Gillard nets two as Panthers remain undefeated at home

By Thomas Becker 

The UPEI Panthers extended their home win streak to six games Saturday afternoon when they defeated the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues 3-1. 

Jolena Gillard scored twice in the win, while Mireille Martin put away the game's opening goal. Alexis Desforges was the lone scorer for Moncton.

The Aigles Bleues came into the game as the aggressors and were consistently in the offensive zone testing UPEI's defence, as they outshot their opponent 13-5 in the opening period and 36-23 overall. 

"I thought we were calm back there," said Panthers head coach Bruce Donaldson of his defence. "We tightened in front of the net and made it tough for them to get good looks."

Camille Scherger played a big part in keeping the game scoreless after 20 minutes, as she regained her all-star form in this game. The fourth-year netminder finished with 35 saves and was easily one of the best players on the ice. 

"We really needed her tonight, and she stepped up for us," Gillard said. "Having her in net really gives our team momentum and it showed today."

Despite a lot of the action taking place in their own zone, the Panthers (7-2-2) were still the first to score. 15 minutes into the second period, Martin intercepted a pass in the slot and fired it in the bottom right corner to make it 1-0. 

"We talked after the first that we needed to get more shots on net, and that goal got us going," Gillard said. 

That goal sparked the Panthers, as they came out of the second intermission looking to close out the win. At 5:03, Moncton (4-6-1) goaltender Audrey Berthiaume surrendered a costly rebound off a Sydney Lyndon slap shot that Gillard easily put away.

UPEI added another six and half minutes later when Gillard took the puck from her own zone, skated by a defender and on the breakaway got Berthiaume to bite on a move before tucking a backhand by her for a shorthanded goal. 

The Aigles Bleues denied Scherger her second shutout of the season late in the game when off a faceoff of win, Isadora Quirion fired a shot off Scherger leading to a rebound that Desforge put away with a slap shot.

The Panthers look to make it a perfect weekend as they host the St. FX X-Women for a Sunday evening tilt beginning at 5 p.m.

Photo Credit: Janessa Hogan