A night to remember
Steeves scores four as Panthers earn much-needed playoff victory
The UPEI Panthers are a win away from clinching their first Atlantic University Sport (AUS) women’s hockey playoff series victory.
The conference went from a tournament to a multi-round playoff format in 2014.
UPEI blasted the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues 8-0 Thursday at MacLauchlan Arena to take Game 1 of its best-of-three quarter-final. The Panthers last playoff victory came Feb. 18, 2015, when they doubled Saint Mary’s 6-3.
“It was nice to get that off our back,” head coach Bruce Donaldson said Friday. “It was a good confidence (boost) for us.”
The Panthers can complete the sweep Sunday at 2 p.m. in Moncton.
Donaldson cautioned his charges to expect a differentlooking Aigles Bleues squad in Game 2.
“That was not their best night. We have to be prepared to face them when they’re facing elimination,” he said. “They’re a good, hard-working team and we have to make sure we come with the same tenacity to try to win and move on.”
A Moncton win on Sunday would force a deciding Game 3 Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Charlottetown.
The Panthers, ranked among the country’s top 10 for most of the season, will host the nationals in mid-March for the second straight year.
“The goal has always been to earn our way to the nationals,”
Donaldson said. “We believe that we have the program that can go deep (in the playoffs) if we play … our brand of hockey.”
Faith Steeves, a fourth-year forward from Havelock, N.B., had four goals and an assist on Thursday to pace the Panthers’ attack.
“Last night was one that will sit in her memory bank for a while,” Donaldson said.
Jolena Gillard, a second-year forward from Deer Lake, N.L., had a goal and four assists while Lexie Murphy, a rookie from Kensington, had an assist.
“The line compliments itself quite well,” the bench boss said. “Lexie is a rookie but she’s a real powerful force out there. She just works really, really hard. She is a big body, she plays a nice clean game, but, boy, you know when she’s on the ice.
“Gillard is a lot more methodical in her play, sees the ice quite well and is tough to knock off the puck. … And Faith is just pure speed. This year, in particular, her level of speed has been really impressive.”
High Bank native Kelly Clements got the Panthers going early when she scored 1:13 into the game. Steeves scored a power-play goal from the high slot four minutes later.
And while goalie Camille Scherger wasn’t overly tested on the night, she came up big late in the period when the home side needed her following a faceoff in the offensive zone with about 10 seconds to play.
“With two seconds (to go), our goalie has to bail us out. …
That just can’t happen,” Donaldson said he told the players during the intermission. “(Scherger) made a big save there. If they score and it’s 2-1, they’ve got a little bit of confidence at the end of the first.”
The UPEI players responded and were better on their assignments the rest of the night.
The Panthers practised Friday and will be off today. While there are some bumps and bruises the same lineup is expected to play Sunday.