STARTING STRONG
Panthers looking to use increased speed, grit as it prepares for tonight’s first regular season game
UPEI Panthers looking to use increased speed, grit in tonight’s first regular season hockey game
Tenacious, gritty, fast and hard working.
Those are four key ingredients for the UPEI Panthers this season.
They get the first chance to show it tonight when they host Moncton to open the Atlan- tic University
Sport (AUS) men’s hockey regular season. Game time is 7 p.m. at MacLauchlan Arena.
Captain Brent Andrews is looking forward to a return to the identity the team had when he entered the program five years ago.
“Whenever you’re playing on your toes and you’re getting after teams, it’s going to be a lot more of a fun game,” he said.
Andrews is the only one left from the 2014-15 team. Gone from last year’s squad are key cogs in goalies Matt Mahalak and Connor Wilkinson, defenceman Ryan MacKinnon and forwards Darcy Ashley, Marcus Power and R.T. Rice.
“Looking around the room and not seeing those faces any more, it’s obviously a lot different, but the new guys we brought in are fitting in really well,” Andrews said.
“Our recruiting class was topnotch,” added sophomore Kameron Kielly. “I think we can take the next step.”
The Panthers have lost in the first round of the playoffs the last three seasons.
They had an up-and-down season a year ago when injuries resulted in some depleted lineups where young players got more ice time than expected. The squad strung together some wins, including winning six of eight to close out the campaign, but also had a few losing streaks, including dropping seven in a row from mid-October to early November.
McCue said eliminating the highs and lows is extremely important for the squad.
“We’ve kind of had a problem with being consistent in past years, and injuries have played a factor, but that’s no excuse,” he said. “The guys who suit up need to do their job, myself included.”
Head coach Forbes MacPherson said there might be a silver lining to the young players getting so much ice a year ago.
“In the moment, it put us in some pretty tight situations,” he said. “Long term, it gave certain guys the opportunity to play a pile and they collected a lot of minutes. With those minutes comes experience and confidence grows and perhaps now, 12 months later, it sets us up to be possibly deeper.”
The Panthers enter tonight’s home opener after a 10-2 victory over Dalhousie on Saturday. It’s a balancing act between building confidence and being overconfident.
“You have to build on it,” thirdyear forward Beau McCue said. “We played well, and we deserved that win. You have to find the good things but also keep your head level and your ego small.”
The Panthers travel to Fredericton, N.B., Friday to play the perennial powerhouse UNB Varsity Reds at 7 p.m.