Panthers fall short in 3-2 shootout loss

By Thomas Becker 

For the second time this season, the UNB Reds narrowly escaped Charlottetown with a 3-2 win over the UPEI Panthers. 

About a month ago, Kyle Maksimovich and the Panthers sent the game to overtime with just eight seconds to spare, before coming up short in the end. Saturday night's contest played out similarly as Filip Rydstrom put away the tying goal with 64 seconds remaining. After the overtime period resulted in a stalemate, UNB's Tyler Boland—the player responsible for the win the last time these two teams met—scored the only goal in the shootout and delivered another victory for his team. 

Goaltender Griffen Outhouse was another reason why the Reds (9-1-0) came out on top. The rookie turned aside 29 shots and added three more in the shootout.

"We knew we were going to come in and have a tough game here, but I thought we were prepared and we just had a little bit more to us in the end," Outhouse said.

The Panthers (4-4-2), who came out of the gate hungry for a win, got to the netminder four minutes into the opening period when Jaden Peca tipped in Matt Brassard's shot from the point for his first of the season. 

Outhouse came up big three and a half minutes later when he denied an Owen Headrick backhand attempt on a two-on-one opportunity. Shortly after, Peca centred a pass to Jesse Sutton in front, where Outhouse made another big stop. 

Those stops proved pivotal as the Reds would even the score at 19:09. Seconds after a faceoff win, James McEwan centred a pass to Samuel Dove-McFalls, who put away the one-timer from the left circle for the power play marker. 

A gritty defensive effort from both teams kept the game locked up until the midway point of the third when Dove-McFalls sent the puck along the boards to Ross MacDougall, who wired a shot past Jonah Capriotti for the go-ahead goal. 

With time running out, the Panthers pulled their goalie and with the extra man, they'd find the equalizer they were looking for. After Connor MacEachern's shot was blocked, the puck slid to Rydstrom in front where he buried it. 

"Both teams came out to play, and no one quit," Outhouse said. "It was a fun game that went back and forth."

Outhouse regrouped in the shootout, where he turned aside all three shots and locked down the win.

"If I had the choice, we'd win in regulation," he said. "But part of me enjoys playing in a shootout. It's the only time the goalie can really do their own little celebration."

While the hard-fought effort ending in loss stings now, the Panthers still earned a valuable point against a perennial champion that could be important come playoff time when the teams are jockeying for position.

"We like our team a lot," said Panthers head coach Forbes MacPherson. "We played hard for 60 minutes. It goes to shootout and it's a flip of a coin, could go either way, and unfortunately it didn't go our way. Hopefully this makes us hungrier."

UPEI's homestand continues Friday night when they take on the St. FX X-Men at 7 p.m.

Photo Credit: Janessa Hogan