Panthers spook Tigers with four-goal outburst, 4-1 victory on Halloween

By Reegan MacAulay

The UPEI Panthers delivered a fright night performance against the visiting Dalhousie Tigers on Halloween Friday at the MacLauchlan Arena.

A gritty, back-and-forth game that saw both teams trade opportunities for the first 20 minutes turned into an unexpected offensive firestorm for the Panthers (6-2-1) in the second period, who piled on four goals—three with special teams and two shorthanded—within 11 minutes against the Tigers (4-3-2).

That surge ultimately carried them to a 4-1 win – their sixth victory in nine games, fifth in their last six, third consecutive win, and fifth on home ice. The latter keeps them undefeated when playing in front of their crowd, which, on Friday, was one of this season's most electric, primarily because it was packed with players' families and friends. Needless to say, they enjoyed a sweet Halloween treat.

"The crowd was awesome tonight," head coach Sean Fisher said. "Between the periods, looked like the bar was full up there, which is great. People are having a good time, and our group really wanted to show out and play well in front of family and friends. We had a pretty consistent effort for 60 minutes, and we were good in all facets of the game."

Both teams quickly made things physical and were not afraid to throw the body around. Despite a stout goaltending effort by Dalhousie's Grace Beer for over 22 minutes, the Panthers kept firing the puck at her every chance they got, and their persistence and patience proved vital at 3:29 in period two.

On the team's first and only power play of the game, Sadie Brown fired a shot from the middle of the offensive left circle, and the puck bounced off Beer's pad and to an open Renée Chapman at the edge of the crease, who buried a rebound to open the night's scoring. It was her first goal of the season, first since January, and first ever at the Mac.

"It was a full team effort," Chapman said. "All five of us were going hard, and everybody crashed the net. It was a good feeling to be the one to put it in the net, but it was a full line effort."

Fisher said the team worked hard on power plays over the past week, and it was good to see the work pay off.

"We only got one chance tonight, which is unfortunate because we should've had a few more chances, but we went 1-for-1," he said. "Both units got out there. The first unit was really dangerous and had a number of really good looks. It was nice for Chapman to get the monkey off the back; she's been playing really well, so I'm glad to see her get that one."

Minutes later, Chapman was penalized for slashing. It ended up being a blessing in disguise for UPEI, as at 7:45, Hayden Lilly turned the puck over from a Tigers defender at the blue line and sped down the ice, faking out the goaltender with a backhand-forehand deke and five-hole shot for her first goal of the season, which was another cold-streak – since January – breaker. Fisher called it "a matter of time before she got one like that."

That wasn't all – exactly one minute after Chapman's penalty came a cross-checking call against Brown. Shortly after, at 9:13, Ashley McCutcheon grabbed the puck, rushed down the right wing, and backhanded the puck to Orianna MacNeil in the high slot, who wired it past Beer's glove to make it a three-goal game.

Under five minutes later, at 14:32, Chiara Esposito capped off the surge with incredible hustle. After fanning on a backhand shot on a partial breakaway, she quickly regained puck possession in the left corner, skated into the high slot, and snuck a shot past Beer for her third goal this season. It was her second in the last two games and third in the previous six.

While Dalhousie managed to find the score sheet with an Emily Gardiner goal at 9:06 of the third period, it wouldn't provide enough momentum for a full game turnaround. Erin Cabaday earned the win in goal for UPEI, denying 19 of 20 shots for her fourth win this season. Sarah Forsythe stepped in for two minutes in the third period, stopping one shot. Beer turned aside 25 of 29 shots for Dalhousie.

The Panthers look to go six-for-six at home and maintain conference supremacy when they host the SMU Huskies (3-3-1) on Saturday afternoon at the Mac.

"The vibes are really good right now, so we're going to try and keep riding as long as we can," Fisher said. "(SMU is) a different group; big, tough, physical. We'll have to clean up a few things in our own zone; we'll probably spend a little bit more time in our own zone. They can drive offensive hockey, so it'll be a tough challenge tomorrow, but I think the group is ready for it."

Photos by Janessa Vanden Broek