Panthers’ comeback bid falls short in shootout loss

By Thomas Becker

The St. Thomas Tommies punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 4-3 shootout win over the UPEI Panthers Sunday afternoon.

The Tommies (11-7-4) came into the game scuffling, having lost five straight, but a strong first-period surge put them on a path to victory.

St. Thomas scored all three goals in a six-minute span, with Ekaterina Pelowich netting the first on a power play at 11:28 when the third-year forward put away a rebound off a Trinity Webber slap shot. 

The special teams unit would deliver again at 14:09, extending the lead to 2-0. Laura Brown released a quick wrist shot from the right circle that beat rookie netminder Erin Cabaday and found the top left corner. Then, at 17:18, MJ English fired a slap shot by Cabaday to make it 3-0.

The Panthers (5-14-3) had every reason to give in at that point, but a passionate plea during the intermission fueled them in the second period, resulting in three unanswered goals.

UPEI opened the scoring on a power play at 2:50 when Anjali Simms fired a shot from the point that beat goaltender Chloe Marshall.

Less than four minutes later, Lexie Murphy raced around the corner, cut toward the net and tried to jam one home. After the unsuccessful attempt, Chloe McCabe came in and put away the rebound to make it a one-goal game.

The Panthers would tie it up at 15:40 on a fluke play. Kierra St. Peter took the puck into the attacking zone and tried to feed it to Murphy, but her pass hit a defender's skate and slid under Marshall. 

Both teams buckled down defensively throughout the third period and overtime, leading to an eventual shootout where the Tommies netted the only goal to secure the two points.

The Panthers travel to Halifax next Friday to take on the Saint Mary's Huskies, while the Tommies visit the Dalhousie Tigers.

Photo Credit: Janessa Vanden Broek