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June 14th, 2008. DISAPPOINTING! Bowers moving on early.
Tommie fans had heard the rumors but today it was confirmed. Justin Bowers has signed a deal in the ECHL for 08-09 and won’t be back with the team. A great guy on and off the ice he will certainly be missed. Good luck with your new endeavors Justin, you’ll be missed. DG Article
May 28th, 2008. New recruits coming.
Sorry for the extended absence but I have been away and haven’t been minding the fort. Most of you probably already know that the Tommies have landed forward Mitch Price and goalie Ben MacFarlane from the Woodstock Slammers of the MJAHL. You can rest assured that Coach Eagles is out there pounding the pavement looking for other high end talents for the upcoming year.
Positive Hits is no longer the official broadcaster for Tommies hockey but don’t worry folks we’ll be listening to Tommies hockey this fall. Have faith, just because one radio station has no long term vision of success it doesn’t mean another won’t.
April 4th, 2008. Lady Tommies announce new recruits.
Coach Murphy has announced a couple of new recruits for the 2008-2009 season. Included in the group is FHS standout Kayla Blackmore and former UNB player Alexis Laird. STORY Ha ha UNB dropped women’s hockey, isn’t that just great. This is truly UNBlievable, I have always preached they were Squirrels and this proves it. There are no bigger sneaks in this world then a Squirrel. I really feel for the Ladies that lost there place to play but I don’t expect UNB to bring back the Ladies game because the so called “men” who made the decision have brains the size of an acorn. Dumb ass Squirrels.
Tommies 07/08 in review by Bill Hunt.
March 12th, 2008. Three Tommies get AUS All-Star nod.
Matt Davis, Anthony Butera and Justin Bowers were selected to the 2007-08 AUS 2nd team all-stars. All three had tremendous seasons and were huge contributors to the overall success of the team. Someone else who deserves a little credit is Jeff Bateman. He led the Tommies with an amazing 1.8 PPG this season scoring 23 points in just 13 games and also +/- with a +11. To all our all-stars, thanks and congratulations. AUS Story.
March 2nd, 2008. Squirrels bring Tommies season to a close.
Tommies 1 - Squirrels 5. Game 3 AUS Semi Finals.
The big red rodent machine was to much of a force this year and the Tommies had to concede defeat to their bitter rivals. Wave after wave of tree rats exacted a toll on the lunch pail workers from St Thomas.
The Squirrels had built a 3 - 0 lead by the mid way point of the first period as they sucked the life from STU like the meat from an acorn. Late in the period Corey Banfield came close as he rang one off the post on a clear cut breakaway.
As the second period started the Tommies pulled Matt Davis for Guillaume Miszczak hoping to find a spark. It worked for a time as Justin Roy salted one behind the UNB netminder at 4:22 with assists to Jeremy Turgeon and Ryan Card. The Tommies would get no closer on this night as UNB scored one late in the second and another in the third.
While there is little solace in losing to the tree rats the Tommies dedication and hard work didn’t go unnoticed. It was an exciting year of Tommies hockey and the team has so much to build from for next season. To all the graduating players a HUGE round of thanks goes out to you. To Mike Eagles and his staff a job well done, your hard work was noted and appreciated. To all the behind the scene folks that chipped in, who bleed Green and Gold all year, thanks for everything. Extra special thanks to Randy Corey at Positive Hits 96.5 FM for carrying all the games and the dedication you showed to St. Thomas. DG Story 03/03
THANK YOU TOMMIE FANS, IT’S BEEN A GREAT 07-08. IT GOES BY SO QUICKLY.
February 29th, 2008. Tommies shall continue to fight the evil Tree Rats.
Tommies 4 - Squirrels 5. Game 2 AUS Semi Finals.
Heart I tell you, all heart. If you leave it out there on the ice there will be no complaints about it, and the
St. Thomas Tommies gave the Squirrels a run for their money. Lucky for our UNB friends they had a UNB alumnus refereeing the game tonight, how convenient. With a strong team like UNB you don’t have to give them breaks but if you do, it will cost...oh it will cost.
Tonight at a well packed LBR the Squirrels were first on the board with a PP marker at 8:17. The Tommies replied on their own man advantage over two minutes later when Justin Bowers tallied from Giallonardo and Butera. Ryan Murphy pushed STU ahead at 13:51 on a breakaway just as a penalty to Justin Roy expired with the only assist going to Jean Bourbeau. The lead would be short lived as Erick Tremblay took a bizarre penalty for interference (interference, what the $@%# ??? ) and of course UNB scored. 2 -2 tie after one.
In the second frame nobody scored and UNB certainly held the territorial advantage but Matt Davis was up to the task of keeping them at bay. The third started out on a powerplay for STU but soon turned into an advantage for the Squirrels, as the Tommies found themselves two men short. The Squirrels scored on the 5 on 3 and the following 5 on 4 to take a 4 to 2 lead. Things were looking bleak but Justin Bowers, who played one heck of a gutsy game, rushed in and scored a beauty from Jean Bourbeau at 10:14. The Squirrel netminder didn’t like that much and gave Justin the butt end of his goalie stick as a reward that cost him a 4 minute penalty. The Tommies scored early in the PP to tie the game at 4 and bring full life back into the crowd. Giallonardo from Seymour and Chamberland teamed up on the goal at 10:45. As the last minute ticked away on the third period a UNB defenseman jumped up into the play and fired a screamer past a shocked Matt Davis for the eventual winner. Try as they might in the last 45 seconds, the Tommies were not able to get the equalizer. It was a gutsy effort tonight and it was a fun game. Thanks. The Tommies are down to a one game at a time series now and will face-off against UNB Sunday night at the Aitken Centre. 7 PM start time. DG Article 03/01
February 28th, 2008. Today in Tommies History.
Kyle McAlister scored the winning goal in overtime against UNB to send the AUS Semi-Final to a third and deciding game. The final score was 2 to 1. This is the last time that the Tommies defeated UNB at the Aitken Centre. The date was February 28th, 2003. 02/29 DG Articles
DAVE RITCHIE ARTICLE FEB. 26TH, 2008. READ FIRST BEFORE CONTINUING.
Let’s start this editorial by saying that AUS hockey fans in Fredericton are lucky to have quality print media guys like Dave Ritchie, Bill Hunt and Bruce Hallihan. Whether you like what they write is irrelevant, it’s the fact that we have it to read in the first place that’s important. Not many CIS hockey programs get the local media attention that UNB and STU receive, so count your blessings. I for one am very thankful to the Gleaner staff as they certainly augment this website with material and my pitiful attempts at writing.
In Dave’s recent column he speaks about how the Battle of the Hill has lost the intensity it once had. Well let’s be honest, Fredericton fans are either a fickle bunch or very discriminating. They want a winner at all costs and a hard working, lunch pail toting, .500 team doesn’t suit their fancy.
Nobody was complaining in November of 2006 when the 10 and 2 Tommies rolled into the Aitken Centre to face the 8 and 4 UNB Team. There was buzz and the place sold out. They came to watch local boys like Matt Seymour and St Nick Theriault play against local kids like Josh Hepditch and Rob Pearce. The Squirrels worked their home ice advantage to perfection and spilled Tommie blood to the tune of 3 to 0 that night. I’ll be the first to admit the current year Tommies do not have the so called “skill” of last year but they make up for it in heart. To bad that doesn’t sell here because only wins will do that.
The rivalry will never be dead (I’m not insinuating that anyone said that either) but it will fade from time to time as each team is in different stages of building. It certainly won’t take much to spark interest in it at any given point. If STU is able to do the unthinkable and beat the Squirrels the next two games, the luster will be renewed and both sets of fans will flock back like crazy. Hey, I’m not STUpid….Squirrels are!
February 26th, 2008. Squirrels draw first blood, down Tommies.
Tommies 1 - Squirrels 5. Game 1 AUS Semi Finals.
They weren’t ranked number one in the country all season by accident and tonight proved nothing that wasn’t already known, the Squirrels are big, fast, and good. That being said, the bigger they are - the harder they fall. Nobody on this side of the battle field is giving in and the battle will continue on Friday.
Tonight at the cesspool known as the Aitken Centre, the Tommies fell victims to a solid group of Squirrels. UNB jumped out to 2 - 0 lead in the first period. Justin Bowers came close to cutting the lead in half late in the period on a 2 man advantage but fanned on the puck at the side of the net.
The Tommies did score next at 4:04 of the second when Jean Bourbeau deflected a Justin Bowers shot past the UNB goaltender. Matt Seymour collected the other assist. The Squirrels scored one more in the period to regain the 2 goal cushion and would add 2 more in the third to pull away. Jean Bourbeau got hit in the head by a rising puck and for awhile it look serious but Jean was back for his next shift. That’s Tommie toughness right there. In the third period Jean drew the assignment of shadowing the Squirrel’s top point guy and when Bourbs checked him, he went down in a heap and was able to draw a bogus penalty, plus a game misconduct to end Jean’s night.
Final shots on goal favoured the Squirrels 49 to 18. Matt Davis was strong in goal and kept STU in it. The Battle switches to the LBR on Friday night at 7 PM. Come out and cheer on our Tommies. DG STORY 02/27
UPDATE: DG STORIES 02/26
February 24th, 2008. Bring on the Squirrels, Tommies blank X.
Tommies 4 - X-Men 0. Game 3 AUS Quarter Finals.
With the help of some timely goal scoring and Matt Davis standing huge in net, the Tommies are heading to a semifinal showdown with UNB. STU built a 2 - 0 lead in the first period that the team would never relinquish. The game was chippy by times but St. Thomas stayed composed with their eyes firmly on the prize of winning tonight’s game.
Matt Seymour played an awesome game and started the scoring at 2:05 of the first period from Bowers and Crossman It was Matt’s first of three points on the night and for a second it looked like he juggled the pass but he regained control just in time to roof it passed the X goalie. With less than 2 minutes to play in the period, Matt got goal number 2 from Bourbeau and Bowers. This set X off in the wrong direction and shortly thereafter one of their players would take a 5 minute match penalty that would haunt them early in the next period.
The Tommies started off the second frame on a 4 on 3 disadvantage but were able to kill it off and get their own man advantage from the left over time on the 5 minute match. Corey Banfield made X pay on the PP with a nifty pass by none other than Matt Seymour with Ryan Lehr collecting the other helper.
STU really threw a wrench into ST FX’s comeback hopes at the 57 second mark of the third when Jason Cassidy made a beautiful rush and collected the goal with assists to Keith Wynn and Ryan Card. Speaking of Ryan Card, he played a tremendous game especially on the PK. The ref tried to help X back into the game by calling three successive penalties on STU, resulting in an extended 5 on 3, but the PK unit and Matt Davis were up to the call. Matt made 39 saves for the shutout win, many while shorthanded. STU fired 30 at X. The Tommies will now faceoff against UNB on Tuesday night at the AUC. Game time 7 PM. DG ARTICLE Schedule and tickets.
February 22nd, 2008. Tommies come home for Game #3.
Tommies 2 - X-Men 4. Game 2 AUS Quarter Finals.
The tale of the tape this evening was the Tommies ineffectiveness on the powerplay going 0 for 8 with the man advantage. With 4 PP opportunities in the third period alone and being down only a goal, STU was unable to capitalize.
The X-Men scored first at 5:20 of the opening period and out shot the Tommies 15 to 3. Anthony Butera tied the game at 3:09 of the second frame with assists to Ryan Card and Jason Cassidy. X reclaimed the lead with less than 50 seconds to play in second with the Tommies holding the shot advantage in the period 10 to 9.
The Tommies were foiled on 4 attempts on the PP before St FX took a 2 goal advantage at 15:25 of the third period. STU fought back when Paul Giallonardo fired the puck passed the X goalie to breathe life back into the team at 17:31. With Matt Davis looking to go to the bench for the extra man, X came down and fired one passed him at 18:36. Final shots on net were 30 to 25 favouring St Francis. The Tommies will head back to the LBR on Sunday night at 7PM looking to end the series at home. HCH Article
In other AUS action Moncton downed Acadia 7 to 2 setting up a Moncton/St. Mary’s semi final match with the winner of ST FX/STU taking on UNB starting Tuesday night.
The Lady Tommies lost a heartbreaker to Dalhousie 3 to 2 in women’s quarter final action at SMU.
February 20th, 2008. Tommies rock X in overtime.
Tommies 2 - X-Men 1. OT. Game 1 AUS Quarter Finals.
UPDATE: Matt Davis article.
STU started the AUS playoffs in fine fashion tonight with the ever so important home ice win. Mind you it wasn’t easy and the Tommies had a gut check between the third period and overtime. St. Thomas started things off well by scoring the first goal at 3:34 of period one on a perfect shot by Matt Seymour, assists to Bowers and Banfield. STU had several other near misses in the first and played well.
In the second period nobody scored but the territorial play favoured St FX. The one goal lead stood until 5:59 of the third period. With X pressing the Tommies coughed up the puck in their own zone leading to a hard shot that Matt Davis got a piece of but the bounce went high and just dropped over the goal line before Matt could get to it. The tie stood and forced the game to OT.
The team must have rallied in the short 3 minute intermission because the overtime was controlled by STU. Just before the goal was scored Matt Seymour made a nice play behind the net and was able to get out front for a shot. The X-Men goaltender saved it for a faceoff. Justin Bowers took the draw and won it back to Keith Wynn who sent a great pass to Erick Tremblay. Erick wound up and fired through traffic and BANG it was over. Tommies win. Matt Davis was solid in net getting the win while facing 37 shots. The Tommies fired 29 the other way.
The Tommies head to Antigonish on Friday night and will try to end it in enemy territory. Game time is 7 PM on Positive Hits 96.5. DG STORY
February 18th, 2008. Playoff tickets available Feb. 19th.
Playoff tickets are available Tuesday Feb. 19th at J.B. O’Keefe Centre from 4 to 6 PM. Price $8 Adult, $5 Senior, $3 Student with valid ID. The LBR Box Office opens on Game Day at 5 PM. DG STORY BUTERA STORY
Game Time: 7 PM. St. Thomas Tommies vs. St Francis Xavier X-Men.
If you are interested in watching the February 1st game against the X-Men it is available from the X website.
Follow this LINK for the free archived webcast. You will need Realplayer to watch. Click on “Watch webcast” on Feb 1st STU 2 X-Men 1 under “X-Men Hockey”.
February 16th, 2008. Tommies roll passed Panthers into playoffs.
Tommies 6 - Panthers 5.
The Tommies did something tonight that many said couldn’t be done at the start of the season, home ice advantage in the 1st round of the AUS playoffs. So Tommie fans when these same people predict less than positive results in the playoffs, we know that our team can do it. Do STU believe in Miracles?
With the win tonight the Tommies clinch 4th place with 28 points, tied with ST FX. We have a better head to head record with 3 wins and one O/T loss versus the X-Men and hence we start the playoff quest on Wednesday night, 7PM at the LBR. In Charlottetown this evening it was deja vous from last night when the Panthers raced out to an early one nothing lead less then 30 seconds into the game. Once again the Tommies came back and scored three goals Max Chamberland (Bourbeau, Lobb), Matt Seymour (Cassidy, Bowers), and Anthony Butera (Cassidy, Roy) scored in the first.
PEI slimmed the margin to one early in second frame but Corey Banfield scored at 4:12 from Bowers and Seymour. Bowers actually started this play behind the Tommies net, making some nice moves in the neutral zone, before making a great pass and Corey making a beautiful deke for the goal. The Panthers scored shorthanded mid way through the period but STU replied on a 2 man advantage when Max Chamberland scored goal number 2 from Giallonardo and Butera.
STU began the third period on the PP and Matt Seymour got his second of the night at 1:01 from Butera and Giallonardo. (box score doesn’t say this but those are the 2 guys that passed the puck to Matt). UPEI scored 2 more times to make the score close but too little too late on this night. Matt Davis faced 35 shots for the win, while St. Thomas fired 28 the other way. As mentioned earlier, the Tommies come back to the LBR on Wednesday night to take on the St FX X-Men in game one of the 2007-08 AUS quarter finals. AUS Roundup from HCH.
n Ladies action from PEI, the Tommies completed the road sweep by beating the Panthers 4 to 3 in OT. The Ladies also finish in 4th and will face the Dalhousie Tigers in a one game playoff next Friday night, February 22nd at SMU.
February 15th, 2008. Overtime continues to be unlucky for Tommies.
Tommies 4 - Aigles Bleus 5. O/T
The 07-08 Tommies started the season off on the right foot in overtime against Acadia back in October but since that time have gone 0 - 6 in the extra frame or shoot-out. STU forced overtime again tonight against 8th ranked Moncton and gained an important point but were not able to get the 2nd. As a matter of fact the number 2 wasn’t friendly at all tonight. The Tommies had a 2 goal lead but the 2nd period saw Moncton score 3 goals to erase the advantage.
Moncton actually scored less then a minute into the game to stun the crowd and make them wonder if it was going to be a long night. But the Tommies got rolling at 2:06 when David Crossman made a nice rush into the Moncton end, shot the puck at the net and had a lucky bounce off the Moncton defender go in. Roy and Cassidy with assists. A few minutes later Max Chamberland charged up ice and made no mistake burying the puck unassisted. Matt Seymour wanted some action shortly there after on an odd man rush and when the passing lanes got clogged, Matt fired a top shelf goal for the 2 goal cushion with assists to Banfield and Butera.
The second frame saw the Tommies come close on more than one occasion but it was Moncton doing all the scoring with 3 goals including one with less than 25 seconds left in the period. The Tommies came out hungry in the third period and tied it up off the stick of Ryan Card. This was his second goal of the season, both being of the huge variety. Although Moncton scored the OT winner on a seeing eye wrist shot, Matt Davis played strong in goal and stopped a 3 on 1 shorthanded break by Moncton in the 3rd. Final shots on goal favoured U de M 44 to 38.
In other AUS action X beat Dalhousie 3 to 1 and Acadia downed SMU 4 - 3 in a shootout. The Tommies are tied with the X-Men for 4th and sit one point up on Acadia for 6th. If the Tommies want to start the playoffs at home they need to win tomorrow night in PEI. The Panthers were officially eliminated from playoff contention tonight for the 3rd straight year. Please remember that tomorrow’s game begins at 7:30 PM and can be heard live on Positive Hits
96.5 or you can watch the game on the free webcast from Panther TV. DG ARTICLE AUS ROUNDUP
February 14th, 2008. Squirrels rebound to sink STU in O/T.
Tommies 5 - Squirrels 6. O/T Shootout.
The Lady Tommies handed over one to their rivals last night on a silver platter. Up two goals with less then 5 minutes to play in the third, the Squirrels roared (OK, chirped) back with two goals in 28 seconds to tie and eventually scored the win in a shootout. Scoring for the Tommies were Dominique Bernier with 3, Nicole Ernst, and Michelle Goguen. Liette Arseneault suffered the loss facing 26 shots. The O/T point moves STU ahead of Dalhousie for 4th in the AUS, as the Tigers lost to X 4 to 1. DG Article
In men’s action last night, UNB defeated UPEI 4 to 3. This has secured a playoff birth for the Tommies as the Panthers sit 3 points behind STU with only one game left. Tonight the Tommies take on Moncton at 7 PM, at the LBR
AUS preview..
February 13th, 2008. Tommies versus Moncton postponed.
Make up game - U de M versus STU, Friday night, 7 PM LBR. Live on Positive Hits 96.5.
Southern New Brunswick’s weather is to blame for the postponement of tonight’s Tommies game against Les Aigles Bleus. It is very likely to be made up either on Friday or Sunday night as the playoffs officially begin next Wednesday. Tomorrow night UNB will be at the LBR to face off against the Lady Tommies, while up the hill the UPEI Panthers will take on the Squirrels with a big two points on the line and playoff implications. Ryan Card article.
February 10th, 2008. Tigers defeat STU.
Tommies 1 - Tigers 2.
In Ladies action from Sunday afternoon, the Tigers were able to hold on to the slimmest of leads to trump the Tommies. Renee Edison from Rebekah Thompson opened the scoring early in the second frame but Dalhousie roared back with two consecutive goals which proved to be enough for the win. Liette Arseneault got the hard loss facing 37 shots. STU managed 18 the other way. These two teams sit tied for fourth each with 18 points and 2 games remaining. Dal will have the tougher challenge as they face the X-Women and Huskies while the Tommies finish off against the Squirrels and Panthers.
February 9th, 2008. Tommies lose to bitter Huskies.
Tommies 3 - Huskies 4.
The Tommies fought second place SMU to the bitter end....literally. While the Huskies left town with the win they certainly didn’t make any friends in Tommieland with their post game antics. Before we get to the end lets tell you that the Tommies had a 2 - 0 lead at the end of the first on goals by Corey Banfield (Seymour, Bowers) and Jean Bourbeau (Chamberland, Murphy). In the second penalty trouble resulted in 2 SMU goals.
Early in the third period St Mary’s scored two goals before the half way mark but the Tommies replied off the stick of Max Chamberlad on the PP. Assist to Justin Bowers. Late in the period Jean Bourbeau creamed Dan Rudisuela with a clean check but the Huskies bench cried foul. There was no penalty as the hit was clean. As the siren sounded to end the game SMU became a tad unglued and several started throwing punches. Andrew Hotham threw a few at Justin Bowers and some SMU player brought Paul Giallonardo close enough to their bench where Paul received a few extras from players not on the ice. All and all nothing happened too serious but the Huskies sure looked like a team that had nothing to lose this late in the season trying to suck in a team that has everything to lose. In my mind that’s cheap.
The Tommies remain in 4th spot. In other action X defeated PEI 8 to 5, UNB downed Acadia 7 to 3. STU is up on X by a point, two on Acadia, and three on PEI. Next game for the Tommies is versus Moncton, 7PM on Wednesday.
Feb 11th DG Article
In Ladies action the Tommies lost to ST FX 2 to 1. Scoring for STU was Catherine Boudreau. Mia Leander faced 31 shots in the loss while STU could only manage 6 shots the other way.
February 8th, 2008. X = 2 points for Tommies.
Tommies 4 - X-Men 1.
In another must win game for the Tommies the men in Green and Gold came up big tonight at the LBR. In a very entertaining game the X-Men were the first on the scoreboard with a power play marker at 6:21. The Tommies rebounded at 13:32 when Matt Seymour made no mistake in front of the net on a nice feed from Justin Bowers and Corey Banfield. The game remained tied until late in the second period when Ryan Card was Tommie on the spot at the side of the net and potted his first goal of the season. It was a big goal for Ryan and the entire team was excited by his contribution. Aaron Lobb and Justin Roy got the assists.
With STU hanging on to the one goal lead in the third, penalty trouble threatened to tie the game but the PK unit fought off two extended 5 on 3 disadvantages. Justin Bowers would end up scoring at 17:04 unassisted when he broke in alone, picked up his own rebound and scored the cushion goal. Jean Bourbeau scored into the empty net to salt this one away. The Tommies fired 31 shots at X and Matt Davis faced 27 for the win.
St. Thomas faces St. Mary’s tomorrow night at 7PM. SMU lost in O/T to PEI tonight, Acadia lost in a shoot out to Moncton, so the Tommies