UPEI Panthers goalie Mavric Parks led the Atlantic Universities men's hockey team to dominating 6-2 and 5-3 wins over the Dalhousie Tigers and Acadia Axemen respectively over the weekend.
Solid efforts and strong goaltending boosted UPEI's regular season record to 3-3 after the team downed Dalhousie on Friday and Acadia on Saturday at MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown.
Parks turned aside 35 of 38 shots from the Axemen, compared to Acadia's Evan Mosher, who saved 21 of 26.
Friday, Parks faced 22 shots, while Dalhousie goalie Wendell Vye was peppered with a whopping 47.
Parks said the games were important ones for UPEI with the team now on the road for the next two weekends.
"Taking two wins on home ice was a big step in the right direction," said Parks. "Those were four crucial points."
Head coach Forbes MacPherson credited Parks for his strong play in the weekend.
While the team played well against both games, MacPherson said there are still some inconsistencies to be corrected before the team embarks on the road trips.
MacPherson said UPEI plays best when pressuring other teams with hard forechecking and by using their speed to an advantage.
"The style of game we believe is effective and wins games, I think sometimes we steer away from that," he said. "When we start to play more east and west, it creates some danger."
Some of that danger was present in the team's game against Acadia, leading MacPherson to describe the game as a nail-biter.
After being swept in the playoffs during back to back shutout losses last spring, the Panthers ended that goose egg streak before the game was three minutes old Saturday.
Ex-P.E.I. Rocket goalie Evan Mosher lost sight of the puck in his skates after the puck was passed out from the left side and Dana Fraser jammed it home for his first goal of the year.
Alternate captain Matt Carter made it 2-0 with a power play one-timer under the crossbar at 18:45 to finish the period 2-0 for UPEI.
However, the first 20 minutes wasn't all good news for UPEI, with forward Mike MacIsaac getting a game misconduct at 13:45 for having three stick infractions in the game.
UPEI continued its strong play in the second, with Devin Praught scoring a power play goal at 13:51.
Chris Desousa also found the net at 18:00 to give the team a strong 4-0 going into the third.
However, the game against Acadia, ranked third in the country, wouldn't come easy.
Joe Gaynor got Acadia's first goal of the night at 6:03, ending Parks' hopes for a possible shutout.
Matthew Maione scored his first of the year at 11:33 on a power play to give UPEI some breathing room but Acadia capitalized on a rash of late powerplay opportunities.
Acadia's Michael Ward scored on the power play at 14:19, before the Axemen capitalized on a two-man advantage less than a minute later at 15:03 to narrow UPEI's lead to 5-3.
UPEI held on for the rest of the period, but only because of a strong effort from Parks, which included stopping a penalty shot 15:34.
"In those types of situations, where they're gaining so much momentum, you just have to take it shift by shift, focus on every shot," said Parks.
UPEI recruited Parks from the OHL's Saginaw Spirit. The first-year goaltender also attended a Carolina Hurricanes NHL training camp earlier this fall.
"He's worked hard in practice and shows up every day," said MacPherson. "He's been every bit the goalie that was indicated to us."
The Panthers will face the St. Thomas Tommies next Friday in Fredericton, before battling it out against UNB Saturday. Game times are 7 p.m.
