Panthers fight hard but fall short to top-ranked Reds 2-0
On a night when it seemed like the possibility to upset the top team in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference and across all U SPORTS was within reach, it just wasn’t meant to be.
By Reegan MacAulay
On a night when it seemed like the possibility to upset the top team in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference and across all U SPORTS was within reach, it just wasn't meant to be.
The UPEI Panthers (5-10-0-0) fought hard to send the University of New Brunswick Reds (13-1-1-0) home with a two-game losing streak, but the effort simply wasn't enough in UPEI's third game against UNB this season, falling short 2-0 on Wednesday night at MacLauchlan Arena.
In a game that had shades of UPEI's season-opening game last season, where the Panthers lost 2-0 to UNB that day, UPEI did a phenomenal job keeping the Reds scoreless until the closing minutes of the second period. While the first period saw UNB beat the Panthers in the shot count 10-5, things tightened up in the second period with a relatively equal game. Every time the puck got stuck in UPEI's zone, goaltender Joe Ranger (Carp, ON) was a brick wall between the pipes and made some unbelievable saves.
For a bit, there was hope that his second win of the season was a possibility, but that would ultimately be squashed at the 18:18 mark of the second period. As soon as the Panthers killed off a penalty and sent the puck down to UNB's zone, a poorly timed line change gave the Reds a 5-on-3 advantage; Emmett Sproule (Collingwood, ON) fed a no-look backhand feed to Sean McGurn (Ottawa, ON), who found an open Peter Reynolds (Fredericton, NB) at the edge of the right-wing faceoff dot, who one-timed the puck past Ranger's glove to get UNB on the board 1-0.
In the third period, it became clear that the Panthers had run out of gas, but for over half of the period, they did everything they could to deny the Reds, kill off more penalties, and get a couple of lucky bounces go their way. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the fate of a Mike Stubbs (Thunder Bay, ON) tripping penalty at the 12:12 mark did them in, as on the ensuing Reds power play, Benjamin Corbeil (Granby, QC) finished a tic-tac-toe play with a shot from the left-wing faceoff circle that easily flew past Ranger's blocker to extend the score to 2-0.
Further penalties in later minutes and a late brawl didn't help UPEI's case, sealing the deal for the Reds to get back on the winning track after a recent 1-0 loss to the St. FX X-Men. The game was the last one between UPEI and UNB at the MacLauchlan Arena this season, as both teams will face each other two more times between January and February in Fredericton, N.B.
Ranger was named the Panthers Player of the Game after denying 41 of 43 shots. Samuel Richard (Ste, Catherine, QC) claimed the shutout victory for the Reds, stopping all 24 of UPEI's shots; it was his 11th win of the season and third shutout of the season. The Panthers went 0-for-4 on the man advantage while the Reds went 1-for-6. UNB led the shot count 43-24.
The Panthers, who dropped to 5-10-0-0 and remain in sixth in the standings, four points behind Acadia, will look to turn things around when they head on the road this Saturday, Nov. 23 to take on the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus in Moncton, N.B. UPEI and Moncton have played each other twice so far this season, with Moncton winning 3-1 at the Eastlink Centre on Oct. 9 and winning 3-0 in Moncton on Nov. 1. The chase for a "third time's the charm" situation is on.
Meanwhile, the Reds will also face the Aigles Bleus in their next match, but that one will be a day earlier on Friday, Nov. 22 in Fredericton, N.B.
Photo Credit: Janessa Vanden Broek
