Coxhead's OT winner gives Huskies 4-3 comeback victory over Tigers

HALIFAX, NS - Saint Mary's captain Andrew Coxhead scored twice, including the overtime game-winning goal, as the Huskies defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 4-3 on Friday night at the Halifax Forum.

After both teams exchanged chances early on, the Huskies got the game's first powerplay just five minutes in with an opportunity to take the lead. However, just moments into it, Saint Mary's took a penalty of their own, leading to an extended 4-on-4 period of hockey. Here the Huskies found themselves in on a 2-on-1 break, but Tigers goaltender Nicholas Chenard (Tecumseh, ON) came up with an impressive stop. After the Tigers penalty expired, Alec Belanger (Quebec, PQ) found Shaun Miller (Enfield, NS) with an incredible stretch pass and Miller made no mistake making it 1-0 for Dalhousie. Wasting no time, the Tigers made their way right back down the ice and Belanger found the back of the net, making it 2-0 with 11 minutes left. Dalhousie continued to press as the period progressed, but Jeremy Helvig (Kingston, ON) was able to keep the Huskies within two. With under a minute remaining in the period, the Huskies jumped on a rebound, and Andrew Coxhead (Bedford, NS) found the back of the net to make it 2-1 heading to the second period.

To open the middle frame, the Huskies were pushing to tie the game, but Chenard stood tall with an acrobatic save to keep the Tigers ahead by one. Then moments later, Dalhousie got another powerplay opportunity to try and add to their lead. After some solid penalty-killing and a few good saves from Helvig, the Huskies kept it within one. Moments later the Tigers would take two penalties in quick succession, giving Saint Mary's an excellent chance to even the game. It wouldn't take long to capitalize as Declan McDonnell (Buffalo, NY) knocked the puck in on the back door to make it a 2-2 game. With five minutes left in the period, and just after the Huskies killed off another penalty, they were able to take advantage of a turnover with Charlie Dafonseca (Thornhill, ON) tipping it home for their first lead, making it 3-2. With one more powerplay in the period, the Huskies threw a bunch of shots on Chenard, but it remained a one-goal game headed to the third.

Just moments into the final period, the Tigers headed back to the man advantage, as the Huskies took a double-minor, with an opportunity to even the score at three. It did not take long for Dalhousie to capitalize as Belanger found the top corner making it 3-3, while remaining on the powerplay. With limited scoring chances coming in the third, the best came from Reid Valade (Caledon, ON) right in the slot for the Tigers, but once again Helvig made the save to keep it tied with eight minutes remaining. The Huskies pushed to win the game in the final two minutes, but Chenard kept it out and forced overtime at the end of regulation time.

After the team exchanged quick opportunities, the Huskies were able to end it quickly into the extra frame as Coxhead scored his second of the game to give Saint Mary's the 4-3 OT win.

Andrew Coxhead took home the player of the game award for the Huskies.

The Huskies win improves their record to 7-8-0-0 on the season. They'll be back in action Saturday night, as they host the StFX X-Men at 7 p.m. at the Dauphinee Centre. GET TICKETS

The Tigers loss gives them a single point, and drops their record to 4-10-2-0 on the campaign. They'll be back on home ice next Friday, Dec. 1 as they host the Moncton Aigles Bleus at the Forum.