Tigers Better Off Headless

With only 8 players in the lineup, the Greyhounds were always going to struggle against the Tigers, but there would be nothing from 88 on this night as Norm Gallant was conspicuously absent.  Iron man? No, something softer… NorMan.

This game was all Tigers, starting with a Kurt Thibault goal on a slot shot through a screen.  Then Brandon Crowell took a cleared puck and went low blocker.  The Greyhounds were being smothered and struggling to get into the Tigers zone.  The Tigers would pop off midway through the period with 3 goals in 92 seconds, with tallies from Allan Beaton, Chris Stickings, and a bottle popper from Mike MacIsaac, the first of 2 on the night for him.

A little action occurred in the Tigers zone and Eric Blanchard was penalized for hooking.  Well, give that man an assist, because Brandon Crowell scored a beauty of a shorthanded goal, slamming on the brakes as he went to the net and sliding the puck in on the short side.  The tigers were up 6-0 after the first period.

Early in the second, Eric Blanchard had a giveaway to Kyle Gouthro in the neutral zone.  Gouthro came in and made a deke in which everyone thought he was going to try to roof it, but he tucked it five hole instead.  Blanchard’s penalty box assist would have to be wiped out with his Greyhounds assist.  The game was now 6-1 and maybe the dejected Greyhounds could find some life.

False.  The Tigers just kept rolling.  Kurt Thibault and Brandon Crowell were dominant, with 5 points apiece.  They even dropped back to play defence, and with Gallant and Boyce absent, the Crowell/Thibault D pairing moved up the coach’s rankings as they wouldn't allow any goals to be scored against them.

Greg Delano managed zero points on the night, because he was a no show.  The Greyhounds could have used his scoring touch, but it simply wasn’t to be their night.  The Tigers ended with 42 shots on goal to the Greyhounds 19, and won the game 10-1.

The standings are now looking pretty crowded in the middle as the Lions, Tigers, and Eurekas are all within a point.  It’s going to be an interesting final week of hockey as some matchups could be decided in the final game.

Oh, and Kurt Thibault lost the puck on a breakaway and didn’t even manage a shot on goal.  I just thought you’d like to know that.