Hockey Panthers at home with depleted lineup

The UPEI Panthers depth will be tested tonight when it hosts the Saint Mary’s Huskies.

They will have a new backup goalie and will be missing five players when puck is dropped at 7 p.m. at MacLauchlan Arena for the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) men’s hockey game.

Starting goalie Mavric Parks is out with a groin injury, while defencemen Spencer Metcalfe and centre Craig MacLauchlan are suspended. Right-winger Cole MacMillan is with the soccer team in St. John’s, N.L., and Ryan Taylor is out of the province on an interview for a job after graduation.

“I like the adversity,” coach Forbes MacPherson said Thursday.

“It’s good early for teams to go through these things. . . It gives guys an opportunity to play in different situations and, I think, in the end it really makes your team better.”

Connor Wilkinson will get the start in the crease. MacPherson said the team has a backup who has applied and been accepted to the university, but the team was waiting for final approval from the registrar’s office before announcing the addition to its roster.

Metcalfe has an automatic one-game suspension for a fight on Saturday against St. F.X. while MacLauchlan was handed two games for a hit from behind from the contest. MacMillan has only played one game this season with his focus being on soccer this semester.

The Panthers will only dress five defencema, but MacPherson said it wouldn’t be an issue, noting the team finished Saturday’s game with only five defencemen after Metcalfe’s fight.

“The new players are starting to understand how critical every weekend is,” MacPherson said. “You wrap up one weekend and start the focus on the next weekend and it doesn’t get any easier.”

UPEI (3-2-1) defeated Saint Mary’s (4-1-1) 2-1 on Oct. 18 in Halifax. The Panthers host Acadia Saturday at 7 p.m. Acadia won the first meeting 3-1 on home ice on Oct. 17.