Tigers breeze to victory against Typhoons

The Dundee Tigers skated out to a convincing 7-1 victory over the visiting Moray Typhoons on Saturday night, picking up 2 valuable SNL points in the process.

The game started off at a fairly sedate pace with both teams looking reluctant to stamp their authority on the match, possibly due to their closeness in the standings. It was the Tigers who looked that little looser though and they deservedly took the lead as John Robertson blasted home a rocket of a slapshot from the point that stretched the netting in the 13th minute. The momentum was not allowed to build for the home team though as a succession of penalties saw the Tigers kill off a 5 on 3 and a 5 on 4 situation before the period closed.

Early in the 2nd period Tigers were again put on the back foot as both Dan Topping and Paul Guilcher were assessed penalties at the same time with just over 2 minutes played. This time the visitors did benefit from the 2 man advantage as Michael Ferguson found space to slot the puck past Robbie Balfour. Another Tigers penalty in the 25th minute gave the visitors an opportunity to apply some pressure but some hard work and grit by Tigers Scott Marr was rewarded as he broke free and snapped a shot over the shoulder of the Moray keeper to regain the lead with well earned shorty. Dan Topping increased Tigers lead midway through the period as he showed great determination to shoot and then pick up his own rebound and to send it home. Grant Reekie was next to get his name on the score sheet as he picked up on a majestic feed from Marr and beat the keeper to put clear air between the 2 teams and end the period’s scoring.

The Tigers got the 3rd session underway with an extra man on the ice but despite some sustained pressure couldn’t add to their tally. That changed in the 46th minute as a wonderful backhand saucer pass from Topping started a tic-tac-toe play between Kris Phillips and Ross Bree, the latter firing a cracker of a shot past the bewildered Typhoons netminder. 2 minutes later Mark McLeod fired home Tigers 6th of the night as he forced his way in to space and scored with a beautifully placed shot through the keeper’s 5-hole. With the hosts in the ascendency and the visitors wishing the minutes away Dan Topping concluded the scoring with his second of the night, a closed range effort that stretched the roof of the net .

With 2 points in the bag Tigers now focus their attention on next Saturday’s opponents the Solway Sharks. An away loss in the league and a tight, home win in the Scottish Cup indicates that this game is likely to be a test of the Tigers ambition and is an important step in the journey towards qualifying for the end of season playoffs.

Final Score: Tigers 7 - Typhoons 1

Tigers MoM: Grant Reekie