MacKenzie's three points lead Huskies to 5-2 win over Panthers
Posted: Jan 26, 2025

MacKenzie's three points lead Huskies to 5-2 win over Panthers

Scoring Summary
1st - 05:32 - Avery Cant (Saint Mary's)
2nd - 13:34 - PP - Orianna MacNeil (UPEI)
3rd - 04:43 - PP - Anna Barrington (Saint Mary's)
3rd - 11:07 - PP - Kaiya Maracle (UPEI)
3rd - 16:32 - Mia Faseruk (Saint Mary's)
3rd - 18:08 - Abigail MacKenzie (Saint Mary's)
3rd - 19:53 - EN - Mackenzie Beggs (Saint Mary's)
Game Leaders
Saint Mary's
G: 5 Players (#2, #3, #14, #17, #23) - 1
A: Abigail MacKenzie - 2
Sh: Mia Faseruk - 4
Sv: Ridleigh Hansen - 26
UPEI
G: 2 Players (#88, #91) - 1
A: McKinley Nelson - 2
Sh: 2 Players (#2, #15) - 4
Sv: Sarah Forsythe - 17
Team Stats
Full stats

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI - Saint Mary's defender Abigail MacKenzie scored a goal and added two assists, leading the Huskies to a 5-2 win over the UPEI Panthers in Atlantic University Sport women's hockey action on Sunday afternoon at MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown, PEI.

The Huskies hit the scoreboard first, with forward Mackenzie Beggs stealing the puck from a Panther on the wall and skating in towards goal, before delivering a perfect pass to linemate Avery Cant, who one-timed a shot past Panthers netminder Sarah Forsythe. Cant's fourth goal of the season gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead, 5:32 into the first period.

The Panthers outshot the Huskies 9-6 through the opening 20 minutes, but Huskies goaltender Ridleigh Hansen was outstanding, turning away nine shots including robbing Julia Cey on a point-blank shot, and the Huskies took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

The Panthers tied it up with a powerplay goal in the second period, as Orianna McNeil scored at the 13:34 mark. The Huskies outshot the Panthers 7-5 in the second period, but the two teams went into intermission tied 1-1.

Saint Mary's retook the lead early in the third period, as the puck ricocheted off of the referee's skate and onto the stick of defender Anna Barrington, who sniped a shot past Forsythe to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead, 4:43 into the third period.

The Panthers tied it again, with forward Kaiya Maracle scoring a powerplay goal to tie the game at 2-2, 11:07 into the third period.

But it was the visitors night, as they took the lead for the third time, and added to it, scoring three goals in the final 3:28 of regulation.

The game-winning goal was courtesy first year forward Mia Faseruk, as she received a pass from Jillian Duggan and stuffed a shot past Forsythe to give the Huskies the 3-2 lead, 16:32 into the third period.

With under two minutes remaining, Abigail MacKenzie - fresh off her silver medal at the FISU University Games - stole the puck at the Panthers blue line and fired a wicked wrist shot for her first goal of the season, giving the Huskies a 4-2 lead, 18:08 into the third period.

The Huskies sealed the game with an empty net goal from Mackenzie Beggs, extending their lead to 5-2 with just seven seconds remaining.

The Huskies outshot the Panthers 28-22, with Ridleigh Hansen turning away 26 shots for the win, while Sarah Forsythe stopped 17 pucks in defeat.

Abigail MacKenzie was named Player of the Game with one goal and two assists and a +4 plus/minus rating, while Mackenzie Beggs added one goal and one assist.

With the win, the Huskies improve to 9-8-4-1 on the campaign, leaping the Panthers for the sixth position and final playoff spot in the AUS standings. Saint Mary's will be back on home ice on Saturday, Feb. 1 hosting the Dalhousie Tigers (11-7-3-1) at 7 p.m. at the Dauphinee Centre. GET TICKETS

The Panthers loss drops their record to 9-9-2-2, one point behind the Huskies. UPEI will hit the road to Halifax on Friday, Jan. 31, visiting the Dalhousie Tigers at 7 p.m. at the Halifax Forum.

Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Janessa Vanden Broek / UPEI Panthers Athletics