Manning scores a pair to lead Huskies past Tigers

(HALIFAX, N.S.) - Caitlyn Manning scored two goals and added an assist to help her Saint Mary's Huskies (11-3-0) pick up a 4-2 win over the Dalhousie Tigers (4-9-1) on Thursday night.

Breanna Lanceleve and Maggie Poliseno also scored for the Huskies, who broke a 2-2 tie with two goals in the second period. Saint Mary's outshot their opponents 34-21 and now sit one point shy of the StFX X-Women for top spot in the AUS.

The game did not lack in offence in the first period as four goals were scored but neither team could get the upper hand. Saint Mary's opened the scoring 12 minutes into the game when Laura Polak set up Breanna Lanceleve in the slot who one-timed her AUS-leading 11th goal of the season over the glove of Mati Barrett.

The next shift the Tigers were presented with a golden opportunity when Haylee Tretiak took two penalties, one minor and a double minor, giving Dalhousie a six minute power-play. The Tigers capitalized on the man-advantage and scored an odd goal when Jennifer Thompson's shot got deflected high into the air and dropped in the net behind Sienna Cooke.

The Huskies answered back 30 seconds later when Maggie Poliseno earned herself a short-handed breakaway by pressuring the Tigers' point. Poliseno dashed down the ice, deked to her backhand and beat a sliding Barrett through the five-hole.

Resilient, the Tigers brought the game back to a deadlock when Elena Tsitouras took a high wrist shot from the slot to beat Cooke blocker side.

It was all Huskies in the second period, however, as they outshot the Tigers 17-5. With eight minutes to go in the second, Caitlyn Manning put her team up a goal when she created a 2-on-1 for herself and Breanna Lanceleve. Manning came down the left side and chose to shoot, picking the top far side corner. Manning then gave her team some insurance on the power-play with five minutes to go in the second. With Brianna Soper planted on the half boards looking for a target, Manning drove hard to the net and redirected a pass from Soper into the net.

The Huskies will visit StFX on Sunday in a game that has major implications in determining who will take the number one seed in the AUS. The X-Women have dropped their last three games. Dalhousie will host Mount Allison Saturday night at the Alumni Arena.

Source: Brian Mosher for Saint Mary's Sports Information