Tommies Drop Season Finale

Tommies Drop Season Finale

Fredericton, NB – The St. Thomas University Tommies dropped their final game of the 2022-23 AUS regular season Saturday night by a score of 6-1 to the Saint Mary's University Huskies at the Grant-Harvey Centre. The two teams found their chances in a tightly contested game through the first 30 minutes of play until the Huskies took off in the latter half of the second period.  

A powerplay goal from Tommies' blue liner Brooke Stanford (Whitby, ON) would cut the Huskies lead in half midway through the second, giving the Tommies a spark of energy. The shot from Stanford marked her second career AUS goal in her 102nd and final game as a Tommie.  

The momentum was stolen by Abby McCarthy (Falmouth, NS) who slapped home a centering pass just 93 seconds after the Tommies' goal. 

The Huskies also found goals from Eve LeBlanc (Petit-Rocher, NB), Ashley Penney (Lawrencetown, NS), Shae Demale (Red Deer, AB) and two from Jillian Duggan (Halifax, NS). 

After McCarhty's goal, the Huskies continued to build on their lead, as Penney buried one past Tommies' goalie Caroline Pietroski (Etobicoke, ON) three minutes after at the 12:05 mark, followed by Duggan's second of the period with three minutes remaining. The Huskies took a commanding 4-1 lead heading into the final 20 minutes. 

The Tommies' defence would tighten up in the third period, limiting the Huskies chances. But Demale's speed showed on SMU's penalty kill after the puck was poked lose and finding its way past Stanford at the blueline – Demale turned on the jets face to Pietroski 1-on-1, beating her for her 19th of the season, second most in the AUS and capping off the Huskies' 6-1 win. 

SMU's Sophie Scully (Ottawa, ON) was awarded the win, making 10 saves on 11 shots. Ashley Imlach (Newtonville, ON) came in relief in the third period and stopped all 11 shots faced. Pietroski made 34 saves on 40 shots. 

The Tommies finish the regular season with an 8-18-2 record, missing out on the playoffs with a seventh-place finish. The Huskies finish 18-9-1 to finish in third, setting up a quarterfinal matchup against the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues. The playoff schedule is TBD.