Huskies top Panthers 6-2

(Charlottetown, PE)  The Saint Mary's Huskies (16-8-2) stormed ahead early and didn't look back, defeating the UPEI Panthers 6-2 on Alumni Night at MacLauchlan Arena.

The Panthers (11-12-3) made a small push late in the second period, but an early 4-0 deficit was too much to overcome, resulting in their fourth loss in their last five games.

"It was a disappointing start," said Panthers head coach Forbes MacPherson. "It was a big night for our program and I don't think the effort in the first 40 minutes reflects the nature of our team."

Despite the loss, the Panthers clinched a playoff berth after the Université de Moncton defeated Dalhousie 2-0 in other Saturday night AUS action.

"It doesn't matter who we end up playing, we have to look internally right now and we have to address some warts on our team."

From the opening faceoff, an aggressive Huskies team caught the Panthers flat-footed, as they dominated puck possession.

The Huskies finally broke through late in the first period, when Ben Duffy found teammate Matt Tipoff from the end boards for his seventh of the season.

Just 34 seconds later, Francis Menard tallied his third of the season with a wrister past Panthers goaltender Matt Mahalak, doubling their lead 2-0.

The Huskies continued their strong play in the second as Menard found Stephen MacAulay to his right for the easy tip-in, making it 3-0. Menard led all scorers with three points (1 goal, 2 assists) on the night.

Less than four minutes later, Stephen Shipley capitalized on a Panthers miscue and notched his fourth of the season with a shorthanded goal, pushing the Huskies' lead to four.

Seconds after their power play ended, Panthers captain Mason Wilgosh put his team on the scoreboard, cutting the deficit 4-1.

With the Panthers on the man advantage to open the third period, Cole MacMillan found an open Marcus Power, who tipped it in past Huskies netminder Cole Cheveldave, trimming the deficit in half.

But Saint Mary's early advantage was too much, as Duffy netted his ninth of the season at 13:38 in the third, while teammate Michael Curtis added an empty-net goal for the 6-2 win.

"Our compete level wasn't there tonight," said MacPherson. "This is the get-it-done league and we can't get it done with a decent effort."

The Panthers hit the road next for a Feb. 10 matchup against the Université de Moncton at 7 p.m.

By Thomas Becker