Panthers earn big point against Tigers, CLINCH playoff spot

By Reegan MacAulay

The UPEI Panthers men's hockey team (10-12-1-3) earned a big point against the Dalhousie Tigers (7-17-2-0) on Saturday, Jan. 27 at the MacLauchlan Arena, clinching a playoff spot despite losing 3-2 in a shootout.

The young squad almost pulled off an intense comeback rally with two third-period goals but couldn't find luck in extra time. It was UPEI's third shootout loss this season, the team's third on home ice, dropping the Panthers to 0-3 in shootouts.

Head coach Forbes MacPherson said a playoff spot was the main goal heading into the game, adding that the team played well in front of the 50+ Panthers alumni in attendance for Men's Hockey Alumni Night.

"We had our chances to end it in a shootout and (Dalhousie's) goalie made some big saves, but it was Alumni Night and what the alumni wanted to see was a group that digs in, works hard, and plays with big heart, and that's what they did. At a time when they could've been really frustrated, they continued to stick with it. We got a point and, mathematically, we're in the playoffs now, which was our goal," MacPherson said. 

The Panthers were without top Atlantic University Sport scorer and veteran forward Kaleb Pearson, who was hurt the previous night (Friday, Jan. 26) in a game against the St. Francis Xavier University X-Men (13-12-1-0).

MacPherson said the team stepped up well with his absence.

"(Pearson) is one of the goal leaders in the conference, so that was a big hole, and we're missing a lot of other bodies, some key players. But that's what it's all about, it gives other guys opportunities to step up and dig in," MacPherson said.

MacPherson expects Pearson to be back for the team's road trip to Nova Scotia next weekend (Feb. 2-3).

Both teams failed to get on the board in the first period. The floodgates opened in the second period as veteran forward Derek Gentile potted a rebound past veteran goaltender Jonah Capriotti to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead at 5:56. 10 minutes later, veteran forward Ethan O'Rourke surprised everyone with a shot that barely slid under Capriotti to extend Dalhousie's lead to two at 15:53.

After many close calls throughout the game, including multiple post shots and brilliant pad saves by Tigers rookie goaltender Robbie Forbes, UPEI's struggles finally ended at 6:59. Rookie forward Josh Currie collected a pass from veteran defenseman Kurtis Henry and sniped a shot short-side bar-down. The Panthers kept hounding Forbes for the next 10 minutes, finally getting another shot past him at 17:45. Rookie forward Keiran Gallant fed a pass to rookie forward Noah Sedore from behind the net, and Sedore one-timed a shot underneath Forbes to tie the game.

In overtime, Capriotti stood on his head as Dalhousie was the only team to register shots the entire period, 3-0. UPEI had a close call with a tripping penalty against Gallant, but the team managed to kill the penalty in the dying seconds. 

In the shootout, Gentile and Ethan O'Rourke sealed the deal for the Tigers, while only Sedore scored for the Panthers.

The final shots were 39-30 in favour of UPEI. Capriotti denied 28 of 30 shots for UPEI while Forbes denied 37 of 39 shots for Dalhousie; for Forbes, it was just his fourth start this season and has now won his last two starts. UPEI went 0-for-4 on the power play and Dalhouse went 0-for-2. Gallant was awarded UPEI Player of the Game (two assists) and Forbes was awarded Dalhousie Player of the Game (37-save win). 

The Panthers return to action next weekend with one final road trip to Nova Scotia, visiting the Saint Mary's Huskies (13-12-1-0) on Friday, Feb. 2 in Halifax, N.S. and the Acadia University Axemen (8-14-1-3) on Saturday, Feb. 2 in Wolfville, N.S. UPEI is 0-2-2 against Saint Mary's, previously losing 5-4 in a shootout at home on Jan. 5, and 2-1-1 against Acadia, previously losing 4-3 in a shootout at home on Jan. 6.

Photo Credit: Janessa Vanden Broek