Huskies finish regular season with 4-3 win over Tigers, secure first 20 win season since 2015
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Mary's (20-9-0, 20-9-0) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
|
Dalhousie (6-22-0, 6-22-0) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
HALIFAX, N.S. - The Saint Mary's Huskies finished the 2022-23 regular season with their best record since 2014-15 after defeating the Dalhousie Tigers 4-3 on Saturday night at the Halifax Forum.
Additionally, it was the annual battle for the Lobster Cup between the Huskies and the Tigers, as it was the final regular season meeting between the Halifax rivals.
The game got off to a fairly slow start before Huskies forward Sam King (Hampton, NB) got a nice cross-ice opportunity for the Huskies before it was saved by Tigers goaltender Alexander McDonald (Truro, NS).
Moments later, Tigers forward Matt Green (Hammonds Plains, NS) got a breakaway, but the Huskies goalie Jeremy Helvig (Kingston, ON) stood tall, keeping it a 0-0 game just eight minutes in.
Two minutes later, the Huskies challenged Dalhousie again, with forward Andrew Coxhead (Bedford, NS) making a great pass to forward Cedric Ralph (Peterborough, ON) who banged his own rebound past McDonald to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 11, 2023
Cedric Ralph gets a goal to put @SMUMensHockey up 1-0 in the first period!
��C. Ralph (6)
��A. Coxhead pic.twitter.com/PQezV3Ykwa
Saint Mary's would continue to push for offence getting several more chances on the net before Ralph delivered a pass to defenceman Dennis Busby (Oro-Medonte, ON), who was all alone in front and made no mistake, scoring his first goal of the season to double the Huskies lead to 2-0.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 11, 2023
Dennis Busby scores his first of the season to double the @SMUMensHockey lead to 2-0!
��D. Busby (1)
��J. Bellamy
��D. Bérubé pic.twitter.com/xceodSGCQe
It was then time for the Tigers to respond, as a diving Scott Gaetz (Mississauga, ON) was able to poke the puck in, cutting the lead to 2-1.
The Huskies then headed to the powerplay for the first time, where forward Charlie Dafonseca (Thornhill, ON) played a tape-to-tape cross-ice pass to Sam King who cashed in for a 3-1 lead, just before the end of the first
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 11, 2023
Sam King scores a powerplay marker and @SMUMensHockey lead 3-1 after the first period.
��S. King (8)
��C. Dafonseca
��N. Dunkley pic.twitter.com/Pmz09Dy16k
The second period began with lots of speed, with both teams flying around the ice looking for the next goal. The period remained scoreless, with minimal scoring opportunities until the Huskies got their second powerplay of the evening with around 10 minutes left to play in the frame.
Just minutes later the Tigers pushed with several wrap-around chances, but the Huskies' penalty killers stood tall. The period would see several more chances from each side but would ultimately conclude with no score.
The Huskies began the final period quickly, with Dafonseca scoring a powerplay marker just two minutes in to give Saint Mary's a three-goal lead.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 12, 2023
Charlie Dafonseca scores a powerplay goal to extend the @SMUMensHockey lead to 4-1!
��C. Dafonseca (10)
��D. Busby pic.twitter.com/xrW825oOkr
Moments later, Saint Mary's would get another powerplay, with a shortened 5-on-3 advantage to extend the lead even further. The Tigers killers would do a good job keeping the play to the outside, and the Huskies took a penalty of their own, sending Dalhousie to a shortened powerplay.
The Tigers took advantage as Josh Wainman (Peterborough, ON) found the back of the net to make it 4-2. Then with under two minutes remaining, the Tigers would find a way to cut the lead to one with a goal from Kyle Yewchuk (Calgary, AB) to make it 4-3. With one last chance to tie it, the Tigers pulled their goaltender, but with no luck as the Huskies would go on to win the Lobster Cup for the first time in five years.
Huskies forward Charlie Dafonseca was named Subway Player of the Game with one goal and one assist. Forward Nathan Dunkley (Campbellford, ON) added two assists, and finished fourth in the AUS in scoring with 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists).
The Huskies outshot the Tigers 43-30 on the night, with Jeremy Helvig stopping 27 shots for the win, while Alexander MacDonald stopped 39 shots in a losing effort.
The Huskies conclude the regular season with a record of 20-9-1 (41 points), their best record since 2014-15 (20-7-1, 41 points). The Huskies clinched the second seed and a berth in the AUS semi-final.
The Tigers conclude their AUS regular season with a 6-22-1-1 record (14 points) and will miss out on the AUS playoffs.
