UPEI Basketball seek their first road wins of the season

By Marshall Mayne

Photo Lorenzo Parker

While men's and women's basketball look for their first road wins of the season, the UPEI women's hockey Panthers will look to continue their quietly successful campaign. 

Men's Basketball -- Panthers @ Axemen, November 18th, 8:00pm

                            -- Panthers @ Huskies, November 19th, 8:00pm

The Men's Basketball team will hit the road again this weekend where they will look to get their first road win of the season. The Panthers fell to the Varsity Reds in back to back games last weekend, dropping their record to 1-3.

Ahead of their trip to Nova Scotia, coach Kendrick said, "It's another tough weekend on the road for us, at Acadia & SMU. Both of these teams are playing well, and are different and difficult to prepare for. We will have to play better at both ends if we hope to get a win on this trip."

Tyler Scott, and Milorad Sedlarevic have been receiving treatment for their injuries and were limited in practice this week. Coach Kendrick said, "At this point, I would expect both to be game time decisions for each of our two games this weekend."

UPEI Panthers Athlete of the Week Dut Dut, will look to continue his hot streak this weekend. Dut Dut is averaging 16 points, and 10 rebounds per game. His rebounding percentage is good for third in the AUS two weeks into the season.

Both games this weekend will be 4-point games, the Acadia Axemen (2-2) defeated the Cape Breton Capers in back to back games last weekend. Erik Nissen is leading the charge for the Axemen, he's tied for fourth in the AUS, with Panthers Tyler Scott. Nissen who has appeared in 4 games and Scott who has competed in three are both averaging 20 points per game.

In their second matchup, the Panthers will visit the Saint Mary's Huskies. The Huskies are 3-1 this season, including two wins over the Acadia Axemen. Marquis Clayton is averaging 20.8 points per game for the Huskies to this point, and is among the top three leading scorers.  Prior to the contest against the Panthers, the Huskies will be home to the UNB Varsity Reds (2-2) on Friday night.

Coach Kendrick had some good news on Tuesday as Lorenzo Parker has now been cleared to practice with the team. "He will do all non-contact drills for the next couple of weeks, then progress to full practice. Make no mistake, having him and Jake able to participate in practice, albeit in limited roles, has definitely made a difference all ready," said Kendrick.

Catch all the action online at austv.ca or by following @upeipanthers on Twitter for up to the minute updates.

Women's Basketball -- Panthers @ Axemen, November 18th, 6:00pm

                                  -- Panthers @ Huskies, November 19th, 6:00pm

The UPEI Panthers women's basketball team took a couple of close losses to the hands of the UNB Varsity Reds last weekend the young Panther team is looking to rebound this weekend when they travel to Acadia and Saint Mary's.

Head coach Greg Gould said, "We are playing two of the top teams in the AUS this weekend and we will have to be at our best if we hope to win."

On Friday night the Acadia Axewomen will be looking for their first win of the season (0-4). In the last game, the Axewomen had to swallow a 73-72 loss to the hands of the Cape Breton Capers. Friday nights game will also mark the second home game of the season for the Axewomen. In their home opener they fell to the Saint Mary's Huskies (4-0) 99-92 in overtime.

"We showed at UNB that we can play with the best teams in our league but now we must learn how to win on the road," Gould said earlier this week. He added, "Our lack of rebounding cost us the win in the second game at UNB so that is an area we must focus on improving if we hope to win."

The Panthers (2-2) will need to bring their best effort to Halifax on Saturday against the 4-0 Saint Mary's Huskies. The Huskies have defeated the Axewomen twice as well as the Tigers twice, including a 69-49 victory over the Tigers.

Gould concluded, "We are still growing as a team but I like the competitive spirit of this group."

The Panthers will look to get back into the win column this week on the road. Both games can be streamed live on austv.ca or by following @upeipanthers on Twitter for live updates.

Women's Hockey -- Panthers @ Huskies, November 19th, 3:00pm

                             -- Panthers @ Aigles Bleus, November 20th, 2:00pm

UPEI Women Panthers look forward to heading back to Halifax to take on the #2 Nationally ranked SMU Huskies.  

"We had a great game against them this past week but playing them in their barn is very different. It's a small ice surface and with their speed and size we will need to do all the little things well. SMU has great depth and will be out to show why they are as strong as their record indicates," head coach Donaldson said earlier this week.

The Panthers defeated the Huskies at home last week 3-2 after a 20 save performance by UPEI Athlete of the Week, Marie-Soleil Deschenes.

Sunday the Panthers will travel to Moncton to take on the UdM Aigles Bleus (4-4-2).

Bruce Donaldson said, "While UdeM maybe young like us they are very hard to beat in their home rink.  Their specialty teams are strong and typically  is what makes up the difference in how well one team does over another."

This is a big weekend for the 6-4-0 Panthers who sit third in the AUS standings and three points behind the Saint Mary's Huskies. "In both contests we need to stay out of the penalty box and hope to take advantage of our Power Play opportunities. Paying attention to the small details will be important if we hope to have success on the road," said Donaldson earlier this week.

The Panthers will return home November 25th against the Mount Allison Mounties, puck drop is 7:00pm at the MachLauchlan Arena. Fans can stream this weekends games on austv.ca or follow @upeipanthers on Twitter for live updates.

Swimming -- Kemp Fry Invitational, November 18th-20th

The UPEI Swimming team will travel to Dalhousie this weekend for the Kemp Fry Invitational. First year head coach Tom Ponting said, "This weekend marks the end of the first cycle of the Swim Panthers' season, as this is the last racing before the Christmas break. so the hopes are high for solid fast swimming."

A total of eight Panthers will compete, trying to achieve AUS and CIS positions and analyzing the training effect so far.