Top ranked Huskies upset by UPEI Panthers in final game before December break
By Thomas Becker / Charlottetown and Allan April / HALIFAX
The Saint Mary's Huskies women's hockey team, ranked #1 in U SPORTS, were upset by the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers on Sunday afternoon in Charlottetown.
On an afternoon where UPEI celebrated long-time Panther Donnie MacFadyen and his 21 years of excellence with the women's hockey program, the Panthers erased a 2-0 Huskies lead in the second period to win 4-2.
The Huskies came into Sunday afternoons game on a 10 game winning streak, while the Panthers had won two straight.
Despite the excitement in the arena from the pre-game ceremony, the Huskies struck first, when forward Taylor Keeping (Hackett's Cove, N.S.) dropped the puck off for Aimee O'Neill (Glace Bay, N.S.), who casually shot it toward the net, where it slid by Panthers goaltender Camille Scherger to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead with 3:59 remaining in the first period.
The Huskies outshot the Panthers 8-5 in the first period, and looked to be in control heading into the second.
Just under five minutes into the second frame, the Huskies added to their lead when Kate Gallant (Brooklin, ON) split two defenders and found Erin Denny (Eskasoni, N.S.) to her right, where she beat Scherger gloveside to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead.
Despite being down by two goals, Panthers head coach Bruce Donaldson felt his team played well enough to make a run on the Huskies.
"I thought we kept with them, we just needed to get more pucks and bodies toward the net," he said.
That's exactly what they did, and at 8:26 in the second period, they were rewarded with a goal. After Lexie Murphy found Mireille Martin in the left circle, Martin spun and passed in front of the net to Kelly Clements, who redirected it past Huskies goaltender Dagny Hudspeth (Burlington, ON).
Less than four minutes later, with the Panthers on the powerplay, Taylor Gillis tied it up when she took a pass from behind the net, got in front and beat Hudspeth with the backhand.
The Panthers outshot the Huskies 11-9 in the second period. With momentum on their side, the Panthers came into the third period determined to end Saint Mary's 10-game win streak.
Midway through the third period, Martin got by a Huskies defender and slid a backhand pass to Jolena Gillard, who gathered the puck in front of the net and shovelled it over Hudspeth's leg for the go-ahead goal.
UPEI's penalty kill came up big moments after they scored, as they found themselves down two players. However, a series of blocked shots and critical saves from Scherger kept the lead intact until Gillis added to it with the empty netter in the game's dying seconds.
"Our goal was to be a top-4 team and today's win firmed that up," Donaldson said. "We have a win against St. FX, we have a win against UNB, and we have a win against Saint Mary's, and they're all ranked programs. Clearly, when we do things the way we're capable of, good things can happen."
The Panthers notably shut down Huskies top scorer Shae Demale (Red Deer, AB) who had scored 16 points (9 goals, 7 assists), over the 10 game win streak.
Panthers forward Taylor Gillis was named Subway Player of the Game with two goals and one assist.
With the loss, the Huskies finish the 2021 portion of their season with a 13-2-1 record, while the Panthers improved to 10-4-2.
The Huskies will play an exhibition game on Dec. 30 against the Dalhousie Tigers, before they resume their regular season on Wednesday, Jan. 5, as they host the St. FX X-Women at the Dauphinee Centre at 7 p.m.
The Panthers don't play again until Jan. 7 when they travel to Moncton to take on the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues.