The UPEI men’s hockey Panthers won’t be changing much of their game plan against the conference-leading UNB Varsity Reds tonight.
The two Atlantic University Sport teams meet at 7 p.m. at MacLauchlan Arena, with UPEI hoping to extend its win streak to six games.
While UNB is ranked third in the country, the underdog Panthers have been the only team in the conference to go unbeaten in the second half of the season.
“We just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” said Panther sniper Chris DeSousa. “Since the new year, we’ve been perfect and we don’t plan on slowing down.”
The consistent play in the second half has increased the fifth-place Panthers record to 11-9-1, good for 23 points.
UNB (16-5-0) sits in first with 32 points.
DeSousa said the team is aiming to earn a first-round bye for the playoffs by finishing first or second in the conference.
“We got a great team coming in here, but we’ve had the best record since the break,” said DeSousa. “We’re going into every game feeling like we can win. We’re very confident about Friday’s game.”
DeSousa scored 1:30 into overtime to give the Panthers a 3-2 win Wednesday night over the Moncton Blue Eagles at MacLauchlan Arena.
The Red Devils are coming off a 7-0 shellacking of the last-place St. Thomas Tommies, also on Wednesday night.
The Panthers will face the Tommies Saturday in Fredericton at 7 p.m.
