Huskies win sixth straight in come-from-behind 3-2 OT victory over Panthers

HALIFAX, NS—The Saint Mary's Huskies won their sixth straight game in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night, erasing a 2-0 third period deficit to defeat the UPEI Panthers 3-2 in overtime, at the Dauphinee Centre in Halifax.

It was a match-up of two nationally ranked teams with UPEI ranked #5 and the Huskies ranked #9 in the latest U SPORTS rankings.  

Both teams were missing three key players who are currently representing Canada at the 2023 FISU Winter Games in Lake Placid, NY – Huskies forward Andrew Coxhead (Bedford, NS), defenceman Justin MacPherson (East Gwillimbury, ON), and Matt Welsh (Halifax, NS), and Panthers defenceman Matthew Brassard (Barrie, ON) and forwards Kyle Maksimovich and TJ Shea (Tignish, PEI),  

Early on the game looked even, with the Huskies newest addition, forward Liam Van Loon (London, ON), creating several chances for the home team. 

It was the Panthers who would strike first, with a powerplay goal 14:03 into the first period, as forward Drake Pilon (Sault Ste. Marie, ON) cycled the puck to Troy Lajeunesse (Sturgeon Falls, ON) in the slot, where he one-timed a shot past Jeremy Helvig (Kingston, ON) for his team leading 14th goal of the campaign. 

The Panthers outshot the Huskies 15-8 in the first period and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.  

A scramble in front of the net saw Helvig deny the initial Panthers shot, but forward Kaleb Pearson (St. Mary's, ON) followed up the rebound with a shot that found its way into the back of the net to give the visitors a 2-0 lead, 11:35 into the second period. 

The Panthers outshot the Huskies 15-5 in the second period and took a 2-0 lead into the third period. 

Just over two minutes into the third, the Huskies cut the lead in half with a powerplay marker, as forward Charlie Dafonseca (Thornhill, ON) played a nice pass across the crease to defenceman Sam Dunn (Hamilton Township, ON), who scored his first goal of the season to cut the Panthers lead to 2-1. 

With just over five minutes remaining, the Huskies powerplay struck again, as Jacob Durham played a centring pass for Van Loon, who deked past a defender and roofed a backhand past Panthers goaltender Jonah Capriotti (Charlottetown, PEI) to tie the game at 2-2.  

After being outshot 30-13 through 40 minutes, the Huskies outshot the Panthers 16-4 in the third period, and the game headed into overtime. 

Just 19 seconds into the extra frame, the Huskies captain provided some heroics. A nice give-and-go between Nathan Dunkley (Campbellford, ON) and Dennis Busby (Oro-Medonte, ON) resulting in a Busby shot that snuck behind Capriotti and was directed in by Keith Getson (Bridgewater, NS), for the overtime winner. 

The Panthers outshot the Huskies 34-30, with goaltender Jeremy Helvig (Kingston, ON) stopping 32 shots for the victory, and was named Subway Player of the Game for his efforts. 

The Huskies sixth straight win improved their record to 14-7-0 on the season. Saint Mary's will be back in action on Friday, as they head to Wolfville, N.S. to take on the Acadia Axemen (5-12-3), with puck-drop scheduled for 7 p.m. 

The Panthers loss drops their record to 14-5-2. Their road trip will continue as they too head to Wolfville to take on the Axemen on Saturday, with puck-drop scheduled for 7 p.m.