If the UPEI Panthers are going to make the playoffs it will be the guys who wore the uniform in the first half that will get them there.
The Panthers didn’t add a player during the Christmas break and only a couple of teams did in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) men’s hockey conference.
“It’s not like there’s a real high probability of landing somebody at Christmas,” head coach Forbes MacPherson said Thursday. “Everybody kind of prepares for it, but the reality is there just not a lot of guys making a Christmas decision.”
The Panthers were looking for some help on the back end, but there weren’t many defencemen available. UPEI, which played short on the blue-line during the first half, is getting healthier, and all of its suspensions have been served.
MacPherson said the team still has a couple of question marks heading into tonight’s first game of 2018, but it already knows it will be without defenceman Austin Levi likely until February with a shoulder injury.
The Panthers (4-13-1) begin the second half at home against St. FX (15-1-2) with a 7 p.m. game. UNB, St. FX and Saint Mary’s have already clinched three of the six playoff spots, Acadia is getting closer to punching its ticket to the post-season dance, leaving UPEI, Moncton (3-14-2) and Dalhousie (2-15-1) battling for the final two spots.
“It’s going to be a heated race here right to the end,” MacPherson sd.d.
“We don't have the record we’d like to have at this point, but the reality is we have to stay dialed in to the task at hand and that’s making the playoffs and that’s our focus for the second half.”
MacPherson said the Christmas break provides an opportunity to mentally and physically recharge for the second half and he said the team has come back re-energized.
Rookie Matthew Mancina gets the call tonight in the Panthers crease. An undisclosed injury has limited the OHL graduate to eight games this season.
MacPherson said, like with all its players, the team needs to see him play in order to evaluate him. He also said there is competition to get in the crease, and that isn’t a bad thing.
“Matty Mahalak has played some very good games for us over his time here at UPEI, and Wilkie (Connor Wilkinson) has stepped in this year and has done the job at times,” the bench boss said.
The Panthers host the Dalhousie Tigers Saturday at 7 p.m.
Panther times
A look at when the UPEI Panthers varsity sports teams play this weekend.
Today
Women’s hockey
7 p.m. – UPEI at Mount Allison.
Men’s hockey
7 p.m. – St. FX at UPEI.
Saturday
Women’s hockey
3 p.m. – St. FX at UPEI.
Women’s basketball
6 p.m. – UPEI at St. FX.
Men’s hockey
7 p.m. – Dalhousie at UPEI.
Men’s basketball
8 p.m. – UPEI at St. FX.
