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Panthers rally late, clip Tigers 4-3 in Alumni Day thriller

The UPEI Panthers delivered a storybook finish on Alumni Day Friday night, erupting for two third-period goals to defeat the Dalhousie Tigers 4-3 at MacLauchlan Arena.

Panthers rally late, clip Tigers 4-3 in Alumni Day thriller
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January 23, 2026

By Thomas Becker

The UPEI Panthers delivered a storybook finish on Alumni Day Friday night, erupting for two third-period goals to defeat the Dalhousie Tigers 4-3 at MacLauchlan Arena.

Trying to avoid a repeat of their last meeting in 2025—Dalhousie's lone win of the season—the Panthers came out sharp and set the tone early. UPEI opened the scoring on the power play at 2:55 when Ben McFarlane swatted a bouncing puck out of mid-air after a point shot from Elias Cohen popped straight up. Cohen, who was a constant presence all night, would finish with three assists.

Moments later, goaltender Joe Ranger made one of his biggest saves of the night, sprawling to his right to deny Seth Dragan, who tried to flip a backhand over the pad from in tight. However, Dalhousie answered on the man advantage at 9:29, as Brody Fournier snapped a low shot through traffic from the high slot to even the game.

The Panthers reclaimed the lead late in the opening frame. With just 29 seconds remaining, rookie forward Donovan Arsenault wasted no time after a faceoff win, ripping a wrist shot past Carter Richardson to send UPEI into the first intermission up 2-1. Richardson did everything he could on a night when he recorded 43 saves.

Dalhousie tilted the ice in the second period and was rewarded at 12:22. A failed clearing attempt proved costly, as Madden MacDougall collected the puck and slid it to Jack Harper, who stepped around a defender and wired a wrist shot into the top-right corner to even the score. Just over three minutes later, the Tigers pulled ahead when Carter Murchison stayed with a loose puck in a net-front scramble, poking home his own rebound after Ranger made the initial save.

With Alumni Day celebrations hanging in the balance, the Panthers responded with urgency in the third. Just 1:25 in, Cohen casually flipped a pass back into the slot, where Brett Bressette redirected it onto the stick of Robert Orr. The Panthers' leading scorer made no mistake, roofing a wrist shot to tie the game 3-3 and ignite the crowd.

UPEI kept pushing and found the winner at 14:04. Colby Huggan's point shot produced a juicy rebound, and Bressette pounced, burying the go-ahead goal to cap off the comeback.

Ranger shut the door down the stretch, and the Panthers skated off with a 4-3 win, setting their sights on a perfect weekend when they host the St. FX X-Men Saturday night.

Photos by Janessa Vanden Broek

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