X-Men spoil Panthers’ home opener with 6-2 win
It wasn’t the home opener the UPEI Panthers were hoping for. Instead of celebrating a new season in front of their fans, they ran into a red-hot St. FX squad firing on all cylinders, as the X-Men cruised to a 6-2 win Friday night at MacLauchlan Arena.
By Thomas Becker
It wasn't the home opener the UPEI Panthers were hoping for. Instead of celebrating a new season in front of their fans, they ran into a red-hot St. FX squad firing on all cylinders, as the X-Men cruised to a 6-2 win Friday night at MacLauchlan Arena.
The visitors spread the scoring around in an impressive offensive display. Ben Mercer led the charge with a goal and two assists, Charlie Callaghan added three helpers, and Cameron Mercer, Cole Stewart, Logan O'Neil, Lucas Canning, and Ryan McGuire also found the back of the net. Goaltender Patrick Leaver was steady when called upon, stopping 29 of 31 shots for his first win of the season.
UPEI's night started on the wrong foot less than two minutes in. Off a clean faceoff win, Brandon Casey's point shot took a deflection off a body in front and snuck past netminder Joe Ranger. The X-Men doubled their lead at 12:23 when Jordan Hughesman led a charge through the neutral zone and dropped the puck to Ryan Struthers, who threaded a perfect backdoor pass to Stewart for a tap-in.
The Panthers finally broke through three minutes later when Donovan Arsenault ripped a wrist shot through traffic to make it 2-1. That seemed to give UPEI some life, and Ranger came up big moments later, flashing the right pad to deny McGuire on a breakaway late in the period.
But the middle frame proved decisive. After Mark Woolley blocked a shot in the offensive zone, St. FX countered on a four-on-one where Ben Mercer fed Canning, who roofed a shot under the bar to restore the two-goal cushion. At 13:08, Callaghan's long stretch pass hit Mercer, who slipped it ahead to O'Neil in stride where he buried it five-hole to make it 4-1. Less than two minutes later, McGuire finished off a power play when Callaghan found him alone in front to make it 5-1.
The X-Men tacked on one more midway through the third as Cameron Mercer redirected a Raegan Wiles point shot for his first of the season. UPEI's Robert Orr responded at 14:25, but the damage was done as St. FX coasted to a convincing road win.
It was a tough start for the Panthers, who will look to bounce back quickly when they host the Dalhousie Tigers Saturday at 7 p.m.
Photo Credit: Janessa Vanden Broek
