Dunkley’s hat-trick leads Huskies to 4-3 win over Panthers in Game 1

HALIFAX, NS—Saint Mary's forward Nathan Dunkley scored a hat-trick, leading the Huskies to a 4-3 win over the UPEI Panthers in Game One of the Atlantic University Sport men's hockey quarterfinal on Thursday night at the Dauphinee Centre in Halifax.

In the early going, the two teams seemed a bit tentative offensively, not taking too many chances in their own zone. Through nearly minutes, each team had recorded three shots on goal. 

That changed when Panthers forward Noah Sedore (Sharon, ON) picked up the puck in the Huskies end and dished it to linemate Elias Cohen (Toronto, ON), who then delivered a great pass to forward Kaleb Pearson (St. Mary's, ON) in the slot, where he patiently waited for Huskies goaltender Jeremy Helvig (Kingston, ON) to make the first move before deking around him and scoring the first goal of the series to put the Panthers ahead 1-0, 7:56 into the first period. 

Several minutes later the Huskies got their first powerplay opportunity of the night, and nearly found an equalizer as forward Declan McDonnell (Buffalo, NY) made a cross-ice pass to defenceman Ben Roger (Markham, ON), but Panthers goaltender Jonah Capriotti (Charlottetown, PEI) was able to slide across for a nice save. On the ensuing possession, Roger was sent to the penalty box for high-sticking, negating the Huskies powerplay. 

The open ice of four-on-four action quickly paid off for the Huskies as defenceman Dennis Busby (Oro-Medonte, ON) picked up the puck behind his own net and picked up steam, skating into the Panthers zone where he was knocked over by a Panthers defender, but forward Cedric Ralph (Peterborough, ON) picked up the loose puck and made a heads-up backhand pass to linemate Nathan Dunkley (Campbellford, ON) who sniped a shot past Capriotti to tie the game at 1-1, 11:01 into the first period. 

Saint Mary's nearly took the lead several minutes later, as forward Reid Valade (Caledon, ON) was able to spring Charlie Dafonseca (Thornhill, ON) on a breakaway, but Capriotti was able to deny his backhand shot.  

With just over a minute remaining in the period, Huskies defenceman Walter Flower III (Lunenburg, NS) was penalized for cross-checking. It took just 30 seconds for the Panthers to take the lead with a powerplay goal from forward Ben McFarlane (Ayr, ON), who took deflected a pass from Kaleb Pearson over the shoulder of Helvig, giving the visitors a 2-1 lead with just 41 seconds remaining in the period. 

The Huskies outshot the Panthers 14-10 through the first 20 minutes, but it was the visitors who took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. 

Early in the second period, the Panthers had a quality scoring chance as Cohen, Pearson and Sedore broke out on a three-on-one, but Jeremy Helvig made a nice save on Sedore to keep the Huskies within a goal.  

The Huskies pushed for an equalizer and had two good chances within a minute – first it was Nathan Dunkley stopped by Capriotti, who was also able to deny Liam Van Loon (London, ON) on the rebound. Moments later, Capriotti denied Walter Flower III on a wrist shot from in tight. 

But the Huskies found an equalizer several minutes later, as off a face-off in the Panthers zone, Ben Roger fired a shot towards goal that was deflected in by Reid Valade to tie the game at 2-2, 7:23 into the second period. 

The two teams continued to battle until the Panthers took their third lead of the night with just under three minutes remaining in the period. Forward Josh Currie (Pickering, ON) stole a pass in the neutral zone and skated in on goal, snapping a wrist shot past a screened Jeremy Helvig to restore the Panthers lead, 3-2, 17:07 into the second period.  

Moments later the Huskies again had several chances to equalize, but Capriotti continued his excellent play, stopping Declan McDonnell (Buffalo, NY) and Ben Boyd (Dartmouth, NS). With just over 30 seconds remaining in the period, the Huskies won a face-off in the Panthers zone and Nathan Dunkley redirected a point shot from Jaxon Bellamy (Hampton, NB) past Capriotti. Dunkley's second goal of the night tied the game at 3-3, 19:29 into the second period. 

An eventful second period saw the Huskies outshoot the Panthers 17-9, giving them a 31-19 advantage on the night, and the two teams went into second intermission deadlocked at 3-3.  

It took just over a minute in the third period for the Huskies to take their first lead of the night, as Nathan Dunkley completed the hat-trick with his third tip-in goal of the night, once again off a point shot from Ben Roger. Dunkley's third goal put Saint Mary's up 4-3, just 1:06 into the third period. 

Several plays later the Huskies nearly added to the lead as forward Ben Boyd found himself on a breakaway, and appeared to be dragged down by Panthers defenceman Kurtis Henry (Niagara Falls, ON), but the officials didn't blow the whistle much to the dismay of the Huskies bench. On the ensuing Panthers rush the dangerous Kaleb Pearson deked through Huskies defenders and appeared to have Helvig beat, but defenceman Walter Flower III made a great play to recover and make a stick save on Pearson to maintain the Huskies lead. 

Saint Mary's nearly added to their lead again as Liam Van Loon fired a shot that appeared to sneak through Capriotti, but somehow went through the other side of the crease. Several moments later, the Panthers had a good chance in tight but Jeremy Helvig made a great save while down to preserve the 4-3 lead.  

In the dying moments, the Panthers pulled Capriotti for the extra attacker, but Helvig made one more save off of a point shot by Noah Sedore, and the clock ran out with the Huskies taking the win, 4-3, and winning Game One of the best-of-three series. 

Nathan Dunkley was named Player of the Game for the Huskies with a hat-trick, while forward Kaleb Pearson received Player of the Game honours for the Panthers with a goal and an assist. Huskies defencemen Dennis Busby and Ben Roger each recorded two assists, while Panthers forwards Ben McFarlane (one goal, one assist) and Elias Cohen (two assists), also had multi-point nights.  

The Huskies outshot the Panthers 42-28 on the night, with Jeremy Helvig turning away 25 shots for the shutout win, while Jonah Capriotti stopped 38 shots in defeat.  

With the win, the Huskies take a pivotal 1-0 lead in the best-of-three quarterfinal series. The series will now shift across to Charlottetown, PEI where the Panthers will host the Huskies on Saturday night at 7 p.m. If necessary, the decisive Game Three will be played on Monday, Feb. 19 at the Dauphinee Centre, with puck-drop scheduled for 7 p.m.

RECAP BY: Allan April, SMU Huskies Athletics / PHOTOS BY: Eduardo Ibarra, SMU Huskies Athletics