PLAYOFF PREVIEW: Men's Hockey Panthers embrace underdog role in quarter-final series against Huskies

By Reegan MacAulay

The most crucial time of the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) men's hockey season has arrived.

A time that, before the season, some people saw as the beginning of the offseason for the UPEI Panthers (12-14-1-3), a team with 18 new faces and only six returnees. To say this young squad has silenced the doubters and overachieved is an understatement, as they finished the regular season just four points shy of third place.

The Panthers enter the 2024 AUS playoffs as the fifth seed out of six teams and are set to play the fourth-ranked Saint Mary's Huskies (15-14-1-0) in a best-of-three quarterfinal series.  

"We obviously had a lot of inexperience heading into the season. The message to our group right from day one was to get into the playoffs. We achieved that goal, we checked that box, and now we're off to the new season, and that's the exciting part about hockey," MacPherson said. 

Rookie standouts Elias Cohen, Noah Sedore, and Ben McFarlane exceeded expectations after struggling to get on the scoresheet early in the season. The freshmen trio, all from Ontario, exploded offensively in the second half and combined to score 73 points (34 goals and 39 assists) in 30 games, which will be big momentum heading into the postseason. 

Other rookies such as P.E.I. natives Keiran Gallant and Cole Larkin, faceoff machine Patrick LeBlanc, and penalty kill specialist Cameron Morton experienced noticeable improvements over the second half. MacPherson acknowledged their quick transitions to the AUS. 

"Cohen and Sedore both had exceptional seasons and really popped off in the second half once they made their way through the league. McFarlane, Gallant, Larkin, and others have impressed from day one. The way they play fits the league and our style," MacPherson said. 

The returnees will be heavily dependent on limiting Saint Mary's mixture of scoring and physicality, which has helped the Huskies earn their 15 wins. Third year forward Kaleb Pearson finished the season as the team's top scorer with 28 points (18 goals and 10 assists) in 26 games, having the honour of top AUS scorer a few times, but also missing four of the last five games due to injury. 

"Personally, I've taken things day by day. Taking on a new leadership role, it's been a new role for me, in a way, and I've been doing things that, in my first year, I found difficult to keep the first-year guys comfortable and playing at their best. I'm trying to play consistently every game, which is a difficult thing to do in this league, so I'm going to keep doing that, and hopefully it'll lead into the playoffs. 

"The team did its part this season and we showed we can be a critical team in this league. We're all looking forward to the playoffs and we'll take it game by game," Pearson said. 

Big third year defenseman and captain Kurtis Henry, third year forward Daylon Groulx, and valiant defensive defenseman Logan Kelly-Murphy join Pearson in a group of returnees who are expected to help the rookies avoid experiencing the Achilles Heel of playoff inexperience. 

Two players will be in their final AUS playoff run, including fourth year USPORT defenseman David D'Agostino and fifth year goaltender Jonah Capriotti. D'Agostino was the worst victim of the injury bug, playing only 10 games, but in the last six games, he recorded one assist, three shots, a +1, and a faceoff win. Capriotti will have one last chance to keep his underdog story going; from initially being the third goaltender to becoming one of UPEI's best, he'll be tasked to help the team stay alive during crucial moments. 

"I'll be there to help guide some of the guys. Most of them are pretty good. They're already fitting into a leadership role pretty much right off the bat. For us, everyone must know that they can play their game and be confident in it. Just come out guns blazing, helping each other when you have to, and I'll be there to stop pucks when I'm needed," Capriotti said. 

MacPherson doesn't want the veterans to apply too much pressure on themselves. 

"We're the underdogs in this series (against SMU) and we want the guys to be themselves and go do what they did all season. They don't have to try and squeeze any more juice out of their game. We're a complete team now and we've got a full year under our belts," MacPherson said. 

With the series having a best-of-three format, MacPherson expects things to run at a rapid pace. 

"It'll be a quick series. We just have to keep a level head and a balanced approach. Little things like making sure we remain disciplined; one bad penalty could lead to a chain of events and cost us the series. We have to make sure we're committed to the way we want to play and we'll be ready to go," MacPherson said. 

Game one will be on Thursday, Feb. 15 at the Dauphinee Centre in Halifax, N.S. Game two will be on Saturday, Feb. 17 at the MacLauchlan Arena. Game three, if necessary, will be in Halifax on Monday, Feb. 19. All game times are at 7 p.m. 

Buy single game tickets for Saturday at panthertickets.ca. Catch the away game action live online at aus.tv and follow the men's hockey Instagram and X accounts for live updates.