Panthers’ struggles continue in loss to St. FX

By Thomas Becker 

Zack Trott scored the overtime winner as the St. FX X-Men came from behind to defeat the UPEI Panthers 3-2 Sunday night. 

At 2:17, Ethan Crossman took the loose puck from the slot and slid a pass to Trott, who beat goaltender Jonah Capriotti with the backhand shot.

"It feels pretty good," Trott said of the win. "We're trying to get as many points as possible before playoffs as we look to build some rhythm." 

Meanwhile, the Panthers (16-9-3) are struggling to find their rhythm, as they limp toward the playoffs instead of pushing toward it with momentum. In their last eight games, UPEI owns a 2-4-2 record and continues to search for answers as the postseason looms. 

St. FX (14-13-1) opened the scoring on a power play goal at 5:03 when Liam Hawel found Matthew Struthers in the left circle where he wired a wrist shot by Capriotti. 

At 13:35, UPEI responded with the man-advantage when Zac Beauregard took the puck along the end boards and centred a pass in front to Darian Pilon, who beat Lucas Pfeil with the quick release. 

After a scoreless second period, the Panthers scored the go-ahead goal near the midway point of the third. On an odd-man rush, Richard Whittaker delivered a backhand pass to Conor MacEachern, who was streaking in from the left side before sneaking a shot by Pfeil at 7:58.

One reason the Panthers have struggled in recent weeks is their inability to hold leads. And it happened again on Sunday. With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Struthers deposited his second goal of the game. Matthew Philip took a stride toward the net and left the puck for Hawel, who found Struthers in front where he put away the wrist shot. 

That goal sent the game to overtime where Trott delivered the final blow, as the X-Men took the game 3-2. 

The Panthers will play their final regular season home game Wednesday night when they host the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus. The X-Men head to Halifax Friday night where they'll play the Saint Mary's Huskies.

Photo Credit: Janessa Hogan