Women’s Basketball
The Tigers split a pair of games against the UPEI Panthers this weekend at the Dalplex, bringing their record to 7-7 as they maintain their fifth place position in the tightly contested AUS league.
Courtney Thompson went perfect from the line Friday night (11-11) and led the way with 23 points as the Tigers fought off a tough Panthers team to win 65-58. Tessa Stammberger added 11 points of her own to go along with eight rebounds and six assists.
Thompson continued her hot shooting from the line on Saturday night, going 6-6 as she added a game-high 24 points in a 76-70 loss against the Panthers. Ainsley MacIntyre added eight points and nine rebounds.
The Tigers are back on the court next weekend when they host the Memorial Sea-Hawks in a two-game set.
Men’s Basketball
The Tigers battled back and forth with the UPEI Panthers as the two teams traded leads in a tightly contested game before the Panthers took over in the fourth quarter and went on to win 81-66.
Devon Stedman nearly had a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, while Simon Marr had a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds.
A loss on Saturday would have virtually spelled the end of the Tigers playoffs hopes, and Rick Plato’s squad rallied in the final minute to beat the Panthers 91-88. It was a costly victory however, as both Devon Stedman and Chidi Majok left the game with serious injuries.
Ritchie Kanza Mata came up huge in the win for the Tigers with a triple-double with 16 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, while Jarred Reid added 16 points of his own.
The win improves the Tigers to 3-11 on the season, but they are still on the outside looking in as they sit in seventh place in the AUS with six points.
Women’s Volleyball
The Tigers travelled to Fredericton on Saturday night to take on the UNB Varsity Reds. After going to the wire in the first set, squeaking out a 28-26 victory, the Tigers won the next two sets (25-18, 25-23) to go on to win 3-0.
The duo of Maggie Li and Desiree Nouwen combined for 20 kills for the Tigers while libero Marisa Mota had a game-high 12 digs in the win.
On Sunday, the Tigers rolled into Moncton to face the University of Moncton Aigles Bleues. The Tigers got up early on Moncton and never looked back as Maggie Li pounded a ball past the Aigles Bleues to take the first set 25-20. The Tigers would go on to win the next two sets 25-19 and 25-14, as they won they second match in as many days 3-0.
The wins improve the first place Tigers to 11-4 on the season as they see their winning streak extend to seven games.
The Tigers will look to finish off their regular season with a win when they head across town to take on the second place Saint Mary’s Huskies on February 9 at 2:00pm, before they host the 2014 AUS Subway Championship February 14-16.
Men’s Volleyball
It was another interesting chapter of the intense rivalry between UNB and Dalhousie this weekend as the men’s volleyball team was in Fredericton for a two-game set, looking to separate themselves atop the AUS standings against their bitter rival.
It took five sets for the Tigers to come away with a 3-2 victory on Saturday night (23-25, 25-17, 18-25, 25-16, 15-12) but they came out on top, winning the final two sets after losing two of the first three.
It was a true team effort from the Tigers attack as Alex Dempsey, Connor Maessen, Kristen O’Brien and Bryan Duquette all recorded double digit kills, while Duquette had a game-high 12 digs.
Things didn’t go quite as well on Sunday afternoon however, as the Tigers couldn’t get things going and fell 3-0 to the Varsity Reds.
After dropping the first set 25-18, the Tigers stormed back and held a 15-13 lead midway through the second set. They saw that lead dissipate however, as UNB turned the corner and won the set 25-21.
The Tigers struggled in the third and final set and never held a lead as the Varsity Reds went the distance, winning 25-16.
Heading into playoffs, the Tigers successfully cemented their stop atop the AUS with a 13-4 record and will host the first of the best-of-three AUS championship this Friday at 7pm at Dalplex.
Women’s Hockey
The Tigers dropped to 5-13 after a 2-1 loss on Friday night at home against the St. Thomas Tommies.
They got down early in the first period as the Tommies piled on two goals to give themselves a 2-0 lead, despite the Tigers outshooting them 16-8. The Tigers could only muster up two shots on goal in the second period, and needed a strong third period to get themselves back in the game.
Sarah Robichaud finally got the Tigers on the board early in the third period, but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers couldn’t capitalize on the power play midway through the final frame, and they walked away in defeat, losing 2-1.
The Tigers will have a busy weekend this week when they host the Moncton Aigles Bleues on Friday and the StFX X-Women on Saturday at Alumni Arena.
Men’s Hockey
It was a crazy weekend for the Tigers at home this weekend. They started off with an 8-6 barn burner loss to the St. Thomas Tommies on Friday night at the Forum.
The Tigers led 4-3 after the first two periods, but the Tommies packed on five goals in the third to come away with the victory in a high-scoring affair.
Pierre Vandall had three assists, while Andrew Wigginton, Andrew Langan and Fabian Walsh all posted a goal and an assist.
It was another high scoring game on Saturday, but this time the Tigers were the beneficiary after a flurry of goals in the third period.
Andrew Langan had a monster four-point night, leading the Tigers with three goals and an assist. The Tigers had a 4-1 lead heading into the third period, and despite allowing two power play goals in the third period, they answered with three more of their own to cruise to the 7-3 victory.
Brett Theberge and Ben MacAskill both had three-assist nights for the Tigers, while Bobby Nadeau had 48 saves to help steal the game for the Tigers.
The Tigers offense really came alive in the past two games, scoring 15 goals over the weekend. Interestingly enough, they scored more in the two games this weekend than they had in their previous seven games combined.
The Tigers will be back on the ice looking to win back-to-back games for the first time this season when they play the StFX X-Men on Friday night in Antigonish, followed by a trip to Acadia the following day.