CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – The UPEI Panthers get to measure themselves against the top men’s hockey team in the country tonight.
The Gardiner MacDougall-coached UNB Varsity Reds come to town for a 7 p.m. contest at MacLauchlan Arena.
“It’s a good measuring stick,” Panthers head coach Forbes MacPherson said before Tuesday’s practice. “It’s good for guys to continue to evaluate their game.”
Playing one of the top U Sports teams is nothing new for the Panthers.
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UPEI has played six games in January, including two games against St. FX and one against Acadia and Saint Mary’s. The Panthers went 2-2-0 against the three teams, who were ranked in the top six when the Panthers played them.
The Panthers will be looking to build on last weekend’s game that saw them defeat Acadia before losing to Saint Mary’s in a game that the Huskies were leading 3-2 with four minutes to play. UPEI also out-chanced the Huskies early with plenty of Grade A scoring chances.
“Guys were feeling confident from the night before. . . ,” he said, but “there’s quality goaltending in this league.”
The Varsity Reds (20-1-3) have long clinched a playoff spot but are only a point up on St. FX for first place in the Atlantic University Sport hockey conference. The Panthers are 6-17-1 and two points up on Dalhousie for fifth in the seven-team conference where all but one team makes the post-season.
UPEI will dress five defencemen for tonight’s game as Bobby Zinkan is out for the regular season with a broken collarbone sustained Friday night.
Remaining games
A look at the UPEI Panthers men’s hockey team’s remaining regular season games:
Tonight
7 p.m. – UNB at UPEI.
Friday
7 p.m. – UPEI at Moncton.
Friday, Feb. 2
7 p.m. – UPEI at Acadia.
Saturday, Feb. 3
7 p.m. – UPEI at Saint Mary’s.
Friday, Feb. 9
7 p.m. – Dalhousie at UPEI.
Saturday, Feb. 10
7 p.m. – St. FX at UPEI.
Schedule
A look at this week’s UPEI Panthers varsity sports schedule.
Tonight’s game
Men’s hockey
7 p.m. – UNB at UPEI.
Friday’s Game
Men’s hockey
7 p.m. – UPEI at Moncton
Saturday’s Games
Women’s basketball
6 p.m. – Cape Breton at UPEI.
Women’s hockey
7 p.m. – UPEI at Moncton.
Men’s basketball
8 p.m. – Cape Breton at UPEI.
Sunday’s Games
Women’s basketball
1 p.m. – Cape Breton at UPEI.
Men’s basketball
3 p.m. – Cape Breton at UPEI
