By Thomas Becker, UPEI Athletics
The UPEI Panthers made it exciting late, but their comeback ultimately fell short as the Dalhousie Tigers held on for a 4-3 win Friday night.
Down three goals with a little over 10 minutes remaining, Kaleb Pearson and Marc Richard scored 3:48 apart to make it interesting, but that's as close as they got.
Dalhousie's Joseph Serpa earned Player of the Game honours after recording a goal and two assists in the win. Ryan Smith had a two-point night with a goal and an assist, while Alec Belanger and Josh Wainman also found the back of the net.
The first period of the game was marked by solid defensive play from both sides, resulting in a scoreless draw. The best chance came midway through the period when UPEI's Noah Sedore fired a shot off the near-side post which kept the game knotted up.
As the game progressed into the second period, the Tigers struck first, taking a 1-0 lead on a Belanger goal. At 3:52, Shaun Miller dropped a pass off for Dawson Stairs, whose shot from the right circle was tipped in front by Belanger.
The Panthers evened the score on a power play goal at 9:17 when Yanic Crête skated through the neutral zone and left the puck for Elias Cohen, who took a couple strides and slung a wrist shot by goaltender Alexander MacDonald.
The back-and-forth action continued, and by the end of the second period, the Tigers had managed to regain the lead on a goal from Wainman 1:26 later. The third-year defenceman beat netminder Joe Ranger with a wrist shot from the left circle that found the top corner.
The third period was where the excitement reached its peak. Dalhousie extended their lead to 3-1 with a goal just 29 seconds in when Serpa put away a rebound that snuck by Ranger. About three minutes later, Serpa set up Smith, who beat Alex De Gagne to the puck and fired a quick shot by Ranger to make it 4-1.
However, the Panthers refused to back down and mounted a spirited comeback that began at 9:27. First, it was Pearson, who tipped a Kurtis Henry shot from the point, which cut the deficit in half. Then, at 13:15, Richard put away the rebound off a Pearson shot from the slot. UPEI continued to dominate the play in the final period, but MacDonald, who recorded 34 saves, did just enough to preserve the lead and secure the win for his Tigers.
The Panthers look to get back in the win column Saturday night when they take on the St. FX X-Men at home, while the Tigers have a week to recover before they play the Saint Mary's Huskies.