Former Halifax Moosehead Pascal Amyott had three assists over the past two days for the Tigers. (photo courtesy of Richard Lafortune)
Do you believe in miracles?
The famous quote from Al Michaels after Team USA beat Team Russia in the 1980 Winter Olympics could become a mantra for Dalhousie Tigers fans in the upcoming week after an improbable victory tonight over the UNB Varsity Reds at the Dalhousie Memorial Arena.
Brett Theberge, the fifteenth shooter of a shoot out that seemed like it would never end, barely put the puck past Travis Fullerton of the Reds, and Wendell Vye made his biggest save of the night to give the Tigers a 3-2 win over the CIS #2 ranked V-Reds.
Vye was the easy choice for Player of the Game after making thirty eight saves through three periods and the overtime session. The Reds out shot the Tigers 21-2 in the third period and 40-16 for the game.
The Reds built a 2-0 lead on goals by Shayne Wiebe and Kyle Bailey and seemed to be well in control of the game through nearly two periods of play. That`s when Brendan Macdonald tipped home a blast from Pascal Amyot on the power play with one second left in the middle frame that would cut the deficit to one goal and set up a Tiger`s comeback for the ages.
Jordan Villeneuve Gagne scored early in the third period to tie the game, and the Tigers held on to force overtime as Wendell Vye made one miraculous save after another to force the extra session versus a Reds team that attacked relentlessly throughout the period.
After a fairly uneventful overtime and maybe the most bizarre Zamboni scraping in DMA history, the Reds and Tigers sent a combined sixteen shooters to centre ice before Vye closed the door one more time and sent a packed house of Dalhousie fans home optimistic that the Tigers could still make the playoffs.
The Tigers win combined with a 6-3 St FX loss to the St.Thomas Tommies in Fredericton draws Dalhousie one point behind the X-Men on a night when it would have seemed almost certain the Tigers would end up trailing by five points for the final playoff spot.
Both teams now control their own destiny as they'll play each other twice over the next week, beginning this Wednesday night in Antigonish and then next Saturday night at the Dalhousie Memorial Arena in what could be the final Tigers men's hockey game at the old barn just off University Avenue.
