Panthers post 4-1 win over Axemen in 2nd period rally

Harper with lone marker for Acadia

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI – A Panther-AxemenΒ matchup at MacLauchlan Arena rarely disappoints and on Friday night, UPEI got the better of their rival 4-1.Β 

After surrenderingΒ an early goal, the PanthersΒ (7-5-1)Β countered with four unanswered to grab the victory. Cody Payne broke out and matched his season total with two goals, whileΒ KameronΒ KiellyΒ and Beau McCue chipped in with a goal apiece.

TheΒ Panthers were unlucky in theΒ opening minutes,Β as theyΒ hit theΒ post a couple times and saw several pucks miss just wide of the net.Β The same couldn’t be said about theΒ AxemenΒ (4-8-2), who found the back of the net atΒ 4:28 whenΒ Stephen HarperΒ scored off a faceoffΒ win that eludedΒ goaltender SimonΒ Hofley.Β 

However,Β UPEI would get that goal backΒ before the period ended.Β TroyΒ LajeunesseΒ connected withΒ Payne, who came in from the left, waited out the keeper and snuck the puck past him to tie it at one apiece.Β 

The Panthers hitΒ the gas in the second and quickly took the lead at 3:42.Β TannerΒ McCabeΒ sent the puck across the crease toΒ KameronΒ Kielly, who tapped it inΒ theΒ open cage to pull his team ahead 2-1.

HofleyΒ rebounded from his earlier miscue and stepped up in a big way in the third, where heΒ made 13 of his 27 saves.Β AcadiaΒ dominated possession and even had a chance to inch closer with a five-minute power play late in the period, but they couldn’t solve the third-yearΒ netminder.Β With time slipping away, McCueΒ sealed the 4-1 winΒ with an empty net goal.Β 

“They [Acadia] definitely had a push and they rallied between the second andΒ third, but we were resilient and our killers did a good job blocking shots and taking away shooting lanes,” UPEI head coach Forbes MacPherson said.Β 

The Panthers look to extend their two-game win streak when they take on the Saint Mary’s Huskies on Nov. 24 at 7 p.m.Β The Axemen continue their two game road trip against the U SPORTS No. 1 UNB Reds in Fredericton.

Submitted by Thomas Becker, UPEI Panthers Communications