Panthers’ win streak ends with 7-1 home loss to powerhouse Reds

By Reegan MacAulay 

The University of Prince Edward Island Panthers (10-11-1-2) had their recent three-game win streak snapped on Saturday, losing 7-1 to the undefeated University of New Brunswick Reds (24-0-0-0) at the MacLauchlan Arena.

UPEI had a strong start to the game, keeping the shot count close and registering a short-handed goal over five minutes into the first period. But UNB quickly fired back with three goals in 11 minutes and maintained control for the rest of the game, concluding with an additional four goals and a perfect 4-for-4 power play run. 

Head coach Forbes MacPherson thought his young squad played well for most of the game. 

"There were key moments. Early 5-on-4 power play, we scored (short-handed). When the score was 3-1, we had a short-handed breakaway, (Ben McFarlane) hit the crossbar. We liked what we were doing in a lot of areas.

"But we learned we need to find a whole other level. We'll take the day off (on Sunday), regroup and get back to work on Monday, and we're just going to keep getting better. We have two good teams (in StFX and Dalhousie coming in next weekend), so we'll continue to grow and improve," MacPherson said.

Rookie goaltender Jakob Robillard (Rockland, ON) made his long-awaited Atlantic University Sport regular-season game debut with UPEI after recovering from a freak injury suffered in a practice in September.

The former Charlottetown Islander denied 31 of 38 shots and was relieved to get his first game completed.

"It was a good feeling to finally get out there. A good test to prove the same way with the other (rookies) that I can play at this level, but there's still a lot of work to do," Robillard said.

MacPherson said he and the coaches wanted to get him to play as soon as possible.

"Robillard has been working hard in practice. It's been a bit of a long grind for him this year, and he still has a lot of work to do, but he was one of our most highly touted recruits. We're excited to have him, and I don't think tonight's going to reflect his career at UPEI," MacPherson said. 

UPEI's first and only goal was scored by rookie forward Keiran Gallant (Covehead, PE) at 5:30, thanks to a neat play set up by fellow rookie forward Ben McFarlane (Ayr, ON). McFarlane shot the puck from a corner in the UPEI zone towards the boards on the opposite side, which bounced to Gallant in the neutral zone, who sped towards UNB goaltender Griffen Outhouse (Williams Lake, BC) and deked him out with a backhand five-hole goal for his fourth goal of the season.

Gallant's goal was quickly followed up by two UNB power play goals, scored by Justin Nolet (Mississauga, ON) at 7:40 and Jason Willms (Kitchener, ON) at 15:00. Austen Keating (Puslinch, ON) added an unassisted breakaway goal at 18:32. 

A further lack of discipline on UPEI's side early in the second period led to two power play goals within 29 seconds at 3:08 and 3:37, scored by Benjamin Corbeil (Granby, QC) and Willms. Brady Gilmour (Grafton, ON) added to UNB's dominance with a goal at 8:34, concluding the game with three points. Isaac Nurse (Hamilton, ON) would score the seventh and final goal for UNB at 11:57 in the third period.

The final shots were 38-16 in favour of UNB. Outhouse denied 15 of 16 shots in net for UNB. UPEI went 0-for-6 on the power play while UNB went 4-for-4. Gallant was named UPEI Player of the Game, while Gilmour earned the honours for UNB.

The Panthers return to action next weekend with a pair of home games at the MacLauchlan Arena, welcoming the St. Francis Xavier University X-Men (11-12-1-0) on Friday, Jan. 26 and the Dalhousie Tigers (6-16-2-0) on Saturday, Jan. 27. UPEI faced both teams during a road trip to Nova Scotia earlier this month, beating StFX 3-2 and Dalhousie 7-2.

Photo Credit: Janessa Vanden Broek