UPEI Panthers forward and assistant captain TJ Shea, 81, controls the puck while the Moncton Blue Eagles’ Mika Cyr, 24, defends. The action took place during an Atlantic University Sport Men’s Hockey Conference game at MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown on Nov. 30. Shea recorded three points in the Panthers’ 4-1 win. - Jason SimmondsCHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The UPEI Panthers have moved closer to first place in the Atlantic University Sport Men’s Hockey Conference.
“It was a big game because it’s a four-point swing. Moncton is right behind us, so it’s important for us to move forward and create a little separation. It’s a big on Saturday.”UNB, the top-ranked team in this week’s U Sports national rankings, is also red hot with a 12-0-0-1 record in its last 13 contests and holds a two-point lead over UPEI. The Reds have an opportunity to widen that margin when they host Moncton on Dec. 2.
“They’ve really found chemistry and complement each other really well,” said MacPherson. “There is a lot of pieces to a line there, and they came through.” “We have had some success recently, but we feel that this has been as good of an effort as we have had in the last few games. We’ve managed to put points in the bank over the last couple of games, but we felt we played much better .”
UPEI Panthers forward Kaleb Pearson, 15, carries the puck into the offensive zone as Moncton Blue Eagles defenceman Alexis Arsenault, 9, looks to limit his space. The Panthers defeated the Blue Eagles 4-1 in an Atlantic University Sport Men’s Hockey Conference game at MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown on Nov. 30. - Jason SimmondsMacPherson called it a team win for the Panthers.
Rice, who turned 28 in November and has played forward during most of his time with the Panthers, said he’s willing to play wherever and do whatever the team needs.