Tigers Victorious Against Sharks

The Tigers came back from 4-1 down against the Solway Sharks on Saturday night to win 6-5 and book their place in the second round of the Scottish Cup.

Both teams started brightly with chances for each keeper to get their eye in through the early exchanges. It was the visitors who opened their account first in the 10th minute as Michael Corbett pounced on a rebound and lifted the puck in to the net. Tigers failed to capitalise on 2 powerplay opportunities before being penalised themselves as the period came to a close with no further scoring.

The hosts started the period with a man disadvantage but just a minute in to the session Scott Marr returned from the penalty box and made an immediate impact as he fired home from a tight angle. The Sharks restored their lead just 80 seconds later though as Bob Chalmers found himself open in front of net with time to pick his spot. Chalmers was on target again in the 29th minute before Scott Henderson quickly put the Sharks in a commanding 4-1 lead by the mid point of the period. With less than 5 minutes to go in the stanza the Tigers came alive. Dan Topping showed great poise to handle a pass from a bursting Graeme Carstairs in the high slot and fired home. Grant Reekie closed the gap to just a single goal as he tipped in a Robbie Barnett pass before Barnett himself drew the game level as he tipped in a point shot from Dan Moffat. Tigers then took the lead for the first time as Kris Phillips latched on to a pass from Dan Topping and dangled his way to net before cooly slotting home with 20 seconds to go.

The teams returned to the ice energized for the final stanza, both determined to book their place in the next round. As the mid point of the period approached the Tigers took advantage of the extra man as Dan Topping notched his second of the night to give the Tigers a 2 goal cushion. A defensive lapse allowed Gordon Horne to pull the Sharks back to within a single goal on the scoreboard and set up a grandstand final 8 minutes, but there was to be no further scoring and the game concluded with the Tigers running out 6-5 victors.

The Tigers will now face The Dundee Comets in the next round of the Scottish Cup. Date TBC

Final Score: Tigers 6 – Sharks 5

Tigers MOM: Robbie Barnett