Men's Hockey
As the AUS regular season nears an end, the Tigers are playing their best hockey yet. The past week was a good one for the men’s hockey team who suffered a close 5-4 loss to the Saint Mary’s Huskies and beat the StFX X-Men 4-1.
The Tigers hosted the Saint Mary’s Huskies on Wednesday evening for a special game that raised awareness for the mental health initiative #BellLetsTalk. In one of the most exciting games we have seen all season at the Forum, the Tigers came up just short in their comeback effort.
Saint Mary’s jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead but the resilient Tigers fought their way back in the second period. Andrew Wigginton, Tanner Williams and Phil Gadoury all netted goals in the second period knotting the game up at 3-3 with less than five minutes to go.
Alex Cord managed to reclaim the lead for the Huskies in the final minutes of the second period on a shot from the point.
Wigginton netted his second of the night in the third period tying the game at 4-4.
Jamie Doorbosch scored the game winner shortly after the Wigginton tally, deflating the Tigers comeback.
The Tigers were able to build on their strong performance against the Huskies when they hosted the StFX X-Men on Friday afternoon at the Scotiabank Centre. Holden Cook opened up the scoring for the X-Men but the Tigers countered with four unanswered goals.
JP Harvey tied the game up at 1-1 halfway through the second period and it was all Tigers from there.
Mike Evelyn and Andrew Wigginton both found the back of the net in the third period on similar plays. The Tigers found success driving the net and capitalizing on rebounds.
Jackson Playfair added an empty net goal.
Corbin Boes had a bounce back performance stopping 40 shots.
With just four games remaining in the season the Tigers sit four points out of a playoff spot. The Tigers will likely have to win three out of the four games if they hope to overtake Moncton for the final playoff spot.
The Tigers next action comes on Friday, February 5 when they host the St. Thomas Tommies at the Halifax Forum.
Women’s Basketball
The women’s basketball team fell 59-50 to the Acadia Axewomen in their only action of the week.
Â鶹´«Ã½ hosted the Axewomen at the Scotiabank Centre in the first ever Varsity Showdown that featured two basketball double headers and two hockey games.
Â鶹´«Ã½ had a slow start to the game forcing them to play come from behind basketball for the remainder of the night. The Axewomen managed to jump out to a 19-10 first quarter lead and were in the driver’s seat the rest of the way.
The Tigers only trailed 38-32 heading into the fourth quarter but an opening 6-0 run for the Axewomen put the game out of reach for Â鶹´«Ã½.
Diedre Alexander led the Tigers offence with 13 points while Tessa Stammberger recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
On Acadia’s side Chanel Smith had a monster game with 13 points and 14 boards.
Â鶹´«Ã½ now 5-9, sits in fifth place in the AUS. Next weekend the Tigers will travel to Memorial for a two game set against the Sea-Hawks.
Men’s Basketball
Â鶹´«Ã½ came up big in their only game of the week against the Acadia Axemen at the Scotiabank Centre. It was a matchup that featured two of the best teams in the conference but the Tigers proved why they are atop the AUS.
A strong fourth quarter propelled the Tigers to an 87-68 win over the Axemen. The four points secured on Saturday night moves the Tigers into sole possession of first place in the AUS with a 10-4 record.
At the half, the Tigers headed into the dressing room with a 36-27 lead. Sven Stammberger led the way in the opening segment with 12 points.
The Tigers found their offensive grove in the second half putting up 51 points.
Ritchie Kanza Mata was the go to offensive threat for the Tigers with 23 points and 7 assists. Shaquille Smith led the Axemen with a team high 18 points.
Next weekend the Tigers will travel to Memorial University and will look to come away with two wins.
Women’s Hockey
It was a tough weekend for the women’s hockey team as they recorded two losses against the Mount Allison Mounties and the Saint Mary’s Huskies.
On Saturday night, the Tigers found themselves down 2-0 to the Mounties in the third period. Laura Brooks managed to get the Tigers on the board with a power play goal with just under four minutes remaining.
The comeback was cut short as Heather Richards countered for the Mounties two minutes later restoring the two-goal lead.
Despite the momentum shift, Â鶹´«Ã½ fought to the final horn and were rewarded for it. Courtney Sheedy scored with just 34 seconds left cutting the deficit to 3-2 but it was too little, too late for the Tigers.
On Sunday afternoon the ladies took on the Saint Mary’s Huskies at Alumni Arena. The first two periods went scoreless, but the Huskies found their offensive touch in the third, netting four goals.
Elizabeth MacArthur scored the lone Tigers goal on the power play halfway through the third period.
The Tigers, now 7-12-1 after the 4-1 loss to the Huskies, hold the final playoff spot with 15 points. Â鶹´«Ã½ will host the St. Thomas Tommies Saturday, February 6 at the Civic Centre.
Women’s Volleyball
The women’s volleyball team suffered their third loss of season on Sunday against Saint Mary’s. The Tigers battled in a five-set thriller but came up short falling 3-2 (24-26, 16-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-8).
After jumping out a two set lead, the Tigers let the Huskies force a decisive fifth set. The Huskies went on a 5-0 run in the final set ultimately winning them the game 15-8.
Marisa Mota was solid on defence for the Tigers with 24 digs while Anna Dunn-Suen recorded 10 kills.
Erica Dowling led the way for the Huskies with 15 kills.
The Tigers will look to get back in the win column on Saturday, February 6 when they host the Memorial Sea-Hawks.
Track and Field
The track and field team competed at the 21st Annual McGill Team Challenge in Montreal over the weekend. Both the men’s and women’s teams came away with first place. The men put up 138.5 points with Laval (110) and Sherbrooke (108) rounding out the top three. The women had 132 points with Sherbrooke (101.5) placing second and McGill (83.5) finishing third. Â
Â鶹´«Ã½ grabbed first place in the following relays:
Women’s 4x400m, 4x800m
Men’s 4x200m
Top Individual performances:
Jordan Bruce - Long Jump (1st), Triple jump (2nd)
Matthew Coolen - 60m (2nd), 60m hurdles (2nd),
Corey Conforzi - 60m (1st)
Colleen Wilson - 1500m (2nd), 3000m (2nd)
Mike Van Der Poel - 300m (2nd)
Jessica Shannon - Pentathlon (2nd)
Matt McNeil - 3000m (3rd)
Michelle Reddy - 600m (4th)
Chantelle Robbertse - Pentathlon (4th)
Sarah Taplin - 60m hurdles (4th)
Devin Errington - High jump (4th), Long Jump (4th)
Adam Karakolis - Shot Put 4th