Panthers extend win streak to three with thrilling 3-1 victory over Huskies

By Reegan MacAulay

There's nothing better than that first win on home ice - especially when it comes with revenge.

The UPEI Panthers men's hockey team (3-4-0-0) successfully continued their momentum from last weekend's Nova Scotia road trip, claiming redemption against the Saint Mary's University (SMU) Huskies (4-4-0-0) from their home-opening game with a nail-biting 3-1 win at the MacLauchlan Arena on Friday. It was the young squad's first home win in what was their fifth home game; a feel-good scenario after losing their first four games all on home ice.

Head coach Forbes MacPherson said it was a big win when looking back at the team's rough start to the season.

"I thought there were moments during those first four games when we were actually playing well. We were just very inconsistent and sporadic. We're starting to get a little more consistency and roll off multiple periods in a row, so we're getting rewarded for that consistency right now," MacPherson said.

Sophomore goaltender Jakob Robillard earned his third consecutive win, recording 21 saves on 22 shots. After being injured for most of his rookie year and having a dismal start to the current season, including the home-opening 5-1 loss to the Huskies, he was relieved to keep the momentum going, especially in front of the home crowd.

"It's huge," Robillard said. "Definitely good to get a home win under our belt and feels nice to get it out of the way. Nice to start getting some wins and to turn things around as a team. It was our second time seeing them (SMU), so we had a good idea of what they were going to do, and it was nice to have it all in the back of my head. Overall, we came together and played better than at the home opener."

Fourth-year forward Kaleb Pearson extended his points streak to three games, scoring one goal and one assist against SMU. After being injured at the home-opener and missing the next three games, he now has seven points since his return to the lineup during the Nova Scotia road trip. For being his last year as a Panther, he wants to play as much as he can.

"It's unreal," Pearson said. "I don't want to miss any games. Jumping back in (the lineup) last week was big for me and I'm looking to keep (the momentum) going. For the last couple of weeks, Forbie (MacPherson) has been preaching on playing north and going north, and I thought we executed it really well tonight. We were hunting pucks, getting on the forecheck, and creating some havoc. Looking to keep that going into tomorrow; it's going to be a different game, bigger ice surface, so maybe tweak a few things."

The Panthers got off to a hot start on Friday; over three and a half minutes in, a shot by captain Kurtis Henry deflected off a SMU defender's leg and to an open Ben McFarlane, the recent Male Athlete of the Week, who ripped a slap shot past rookie goaltender Ben West to make it a 1-0 game.

UPEI controlled overall possession for the rest of the first period, but the Huskies crawled back with a strong effort in the second period, which was rewarded at 10:59, as Ben Allison collected a pass from Derek Gentile at the center of the offensive zone and sent a one-timer past Robillard to tie the game 1-1. 

"The second period was like a pinball machine," coach MacPherson said. "I didn't feel terrible about our game as our guys were still working extremely hard, and we were playing against a really good team who's a strong opponent."

The Panthers turned things around early in the third period, regaining momentum and repeating their early-game blossom with a power play, where they retook the lead off a tap-in rebound goal at 3:01 by Josh Currie. The remainder of the period saw heart-pounding action from both sides and both goaltenders standing tall. SMU pulled West in the closing minutes but couldn't capitalize with an extra man, and Pearson sealed the deal with a last-second empty-net goal. A line brawl forced the referees to end the game to avoid further drama. 

West denied 25 of 27 shots in his first career Atlantic University Sport (AUS) start. Robillard was named the Player of the Game.

UPEI improved to 3-4-0-0 and is now tied with the St. Francis Xavier University (StfX) X-Men and the Acadia University Axemen for fourth in the conference; all three teams have a 3-4-0-0 record and have six points each. The Huskies dropped to 4-4-0-0 and, while they still hold third in the conference by two points, their losing streak extended to three games.

The Panthers look to extend their winning streak to four and emerge out of the fourth-place tiebreaker on top tomorrow night against the Axemen in Wolfville, N.S. This will be the second game between the two teams, with Acadia defeating UPEI 5-1 in their last match at the Eastlink Centre on Oct. 4.

MacPherson said the recent consistency and a better start, compared to the Oct. 4 game, will be the keys to success on Saturday.

"We've got to continue focusing on bringing that same game plan and the same effort and starting to put periods together. I remember (on Oct. 4) that we got off to a slow start and I think they jumped on us pretty quick, and I also remember us playing very well in the second period and into the third. We showed that we're able to play with them, but we have to get off to a better start," MacPherson said.

Saturday's game time is at 7 p.m. Watch the game live at AUS.tv.

Photo Credit: Janessa Vanden Broek