The UPEI Panthers host the Acadia Axemen to open Atlantic University Sport men’s hockey playoffs Friday in a rematch of last season’s first-round opponents.
Only this time the Panthers have the home-ice advantage as they seek to avenge a pair of 1-0 losses at the hands of the Axemen and a disappointing early playoff exit last year.
Game time at MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown is 7 p.m. in the first game of the best-of-three playoff.
UPEI clinched home-ice advantage when goalie Jhase Sniderman backstopped the Panthers to a 5-0 victory over the St. Thomas Tommies in front of a boisterous crowd of 2,500 fans Saturday at EastLink Arena in Summerside as part of CBC’s Hockey Day in Canada.
Panthers’ head coach Forbes MacPherson said while Acadia is again the first round opponent, it should be a very different series.
UPEI has eight new players on the roster while Acadia also has added a number off rookies to its lineup.
“We’re two different teams,” said MacPherson. “For the guys that are back, it’s the same first round opponent but it’s a whole new season.
“It (last year’s playoffs) won’t have any effect on the series.”
Forward Jordan Knox, a third-year graduating business student, told The Guardian that UPEI has had a strong team for the past three years but that this season’s roster may be the best contender.
“I think this year we really have the team,” said Knox. “This is the deepest I’ve seen this team up front. Defence has been playing well. (Mavric) Parks and Snides (Sniderman) in nets, they’ve been playing well, too. We have a pretty full team right now . . . so we’re all looking forward to the next couple of weeks.
“We’re just trying to look at getting over that barrier and getting to nationals.”
Game 2 against Acadia will be in Wolfville, N.S., on Sunday while Game 3, if necessary, will be back at MacLauchlan Arena on Monday, Feb. 20.
Sniderman made 29 saves to help lead the team to Saturday’s win.
The Panthers’ win was a strong statement going into playoffs after dropping consecutive games earlier in the week to Moncton and UNB.
UPEI finished the season in fourth place in the conference standings with an 18-10 record and 36 points.
Acadia finished the season with a 2-0 loss to Saint Mary’s University Saturday night for a 16-10-2 record.
While Sniderman had played only 226 minutes this year before Saturday’s game, the 24-year-old executed a flawless performance for his final regular season game with the team.
The fourth-year goalie, who is graduating from UPEI this spring, said his parents had also travelled from Toronto to watch the Panthers’ final two regular season games.
“It was great. The boys played awesome and I couldn’t ask to end the season any better way,” said Sniderman, who boasts a .926 save percentage. “It meant a lot to me, my parents came down for it and it could be my last game ever. I couldn’t end it any better way. I have to thank Forbes (MacPherson) for letting me play the last game of the year.”
Defenceman Reggie Traccitto scored the game-winner on the power play only 1:36 into Saturday’s first period.
Forward Chris Desousa added another power-play goal for the Panthers at 14:51, while UPEI’s other goals were scored by Jared Gomes, Mike MacIsaac and Travis MacIsaac in the third.
The crowd, comprised mainly of Summerside and Prince County fans, was especially vocal following MacIsaac’s goal at 11:37 in the third, which was assisted by Devin Praught and Matthew Maione.
Both MacIsaac and Praught are from Prince County.
“It wasn’t just a one-man show, all the boys came ready to play,” said MacIsaac. “We knew we needed the win in order to get home ice for playoffs so everybody came with the right mind set.”
The Moncton Blue Eagles (37 points) will face the St. F.X. X-Men (24) in the other opening-round playoff series, while UNB (43) and the Saint Mary’s Huskies (39) both earned a bye into the second round.
The Tommies and Dalhousie Tigers missed the post-season.
