The Tassie Tigers took it right up to the Victorian Vikings in their final pool match of the AHL today and were unlucky to come away with a 2-2 draw as they dominated the match during key periods but were unable to find the back of the net for the elusive game winner.
The Tigers weathered sustained attack by the Vikings in the opening minutes of the match and gradually turned the tide. Another PC goal from the ever-reliable Luke Doerner in the 13th minute was the only score for the half, with the Tigers leading 1-0 at the break.
The Tigers' determination rattled the Vikings and their frustration was not appreciated by the umpires who gave them 2 yellow cards in the second half. Unfortunately the Tigers failed to capitalise on these power plays by running the ball into the Victorians rather than using their numbers and passing around them.
The Tigers also draw the wrath of the umpires for tackles that got more of the opponents stick than the ball, earning a green card in each half. The Vikings capitalised on the second green card by forcing and then converting a PC while the Tigers were reduced to 10 men.
An slightly misdirected push out on a Tigers' PC saw Ed Ockenden trap the ball and strike at goal but his shot was just above the backboard and the goal was disallowed. The Vikings made no mistake of their next PC, taking the lead for the first time in the 57th minute.
The Tigers frantically pushed up the field to score the 2 goals required to put them into the medal round and were caught out when a breakaway saw a Vikings' striker receive the ball at the halfway line with a clear run to goal. Goalkeeper Aaron Guilliamse came out of the net and prevented a direct shot and then David Guest deflected the subsequent shot onto the crossbar.
In the final minutes of the match the Tigers replaced Guilliamse with a field player in order to score the elusive goals. They managed to equalise in the final minute with a neat piece of control by the mercurial Ockenden but it was a case of too little too late.
The final score of 2-2 meant that the Tigers were unable to displace the Vikings from 4th place. Their next match is the classification match with the 8th ranked team (the NT Stingers) on Friday at 10:00.
While disappointed that they could not move into the vital 4th place, the Tigers should take solace from the results they achieved - 3 wins and 2 draws.
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