Kyle Maksimovich scores hat trick as Panthers make easy work of Saint Mary’s in 9-1 win

By Thomas Becker

The UPEI Panthers put on an offensive clinic Friday night with Kyle Maksimovich and Kaleb Pearson leading the charge in a 9-1 drubbing of the Saint Mary's Huskies.

Maksimovich recorded his first AUS hat trick and added two assists, while Pearson contributed with two goals and an assist. Troy Lajeunesse, Jordan Maher, Carson MacKinnon and Danil Antropov also found the back of the net in the win. Defenceman Matt Brassard continues to rack up points early on, as he finished with four helpers, while TJ Shea chipped in with three. 

It took a while for the Panthers (2-3-0) to get going offensively, but when they did, the floodgates burst open. With about five minutes remaining in the first period, Maksimovich took a Brassard shot off the end boards and fired one past Matt Welsh for the game's first goal. Less than two minutes later, Lajeunesse generated speed through the neutral and wrapped around the net before passing it to the slot, where Maksimovich wired a shot past the netminder. 

A major penalty and game misconduct by Saint Mary's David Bérubé late in the period proved costly after the intermission, as the Panthers erupted for three power play goals in under four minutes. 

"We've struggled the last couple of games, so we knew we needed to change things up," Maksimovich said of the team's power play unit. "We're all pretty skilled players who can move the puck around. We just have to bear down in front of the net, and I think that's what happened tonight."

First it was Lajeunesse, who took a pass from Brassard and blasted a one-timer by Welsh from the top of the right circle. Twenty-seven seconds later, Shea sent a cross-ice pass to MacKinnon, who roofed a wrist shot over the sprawling goalie to make it 4-0. 

Maksimovich secured the hat trick just 3:55 in the second when he took a great feed from Shea that went through the crease for the easy redirect.

The Huskies (4-1-0) responded with a goal from Bradey Johnson midway through the period, but the Panthers quickly dashed any hope of a comeback. Pearson restored the five-goal lead at 14:33 when the sophomore skated from the side, cut toward the net and roofed the nifty backhand. 

Jordan Maher sent Welsh—who came into the game having allowed just two goals—to the showers late in the period after he conceded another goal. On the play, Pearson drove hard to the net and got a quick shot off before Maher put away the rebound for the 7-1 advantage. 

UPEI continued to carve up Saint Mary's penalty kill unit, as they recorded their fifth power play goal early in the third. Drake Pilon found Pearson on a precise cross-ice pass, and the forward didn't disappoint as he put away the wrist shot. The Panthers closed out the scoring at 9:54 when Kurtis Henry connected with Antropov for the powerful one-timer. 

"We didn't want to be complaisant," Maksimovich said. "We had a full four-line effort there tonight. I don't think we came in thinking 'let's pad the stats.' Everybody's just so hungry to do well."

The Panthers head to Wolfville for a Saturday night tilt against the Acadia Axemen. The Huskies next game is also against Acadia, but that won't be played until Wednesday.

Photo Credit: Janessa Hogan