The beginning of winter means the end of the cross country season and the beginning of basketball. The men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball seasons opened this past weekend with AV俱乐部 hosting UNB, while the cross country teams鈥� season culminated with the CIS championships in Ontario.
Men鈥檚 Hockey
The AV俱乐部 Tigers hosted the StFX X-Men at the Forum on Wednesday night. The X-Men took the lead straight out of the gate when Jason Bast scored only a minute into the game.
Early in the second period, Tiger Brett Theberge scored Dal's first goal on a shot set up by Matt English and Chris Ivanko. At the end of the period, StFX added another goal on a power play.
In the third period, it looked like the Tigers could turn the game around when Chris Ivanko scored Dal's second goal, narrowing StFX's lead to one. StFX, who outshot Dal 46-19, ensured their win with two more goals before the game was over. StFX took the game with a final score of 5-2.
The Tigers will try and break their seven-game losing streak when they play Universit茅 de Moncton on November 15th.听
Women鈥檚 Volleyball
The Tigers hosted the Saint Mary鈥檚 Huskies on Wednesday evening. The match started off strong with the Tigers taking the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-23. The Huskies turned the pressure on and the next two sets were back and forth with Saint Mary鈥檚 coming out on top.
In the fifth set, the teams continued to battle it out, but the Tigers couldn鈥檛 stop the Huskies and fell 10-15.
Offensively, Desiree Nouwen had 20 kills while libero Marisa Mota led the team defensively with 22 digs throughout the match. Nouwen also had an impressive game defensively with 19 digs.
AV俱乐部 bounced back from their loss, winning their match against Cape Breton University on Saturday night. The Tigers easily took the match in three consecutive sets (25-11, 25-15, 25-12).
In the first set, Marlee Powers earned her first kill of the game off a shot set-up by Abby Czenze. The Tigers had an opportunity to show off their impressive ball handling skills against the Capers, who currently sit in the seventh spot. From the first point on, the Tigers led the set.
In the second set, the Tigers quickly established a four-point led, giving them a cushion. Nouwen led the set offensively with seven kills. Her last kill sealed the set.
In the third and final set, Nouwen led the team again with another seven kills. Her last of which put the Tigers at 24 points, looking for the match point. A long shot from CBU ended the game, giving Dal the game and match.
Nouwen had a total of 17 kills throughout the match while Czenze led the game defensively with nine digs.
The first-place Tigers will look for their next win when they host Universit茅 de Moncton on November 16th at 6:00 p.m.
Cross Country
The men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 cross country teams travelled to London, Ontario this past weekend to compete in the CIS championship.
In the men鈥檚 10km race, Oliver Hatheway was first to finish from AV俱乐部 in the 43rd spot. Over a minute and a half later was Matthias Mueller in the 84th spot. Just shy of the top 100 was Matt MacNeil who finished in the 105th spot.
In the women鈥檚 6km, Ellen Chappell cracked the top 50, finishing in the 48th spot followed closely behind by Britany MacArthur who placed 54th. Also in the race were Emily Clarke (82), Anna von Maltzahn (92), Natalie Sachrajda (105), Vanessa Linton (116) and Michelle Reddy (125).
The women鈥檚 team finished in the middle of the pack, taking the 12th spot out of 20 teams. 聽
Men鈥檚 Basketball
The men鈥檚 basketball team hosted the UNB Varsity Reds at the Dalplex this past Friday in their season opener. The Varsity Reds led from the beginning of the first quarter and although Tiger Derek Norris managed to sink four free throws, it wasn鈥檛 enough for the Tigers to close the gap.听
With three minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Tigers were able to tie up the game 49-49 then move ahead, 53-51. The Tigers continued to lead in the last quarter but the Reds came back, winning the game 75-62.
Tiger Devon Stedman led the way offensively with 13 points.
The following afternoon, the Tigers had an opportunity for a rematch. By the end of the first quarter, the Tigers were up 23-18. For the majority of the game, the Tigers managed to maintain a ten-point lead over the Varsity Reds until the end of the fourth quarter. The game was tied 81-81 at the end of the fourth quarter, forcing overtime. In the last 20 seconds of overtime, the Varsity Reds managed to sink four free throws, winning the game 92-89. Tiger Kashrell Lawrence was Dal鈥檚 top scorer with 25 points.
The Tigers will travel to Wolfville on November 13th to play Acadia.
Women鈥檚 Basketball
The AV俱乐部 Tigers defeated the University of New Brunswick in their season opener, 81-55. The Varsity Reds got off to an early lead, but the Tigers quickly turned it around, leading for the rest of the quarter. Dal continued to advance their lead in the second quarter, thanks to forward Tessa Stammberger who added another five points. By the end of the first half, Dal led the game 37-27.
Into the third quarter, UNB managed to narrow the gap to 39-44 but the Tigers managed to gain a 10-point lead, sinking five jump shots. In the final quarter, the Tigers continued to lead, adding 27 more points. Leading the Tigers in points was Tessa Stammberger with 21 points in 26 minutes of play.
Dal didn鈥檛 repeat their performance the following day when they played their second game against UNB. The Varsity Reds took their first win of the season, 63-61.
The Tigers struggled from the onset, missing multiple shots and by the halfway mark of the first quarter, the Varsity Reds were up 13-3. The Tigers came back, managing to close the gap and end the quarter up one point on the Reds.
The game remained close but the Tigers couldn鈥檛 hold onto the lead. With 1:38 left on the clock, UNB鈥檚 Colleen Daley sunk a three-point jump shot, giving the Varsity Reds the win. 聽
The Tigers will travel to Wolfville on November 13th to play Acadia.
Women鈥檚 Hockey
The women鈥檚 hockey team was on the road this weekend, playing their first game in Sackville on Saturday against Mount Allison University. With almost eight minutes still on the clock in the first period, the Mounties scored the first goal of the evening. Two minutes later, Dal鈥檚 Elena Tsitouras scored, quickly tying up the game. Before the period was over, Jennifer Thompson and Megan O鈥橬eill each added another goal for Dal.
In the beginning of the second period, O鈥橬eill had her second unassisted goal of the night, bringing Dal鈥檚 lead up to three. With 41 seconds left on the clock, the Mounties managed to get a puck past goalie Mati Barrett, bringing the score to 4-2.
Tigers Marita Alfieri and Fielding Montgomery each scored short-handed goals in the third period, giving Dal a 6-2 win. Shots on net were 22-17 in favour of AV俱乐部.
The following day, the Tigers travelled to Fredericton to play the higher-ranked St. Thomas Tommies. The Tigers did not fare as well, falling to the Tommies 5-2.
Early in the first period, Tiger Maggie Beaton scored her first goal of the afternoon, giving Dal the only lead they would have in the game. Tommie Katie Brewster scored a shorthanded goal before the period was over.
The Tommies continued to dominate the Tigers, adding three more goals to the scoreboard. Late in the second period Beaton scored her second goal on a shot set up by Marita Alfieri and Fielding Montgomery. The Tommies clinched the win with an empty net goal late in the third period.
The Tigers will travel to PEI to play UPEI on November 15th.听