By Thomas Becker, UPEI Athletics
The UPEI Panthers ended their season on a sour note Saturday night as they lost to the Dalhousie Tigers in heartbreaking fashion, 5-4.
The Tigers' (13-14-1) comeback effort was fueled by four unanswered goals, including three in the third period. MacKenzie Drake finished the game with two goals and an assist, and had her name attached to two of those critical goals.
Olivia Eustace, Kennedy Whelan, and Natasha Falk all recorded a goal and an assist, while Isabella Weist had two helpers in the win.
It was all Panthers (8-17-3) in the first period, where they had their most productive offensive showing of the season. The opening goal came off a faceoff win that saw rookie defender Anjali Simms take the puck toward the slot, where she fired a wrist shot in the top left corner for the power play marker at 13:26.
About four minutes later, with a flurry of bodies in front of the net, Ashley McCutcheon slid a shot under goaltender Maggie Baxter, doubling UPEI's lead 2-0. However, the Tigers responded with their own goal 46 seconds later when Sydni Bird's deflected pass went in front to Drake, who lifted a backhand by netminder Shaylin McFarlane.
With 40 seconds remaining in the period, the Panthers capitalized on another power play to extend their lead to 3-1. The puck cycled to Orianna MacNeil in the right circle, where the sophomore took her time before ripping home a quick snap-shot that hit the crossbar and landed in the back of the net.
UPEI's special teams delivered again early in the second period, but this time it was of the shorthanded variety. At 2:48, Rachel Richards pushed a pass to Kierra St. Peter, who gathered speed into the attacking zone and wired a wrist shot by Baxter to make it 4-1.
The Tigers would cut the deficit in half near the midway point when Gabrielle Noordijk's pass in front of the net hit a skate and slid to Eustace, who made no mistake, snapping a quick shot past Forsythe.
The visitors carried that momentum into the third period where they completely controlled the game. The first of the three third-period goals came on a long harmless shot from Whelan just outside the attacking zone that seemingly caught McFarlane off guard.
Falk tied the game at 7:13 after putting away the rebound off a shot from Drake that was set up nicely by Weist. Drake then completed the Tiger comeback at 13:52 when the third-year forward gathered speed through the neutral zone and fired a wrist shot by McFarlane for the winner.
The Tigers will take on the Saint Mary's Huskies in AUS playoff action next week, while the Panthers look ahead to the 2024-25 season after a disappointing campaign.