Huskies down Panthers 4-1, earn third straight win against opponent

By Thomas Becker

Some teams just excel in a particular matchup. For the Saint Mary's Huskies, it's the UPEI Panthers.

The Huskies, who have just six wins this season, defeated the Panthers 4-1 marking the third time this season they defeated the Island-based team.

Mitchell Balmas and Keith Getson each had a goal and an assist, while Justin MacPherson and Logan DeNoble also found the back of the net.

Rookie netminder Matt Welsh continued to stifle the Panthers (5-6-3), as he turned aside 34 shots. In three games against UPEI, Welsh has allowed just four goals and sports a 3-0 record with a .965 save percentage and a 1.33 goals against average. 

"I don't know what it is. They're a good team and they come hard every night. I think us knowing how hard they play, we have to bring our A game," Welsh said. "We've had success against them this year, but I think that's a result of us being prepared and understanding that they're going to come out hard every night." 

The Huskies (6-6-1) improved to 4-5 on the road and are hoping a win like this kickstarts a run, especially since they play the next four games at home.

"The league is so tight this year," Welsh said. "With a 30-game schedule every win is important, so to come in here and steal two points is really big, and we're looking to do that the rest of the season." 

Despite being outshot consistently, it was the Huskies who scored first. At 12:58, Balmas centred a pass to MacPherson, who, on the breakaway, deked out Jonah Capriotti and roofed a backhand for the 1-0 advantage.

The Huskies extended the lead on a penalty shot at 13:59 of the second period after defenceman Matt Brassard threw his stick at the puck on a Saint Mary's odd-man rush. On the attempt, Balmas skated in slow and wired a wrist shot in the top right corner. 

The Panthers would strike back in the final minute of the period when Troy Lajeunesse slid a pass through the crease to Kyle Maksimovich, who put away the goal with ease.

Saint Mary's all but sealed the win at 11:47 of the third period when Getson found DeNoble along the boards where the third-year forward took a few steps into the right circle and fired it past Capriotti to make it 3-1. Getson then added an empty-netter to close out the 4-1 win.

The Panthers have a week to regroup before they travel to Antigonish to take on the St. FX X-Men.

Photo Credit: Janessa Hogan