Panthers end regular season with 4-2 loss to Aigles Bleus
The UPEI Panthers (9-19-0-2) concluded a tough 2024-25 regular season campaign with a 4-2 loss to the Moncton Aigles Bleus (19-8-2-0) on Friday night at the MacLauchlan Arena, finishing another season series winless.
By Reegan MacAulay
The UPEI Panthers (9-19-0-2) concluded a tough 2024-25 regular season campaign with a 4-2 loss to the Moncton Aigles Bleus (19-8-2-0) on Friday night at the MacLauchlan Arena, finishing another season series winless.
Although the Panthers were superior in the shot count, showed great speed, and had numerous power play advantages, they couldn't match a much stronger defensive effort by the league's second-best team. Moncton's goaltending was also a key factor as 26-year-old goaltender Dorian Laganiere made his first Atlantic University Sport (AUS) start since the 2021-22 season and was easily the game's star with multiple big saves.
Before the game, five graduating Panthers were recognized for their on and off-ice contributions to the men's hockey program – second-year forward Landon Clow, third-year defenseman Logan Kelly-Murphy, fourth-year forward Cade Kowalski, fourth-year forward and former University Cup standout Kaleb Pearson, and fourth-year defenseman and captain Kurtis Henry.
The Aigles Bleus quickly took control of the game, with Charles-Edouard Drouin finishing a backdoor feed from Edouard St-Laurent at 4:17 in the first period. A few minutes later, Moncton's Michael Horth was called for goalie interference against UPEI's Jakob Robillard, and the Panthers took advantage to tie the game with a power play goal at 7:03 by Pearson, who blasted home a one-timer off a pass by rookie forward Brett Bressette. It turned out to be Pearson's final career AUS regular season goal, ending his fourth campaign as a Panther with 15 goals in 24 games.
Over seven minutes later, the Aigles Bleus retook the lead off a jam-in rebound by Yann-Felix Lapointe. Their lead was extended to two at 19:04 when Mika Cyr turned the puck over from UPEI's Alex De Gagne in the Panthers' zone and snapped a low far-side shot past Robillard. UPEI put forth a better offensive effort in the second period but ultimately went scoreless along with Moncton. Each team swapped goals in the seventh minute of the third period, with Moncton's Nathael Roy firing a slap shot from the high slot through Robillard's five-hole, and UPEI's Robert Orr finishing a nice 2-on-1 play with Elias Cohen.
The Panthers led the shot count again in the third period but ultimately couldn't find the momentum or puck luck they needed to stay alive. The period was relatively disciplined until the dying seconds as a big scrum led to the game being called several seconds early.
The final shot count was 31-26 in favour of UPEI. Robillard denied 22 of 26 shots in his 16th start this season, ending his second Panthers campaign with a 6-8-0-1 record. Laganiere stopped 29 of 31 shots in his 2024-25 debut. UPEI went 1-for-6 on the power play while Moncton went 0-for-0.
The Panthers ended the regular season with a 9-19-0-2 record and a four-game losing streak, with their second-half record ending at 3-8-0-1. With a sixth-place league finish and the third-place team also having completed their regular-season campaign, UPEI is set to play the Saint Mary's University Huskies (17-11-2-0) in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year and the fourth time within five seasons (excluding 2020-21 due to COVID-19).
Meanwhile, the Aigles Bleus have one game remaining albeit already having clinched the second and final bye into the semifinals. On Saturday, they will welcome the league-leading UNB Reds to Moncton, N.B. for a match where two winning streaks will be on the line; UNB is currently at 15 and Moncton is at eight.
Photo Credit: Janessa Vanden Broek
