Tigers rally past Panthers with 2-1 come-from-behind overtime victory
Despite a significant shot difference of 54-16 in favour of the UPEI Panthers, the Dalhousie Tigers were the ones to prevail, capitalizing on costly late-game errors by UPEI and near-perfect goaltending en route to a 2-1 win Friday night at MacLauchlan Arena.
By Reegan MacAulay
Despite a significant shot difference of 54-16 in favour of the UPEI Panthers, the Dalhousie Tigers were the ones to prevail, capitalizing on costly late-game errors by UPEI and near-perfect goaltending en route to a 2-1 win Friday night at MacLauchlan Arena.
The Panthers showcased offensive domination across all regulation periods, killed off all but one of eight penalties, and were excellent in the faceoff category. However, only once were they able to solve Tigers netminder Madison King, who stood tall and kept her team alive against UPEI's superior offense with a brilliant 53-save performance.
It took over 20 shots and 19 minutes for UPEI to get on the board, with a late first-period power-play marker. Kierra St. Peter, at the blue line, found Orianna MacNeil at the top of the right circle, who one-timed a shot towards the net, and Ashley McCutcheon, within the low slot, redirected the puck past King for the 1-0 goal.
The Panthers continued to hammer King with shots the rest of the way. The insurance "seal the deal" sequence was anticipated to come at any moment, but it was at 12:19 in the third frame when things took a dramatic turn.
After Brooke Henderson was handed a double-minor infraction for contact to the head amidst a scrum, Dalhousie took full advantage and perfectly executed on their eighth power-play opportunity, with Emma Robertson finishing a clean tic-tac-toe play at the front of the net for the 1-1 equalizer.
UPEI later got a player advantage with under three minutes remaining, but were unable to regain the lead, forcing the game to overtime.
Just 39 seconds in, off a faceoff in UPEI's zone, Robertson stole the puck from Henderson and, after receiving a pass back from Ava Boyle, stepped in on Sarah Forsythe all alone and roofed the game-winning goal.
With two tough losses to begin 2026, the Panthers aim to make the third time the charm when they host the SMU Huskies the following day, Saturday, at 3 p.m.
Photos by Janessa Vanden Broek
