Three games in three days in Ottawa starting tonight will be a good measuring stick for the UPEI Panthers men’s hockey team.
It starts tonight at 8 p.m. Atlantic against the Carleton Ravens.
After about a week of on-ice practices, team officials hope the road trip accomplishes many things. It includes seeing how players are adjusting to new systems, team building, but also winning games heading into the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) season.
“If the approach is well it’s just exhibition, then you’re probably not going to get much out of it,” coach Forbes MacPherson. “But if your approach is it’s time to put the work boots on and start to get better you can accomplish a lot.”
He said in past season the culture of the team has been formed during the pre-season road trips.
The Panthers have eight new players joining the team this year, including forwards Darcy Ashley, Brent Andrews, Nick Czinder, Dave Mazurek, Craig MacLauchlan and Nick Parker, as well as blue-liner Nelson Armstrong and goalie Connor Wilkinson.
The team lost forwards Dana Fraser, Harrison McIver, Cody McNaughton and Jordan Mayer from last year as well as defencemen Matt Maione and Alex Wall and goalie Wayne Savage.
It does have plenty of experience returning, including team MVP and UPEI male athlete-of-the-year Reggie Traccitto, fourth-year goalie Mavric Parks and second-year captain Mason Wilgosh, who is entering his third season with UPEI.
“Mavric has been a top-end goalie in this league every since he got here,” MacPherson said. “We have no concerns at all about handing the keys to Mavric.
“Wilkinson is a big kid who covers a lot of the net. He played with Dieppe last season in the Maritime Hockey League.”
The trademark of the forward group has been to play hard, fast, physical and be relentless on the puck.
“We’re really excited that we’ve added some scoring up front, but not at the cost of what we are as a team,” MacPherson said.
MacLauchlan has been on the Panthers’ radar for a couple of years after playing with the Charlottetown Islanders and Summerside Western Capitals.
“He’s a guy you need on your team to win,” MacPherson said. “He competes hard. He plays in the tough areas. He’s good on faceoffs. He’s a good penalty killer. He knows his role.”
The team also has changes to its coaching staff. Kenny MacDougall and Josh Patterson have left the team while Mark Carragher and Brad MacKenzie join it.
“They were a big part of our program,” MacPherson said of MacDougall and Patterson. “They definitely left their mark and left an impact.”
MacPherson, now in his sixth season as the Panthers’ bench boss, said he is looking forward to working with Carragher and MacKenzie.
A look at some upcoming games for the UPEI Panthers men’s hockey team:
Tonight
UPEI at Carleton, 8 p.m. (ADT)
Friday
UPEI at Queens, 8 p.m. (ADT)
Saturday
UPEI at Carleton, 8 p.m. (ADT)
Oct. 4
UPEI at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
Oct. 5
UPEI at Union College, the NCAA defending champion
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Atlantic University Sport regular season
Oct. 11
UNB at UPEI, 7 p.m. at the Eastlink Centre