feed from Taylor Joyce (Halifax, NS) to stun the socially distanced crowd.
The Tigers would then take a 3-2 lead – just 1:15 later – as Kennedy Whelan (Alliston, ONT) stripped a SMU defender of the puck and centered it to Isabella Weist (Torbay, Nfld.) who beat goaltender Ashley Forler (Kitchener, ONT) in tight.
The second period was just as fast-paced as the first – and the Tigers struck again early. Leading a two-on-one rush, Brooklyn Paisley snapped home her second of the night to extend the Dalhousie lead to 4-2. However, the Tigers lead would not last.
Less than four minutes later and on the power-play, the Huskies would pull to within one as Aimee O'Neill (Glace Bay, NS) jammed home a loose puck to get the Huskies back in it.
Caitlin Pejkovic (Sherwood Park, Alta.) took a harmless looking shot, just 2:34 later, from the half-wall that fooled Beam and tied the game at 4 – which is where things stood heading into the final frame.
The third stanza was a more defensively responsible period, as both teams sought to settle things down from the frenetic pace of the first 40. But that didn't mean there weren't chances at both ends – as both Ashley Forler and Taylor Beam had to make magnificent stops to preserve their team's chances.
As time ticked down and overtime looked inevitable, the Huskies broke the deadlock and went up for good. Shae Demale would pop in the game winner with only 1:25 remaining on the clock to seal the deal and give the Huskies a 5-4 lead – a lead they held on to until the final buzzer.
With the victory, the Huskies won the four-game miniseries with the Tigers three games to one – combining this win with a 5-3 triumph two weeks ago at the Dauphinee Centre and 2-0 win back on February 18th at the Halifax Forum. The Tigers' lone victory came last Saturday night – March 20th – 3-1 at the Forum.
Drew McConnell, SMU Communications
Photo Mike Fines