The UPEI Panthers face off against the first-place UNB Varsity Reds tonight in the first of two weekend Atlantic University Sport men’s hockey games at home.
The Panthers will host the St. Thomas Tommies on Saturday.
Both games are at MacLauchlan Arena, starting at 7 p.m.
In the last meeting between the two teams, the Panthers (5-5) upset the Varsity Reds (8-1-1), the top-ranked team in the country, with a 5-4 decision two weeks ago in Fredericton, N.B.
UPEI head coach Forbes MacPherson said the Varsity Reds will be looking for payback tonight.
“I know for sure they’re going to be firing on all cylinders,” said MacPherson. “It was a big win for us, but I know they have a long memory and are going to come here fired up with retribution on their minds.”
The Panthers split the four games they played on the road the past two weekends.
One of the losses was a 6-3 setback to the Tommies two weeks ago in Fredericton, N.B., where the Panthers blew at 3-2 lead in the third period.
Last weekend, the Panthers lost 5-0 to the Acadia Axemen before beating the Dalhousie Tigers 6-3.
MacPherson said it will be good for the Panthers to be playing home again.
“We’re excited to be back home and, hopefully there will be a good crowd tomorrow night,” he said. “They can be the sixth man, as they say.”
The Panthers have four games left on their schedule before taking the Christmas holiday break.
They play a home-and-home series against the Moncton Blue Eagles (Saturday, Nov. 26, in Moncton and Friday, Dec. 2, in Charlottetown) to wrap up the first half of the schedule.
While MacPherson is hoping to enter the break on a high note, he said the team will be taking it one game at a time.
“We’ve got a big game here (Friday) night and you can’t get too ahead of yourself in this conference. You have to face the next challenge and then face the circumstances after.”
www.upei.ca/athletics
*****
UPEI Panthers’ schedules:
Men’s Hockey
Saturday - Host UNB, 7 p.m.
Sunday - Host St. Thomas, 7 p.m.
Women’s Hockey
Saturday - Host Mount Allison, 3 p.m.
Sunday - Host St. Thomas, 6 p.m.
Men’s Basketball
Saturday - At Memorial, 8 p.m.
Sunday - At Memorial, 1 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
Saturday - At Memorial, 6 p.m.
Sunday - At Memorial, 11 a.m.
