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Panthers rally with third-period surge to stun X-Women 4-2

When the game was on the line, the UPEI Panthers came alive. Trailing heading into the third, they exploded for three goals in less than 10 minutes to storm past the St. FX X-Women 4–2 Saturday afternoon in Charlottetown—a comeback head coach Sean Fisher called “the most complete game we’ve played all year.”

Panthers rally with third-period surge to stun X-Women 4-2
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October 25, 2025

By Thomas Becker

When the game was on the line, the UPEI Panthers came alive. Trailing heading into the third, they exploded for three goals in less than 10 minutes to storm past the St. FX X-Women 4–2 Saturday afternoon in Charlottetown—a comeback head coach Sean Fisher called "the most complete game we've played all year."

Brooke Henderson, Anjali Simms, and Chiara Esposito powered the dramatic turnaround, while Kierra St. Peter added a goal and an assist to continue her breakout week. 

UPEI (5-2-1) came out flying in the opening frame, dictating play and outshooting St. FX 11-5. Their persistence paid off late in the period when St. Peter opened the scoring at 17:58. The veteran forward carried the puck into the offensive zone, fired a shot from the right circle, and buried her own rebound past goaltender Bianca Zak for the 1-0 lead.

"Personally, it's just been about grinding at practice," said St. Peter, who has four goals and an assist in the last two games. "We've been doing a really good job of bringing the energy and tempo every day, and it's showing up in our games." 

The X-Women (5-2), perennial AUS contenders, punched back in the second. On a power play at 13:30, Mackenzie Lothian jumped on a loose puck in the offensive zone, skated in two-on-one, and fired a wrist shot over the blocker of goaltender Erin Cabaday. Minutes later, St. FX took its first lead when Clair Carruthers forced a turnover at the blue line and ripped a high shot from the top of the circle to make it 2–1. 

Fisher said the message between periods was simple.

"Just to be who we are," he said. "Hard-working, competitive, straight-line, and simple. If we do those things, we can hang with anybody, and that was proof today."

That mindset showed almost immediately. At 5:21 of the third, Ashley McCutcheon broke in alone but was denied by Zak's poke check—only for Henderson to pounce on the rebound and bury it to tie the game. Barely a minute later, Simms gave UPEI the lead for good when her point shot slipped through traffic and across the goal line.

The Panthers' forecheck then put the game out of reach. At 9:03, Sarah Fraser battled hard along the end boards and fed the puck in front to Esposito, who stayed with her rebound to make it 4-2 and cap off a relentless stretch of dominance.

"They like to bring the fight, and that's exactly what they did," St. Peter said of their opponent. "We knew we had to match their energy. After going up one in the first, we just kept pushing as a team and kept believing."

For Fisher, it was more than just a win; it was a glimpse of what's taking shape within the group.

"I'm seeing culture come to light," he said. "It's a group of people who want to create an environment with really high standards, and they're holding each other and themselves to those standards."

The Panthers will look to keep the momentum going when they host the Dalhousie Tigers on Halloween night.

Photos by Janessa Vanden Broek

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