The St. Thomas University Tommies skated to a 7-4 win over the Dalhousie Tigers in AUS women's hockey action Saturday night at the Grant-Harvey Centre.

The win is the first for the Tommies this season, which head coach Peter Murphy said is a result of the team's hard work over the last week.

"We are playing better every game," he said. "We're pleased with the win, and we're really pleased the girls got to see the hard work they put in this week pay off."

The Tommies opened the scoring when Becky Conner netted a shorthanded goal off a Tigers turnover, beating DAL goaltender Jessica Severeyns top corner.

The Tigers countered on the next sequence as Lauren Ellerton tipped the puck past Abby Clarke and to the back of the Tommies' net to tie the game 1-1.

The Tommies came out firing in the second and were rewarded when Lauren Legault netted a backhand from the slot. The lead was short lived though, as Jennifer Thompson responded for the Tigers at 8:07 to even the score at 2-2.

The Tommies finished the period with three unanswered goals. The first came from Alexandra Woods, who buried a Teah Anderson rebound to put the Tommies up 3-2. Alisha Gilbert followed suit wrapping the puck off the post and in at 17:23. Rita Dorofeeva rounded out the scoring in the frame, netting her first goal as a Tommie in tight against Severeyns.

The Tigers pulled Severeyns in favour of Fabian Petricca to start the third.

Jesse Rietveld cut the Tigers' deficit to 5-3 early in the frame after capitalizing on a scramble in front of the Tommies' net. Ellerton buried her second of the game on the power play to bring the Tigers within one.

The Tigers took a penalty with less than five minutes to go and the Tommies took advantage as Conner scored her second goal of the game to restore STU's two-goal lead.

"That was something. I was happy to see it happen," Murphy said of Conner's two-goal performance. "They were big energy goals that definitely pumped up the bench."

The Tigers pulled Petricca for the extra attacker, but Emily Oleksuk found the back of the empty net at 18:37 to secure the Tommies' first win of the season.

Conner was chosen as the Subway Player of the Game, while Gilbert and DAL's Rietveld were second and third stars of the game, respectively.

The Tommies are back in action Saturday, October 28 when they host the Universite de Moncton Aigles Bleues. The Tigers will host the Saint Mary' Huskies on Wednesday, October 25.