Demale delivers in epic shootout win over Panthers on Huskies senior night

HALIFAX, NS—Saint Mary's forward Shae Demale scored two third period goals and added the shootout winner in the Huskies epic 4-3 comeback win over the UPEI Panthers on Saturday night at the Dauphinee Centre.

It was senior night for the Huskies, as they honoured forwards Shae Demale (Red Deer, AB), Mary McDonald (Calgary, AB), and Ellen Laurence (Kentville, NS), and defenders Eve Leblanc (Petit-Rocher, NB) and Lauren Papp (Brampton, ON), with a ceremony prior to puck drop. 

With both teams looking to keep their win streaks alive, the period started strong, with both teams putting the pressure on early. Panthers forward Orianna MacNeil (Mabou, NS) had a chance early in the first, with her shot squeaking through Huskies goaltender Sophie Scully's (Ottawa, ON) arm, but not past the goal line.  

The Huskies pounced on a chance when forward Mackenzie Beggs (Kemptville, ON) intercepted a pass in the Panthers defensive zone however, the Panther's defense was there to block it.  

At 9:01 in the first period, the Huskies penalty kill went to work and successfully killed off their penalty. However, moments later, the Huskies defense lapsed, and with under 4 minutes to go in the first Panthers forward McKinley Nelson (Calgary, AB) scored the first goal of the game, assisted by Tiah Scichilone (Saint John, NB), and Kaiya Maracle (Toronto, ON).  

The Huskies looking to respond, forward Shae Demale (Red Deer, AB) had a great opportunity with a shot just outside of the crease however, Panthers goaltender Sarah Forsythe (Riverview, NB) was there to stop it.  

As the period's final minutes wound down, the Panthers took advantage of a flurry of chances in front of the Huskies net, where forward Nelson scored her second of the game, assisted by Sophie Bujold (Riverview, NB) and Avery Penner (Virgil, ON) to bring the Panther's lead to 2-0.  

As the teams went into the first intermission, shots were tied at 8-8, with the UPEI Panthers leading 2-0.  

Early in the second period, the Huskies went onto their second penalty kill. The Huskies defense came up big, with defenseman Marisa McClocklin (Saskatoon, SK) blocking a shot in the last few minutes of the penalty kill.  

Midway through the second period Huskies forward Miranda Hatt (Eastern Passage, NS) led a 3-on-2 into the Panthers defensive zone, looking for the chance to put the huskies on the board, but the shot went wide.  

The Huskies kept up the pressure, controlling most of the play in the Panthers zone, while defenseman Maddy Corbett (Sydney, NS) had a couple of chances looking to get her powerful shot through from the point however, panthers defensemen Taylor Gillis (Summerside, PE) and Ally Clements (High Bank, PE) were there to block it.  

At 13:23, the Huskies went onto their third penalty kill of the game however, it didn't last long as Panthers defenseman Clements secured the Panthers third goal of the game.   

With under 6 minutes left in the second period, the Huskies went onto the power play, looking for their first goal of the game. As the powerplay wound down, Huskies netminder Scully came up big, stopping a breakaway from Panthers forward Nelson.  

The Panthers outshot the Huskies 14-12 in the second period and went into the second intermission leading 3-0.  

The Huskies started the third period on the penalty kill and trailing by three goals, but it didn't take long for the momentum to change. After killing off a penalty, the Huskies had their own chance on the powerplay, and made quick work with a great individual effort from Demale firing a shot over the shoulder of Forsythe to cut the Panthers lead to 3-1, 3:22 into the third period.  

Just over five minutes later the Huskies found themselves on another powerplay and continued their comeback, with Corbett making a great pass to forward Aimee O'Neill (Glace Bay, NS), who made no mistake as she redirected it into the Panthers net to bring the Huskies within one.  

At 12:55, the Huskies went onto another penalty kill and, as the intensity of the game picked up, Demale was sent to the box giving the Panthers a 5-on-3 advantage with under six minutes remaining in regulation.  

The Huskies were able to kill off the penalty, and as Demale exited the penalty box, she received a breakout pass from Mary McDonald and scored a short-handed goal to tie the game with 4:55 remaining in regulation. 

The Huskies outshot the Panthers 27-14 in the third period as the teams went into overtime tied 3-3.  

As the final minutes ticked down in overtime, Huskies goaltender Scully made a huge save on Panthers Ashley McCutcheon (Kitchener, ON) and on the ensuing rebound was assisted by the heroic effort of forward Miranda Hatt who swept the puck off the goal line to keep the game tied.  

With the game still tied after overtime, the teams headed into a shootout. That's when the reigning AUS MVP stepped up once again, as Demale scored both goals for the Huskies, while Scully stopped four of five shots faced, to secure the come-from-behind shootout victory.  

Demale was named Subway Player of the Game with two goals and the shootout winner. She now has 17 goals and 30 assists on the season, and 55 goals (18th all-time in AUS history) and 50 assists in her Huskies regular season career.  

Huskies goaltender Sophie Scully made 34 saves on the night, with Panthers Sarah Forsythe making 23 saves and the Panther defense blocking a remarkable 29 shots.  

The Huskies third straight win improves their record to 16-9-1-0 on the season. They'll be back on the ice as they visit Moncton to take on the Aigles Bleues on Friday, February 10, at 7 pm.  

The UPEI Panthers loss snaps their two-game win streak bringing their record to 16-8-1-1 on the season. They'll be back on home ice as they take on the UNB REDS on Friday, February 10, at 7 pm.

RECAP COURTESY: SMU Huskies Athletics / PHOTOS BY: Mona Ghiz