Source: Thomas Becker, UPEI Athletics
Goaltender Fabiana Petricca was perfect Friday night, as the Dalhousie Tigers shutout the Panthers 2-0.
Despite being outshot 24-19, Petricca kept her team afloat, turning away every scoring opportunity that threatened the visiting Tigers.
"It's really close this year with a bunch of teams in the middle, so it's important to get those wins on the road," Petricca said. "We make sure we're focused and warming up accordingly, and once we hit the ice we're ready to go."
Both goalies stole the show in the opening period. Dalhousie's Petricca was quickly tested on a two-on-one and won that battle, denying Rachel Colle's shot attempt glove side.
Midway through the period, rookie forward Tyler Way picked off a pass in the neutral zone and went in alone on the break, but the Tiger goaltender kept the Panthers off the board once again with the big save.
"The team in front of me has been playing very well and working hard in practice," said Petricca, who was named Subway Player of the Game. "I think when they play well it just gives me a lot of confidence to play at my best."
Near the end of the first, UPEI goaltender Megan Sullivan made the sliding save on Corinne Desjardins' attempt to keep the game scoreless after one.
The Tigers (4-3) came out flying following the intermission, when Jesse Rietveld split the defence and sniped it in the top right corner just 19 seconds in to put her team ahead 1-0.
Looking for the equalizer, the Panthers (2-4-1) began putting pressure on the Tigers' defence near the end of the period, but couldn't find it despite playing with the man-advantage twice in the frame.
At 6:19 in the final period, Megan Vigneau found Lisa MacLean in the right circle where she deposited the puck in the open cage, pushing the lead 2-0 and sealing UPEI's fate.
The Panthers look to end their two-game skid when they travel to Antigonish to take on the StFX X-Women on Nov. 5 at 3 p.m., while the Tigers head to Saint Mary's on Sunday. The puck drops at 2 p.m.