Huskies blank Tigers, move to AUS women's hockey semifinals

SMU to meet UNB in AUS semifinal

HALIFAX, N.S. (Feb. 16, 2024) - The SMU Huskies defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 4-0 in Game 2 of the AUS women's hockey quarter-final Friday night at the Halifax Forum to end their best-of-three series and move on to the semifinals.

In Friday's other quarterfinal matchup, the fourth-ranked St. Thomas Tommies shutout the Universite de Moncton Aigles Bleues 1-0 to sweep their series and advance to the semifinals. 

In the semifinal round, St. Thomas will now take on the first-place STFX X-Women while Saint Mary's will tackle the second-seeded UNB Reds.

The game between Dalhousie and Saint Mary's saw a quiet first five minutes with just one shot on goal between both teams. 

Shortly after, the Huskies had several chances in the crease, but Grace Beer (Oakville, ON) shut the door. 

Kennedy Whelan (Alliston, ON) had a partial break early in the first period, getting a wrist shot on goal. Ridleigh Hansen (Red Deer, AB) made the save with comfort. 

Almost halfway through the first period, Miranda Hatt (Regina, SK) came down the right wing with a wrist shot, beating Beer high glove to score what would become the game and series-winning goal. It was one Beer might have wanted back. 

With just under five minutes of the first period left, Gillian Lapierre (Port Coquitlam, BC) had a scoring chance coming out of the left corner. She missed the net top right as the Tigers avoided a 2-0 deficit.  

With 1:32 left of the period, Allie Barter (Hammonds Plains, NS) scored five-hole on Beer off a slapshot from the point, trickling in. The Huskies took a 2-0 lead. 

The Huskies took the lead into the second period, with the shots tied 9-9 between the two sides. 

Dal came out in the second period, applying much more pressure. Moments later, SMU had the chance to extend their lead. Beer made the save, but the Tigers took a penalty for hooking, putting the Huskies on the powerplay. 

The Tigers successfully killed the penalty, with Beer making key saves. Under a minute after the penalty kill, the Huskies took a penalty. The Tigers took to the powerplay after the holding penalty. 

Jillian Duggan (Halifax, NS) had a short-handed chance dragging the puck to the Dal net with a defender on her. Beer made the save, bringing Dal's powerplay to an end without a shot on goal for the Tigers. 

Whelan walked into the offensive zone, receiving a pass, but Hansen denied her shot on goal. The Tigers had several more opportunities, but Hansen made a series of great saves to keep the door shut. 

The rest of the period included key chances from both teams, but none could convert. The Huskies took a 2-0 lead going into the third period, with SMU outshooting Dal 26-20. 

Brooklyn Paisley (Shawnigan Lake, BC) opened the third period with a shot on goal as Hansen made the pad save. 

Just over two minutes into the frame, SMU piled a few chances on Beer. Beer remained strong after a tough start, keeping the Tigers in the game. 

The Tigers piled on some pressure and played with more physicality in the third period. 

SMU took a delay of game penalty with just under 10 minutes of the game left, giving the Tigers a chance to cut SMU's lead in half with the season on the line. 

The Huskies got a powerplay with under eight minutes left of the game. SMU took advantage of this powerplay as Aimee O'Neill (Glace Bay, NS) snuck the puck past Beer to make it 3-0. 

With 5:39 left of the period, the Huskies scored another powerplay goal off a slapshot, taking a 4-0 lead. 

The Huskies win the first round of the playoffs. The Tigers exit in the first round back-to-back years. This time, Dal failed to score a goal in both games. 

Avery Cant (Waterloo, ON) was the Player of the Game for the Huskies.  

Beer was the player of the game for the Tigers, making 40 saves in the loss. 

Hansen made 31 saves in the victory. 

- Recap by Dalhousie Athletics/Photo by Nick Pearce