Huskies defeat Panthers 2-1 in thrilling shootout win

HALIFAX, NS—Saint Mary's forward Kara MacLean scored the shootout winning goal, lead the Huskies to a 2-1 come-from-behind shootout win over the UPEI Panthers on Saturday night at the Dauphinee Centre in Halifax.

Looking for their second straight win, the Huskies offence generated several opportunities early, but Panthers goaltender Sarah Forsythe (Riverview, NB) was stellar, turning away Saint Mary's forwards Erin Denny (Eskasoni, NS) and Ava Shearer (Windsor, NS) on shots from in tight.

It was the Panthers that hit the scoreboard first, with forward McKinley Nelson (Calgary, AB) intercepting a pass at the Huskies blueline, deking past a defender and firing a high shot that fluttered over the glove of Saint Mary's goaltender Ashley Imlach (Newtonville, ON) to give the visitors a 1-0 lead with 2:30 remaining in the first period.

The Huskies outshot the Panthers 12-4 in the first period, but it was UPEI who took a 1-0 lead into first intermission.

Early in the second period, UPEI nearly added to their lead as forward Kierra St. Peter (Craigs Flat, NB) broke out on a breakaway, but Ashley Imlach shut the door. The Huskies continued to generate opportunities, outshooting the Panthers 10-6 in the period, but Forsythe continued her solid play, including a great stop on Huskies forward Gillian Lapierre (Port Coquitlam, BC), and the Panthers held their 1-0 lead into second intermission.

The third period appeared to be more of the same, with the Huskies heavily out chancing the Panthers, but Forsythe stopped everything coming her way, including a breakaway chance from Saint Mary's defender Abigail MacKenzie (Stellarton, NS).

With just under five minutes remaining, Saint Mary's finally broke through on their 34th shot of the night, as forward Ava Shearer turned and fired a shot, with linemate Mia Faseruk (Winnipeg, MB) jamming the rebound past Forsythe for the first regular season goal of her Huskies career, tying the game at 1-1 with 4:46 remaining in regulation.

The final minutes of regulation didn't solve anything, neither did five minutes of overtime, and the teams headed into a shootout.

In the shootout, Huskies forward Kara MacLean (Antigonish, NS) scored a beauty on her first attempt, deking to the backhand to beat Forsythe low. That was the only goal that would be scored, as Ashley Imlach stopped the next three Panthers shooters, and the Huskies took the 2-1 shootout victory.

The Huskies outshot the Panthers 40-12 in the game, with Ashley Imlach stopping 11 shots in the win, while Sarah Forsythe turned away 39 shots in defeat.

Kara MacLean was named Player of the Game for the Huskies with her shootout winner and the secondary assist on Faseruk's game-tying goal.

The Huskies second straight win improves their record to 5-2-1-0 on the season, good for second in the AUS. Saint Mary's will be back on home ice on Wednesday, Oct. 30, hosting the Dalhousie Tigers (5-3-0-0) at 7 p.m. at the Dauphinee Centre.

The Panthers second straight loss drops their record to 2-4-1-1 on the campaign. UPEI will be on the road next weekend, visiting the UNB REDS and Moncton Aigles Bleues on Friday and Saturday respectively.

RECAP BY: Allan April, SMU Huskies Athletics / PHOTOS BY: Eduardo Ibarra, Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics