Panthers defeat Huskies 3-1 in Charlottetown

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI - 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  Huskies (4-4-0-0) from their home-opening game with a nail-biting 3-1 win at the MacLauchlan Arena on Friday.   

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 one-timered a shot past Robillard to tie the game 1-1.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

A beautiful passing play sets up a Ben Allison one-timer! His fourth goal of the campaign ties the Panthers 1-1 in the second period.

��B. Allison (4)
��D. Gentile
��D. Busby pic.twitter.com/V5kujxWR88

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) October 25, 2024

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.

Panthers goaltender Jakob Robillard was named the Player of the Game, recording 21 saves on 22 shots. Huskies netminder Ben West denied 25 of 27 shots in his first career Atlantic University Sport start.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Ben West with a big save! Huskies and Panthers are tied 1-1 at second intermission. pic.twitter.com/Q6ZV3vN2GJ

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) October 25, 2024

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 Huskies will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 1, visiting the STFX X-Men at 7 p.m. in Antigonish, NS.

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

Recap by Reegan MacAulay / UPEI Panthers Athletics
Photos by Janessa Vanden Broeken / UPEI Panthers Athletics