Panthers take care of business against shorthanded Reds in 3-1 win

By Thomas Becker

Anytime your team takes down a top-ranked opponent, it's a reason to celebrate. And there was plenty of celebration going on at MacLauchlan Arena after the UPEI Panthers defeated the UNB Reds 3-1. 

Panther fans were buzzing when the clock hit zeroes, and for good reason. For the first time in almost four years, their team finally beat Goliath. 

"We love our fans and they're so dedicated," said Panthers head coach Forbes MacPherson of the support for his team. "People are back at the rink again and I think they're hungry to be part of this atmosphere after time away from it, and we're enjoying it."

The Panthers (8-7-3) have undoubtedly enjoyed their time at home where they captured 15 out of a possible 20 points and own a 6-1-3 record, none bigger than Saturday night's win. 

Rookie Goaltender Jonah Capriotti continued to shine between the pipes, where he made 30 saves for his eighth win of the season. Troy Lajeunesse led all scorers with three assists, while Drake Pilon, Carson MacKinnon and Filip Rydstrom each found the back of the net.

"It's just hard work playing against them," Capriotti said. "We came into this (game) feeling good. We knew what we had to do and everyone did their job tonight."

With an injury-riddled opponent coming into town in their second game of a back-to-back, a rested UPEI squad knew they couldn't waste this opportunity to pull off an upset.

Despite being outshot in each period, it was the Panthers who struck first. At 13:31 of the first period, Owen Headrick found Pilon in the slot where the sophomore forward turned and fired a wrist shot in the top left corner for the 1-0 advantage.

After a scoreless second period, the Panthers would add to their lead 46 seconds into the third when Lajeunesse delivered a pass off the boards to MacKinnon, who slapped home his third of the season. 

The Reds (16-2-0) still had plenty to say in this game and got within a goal at 11:14 when Benjamin Gagne took a pass across the neutral, tapped it in front for Nicolas Guay, who took a couple steps and wired a wrist shot past Capriotti to make it 2-1. 

However, Rydstrom ended any hope of a comeback after putting away the empty netter at 19:15.

"You have to tip your hat to UNB, they played unbelievable," MacPherson said. "They came in short-staffed, but we did what we had to do and that says something about us." 

The Panthers return to the ice for regular season action on Jan. 5 when they travel to Moncton to take on the Aigles Bleus.

Photo Credit: Janessa Hogan