Hofley holding the fort for UPEI Panthers

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Simon Hofley gets the call again tonight as the UPEI Panthers host the Saint Mary’s Huskies.
Game time is 7 p.m. at MacLauchlan Arena.
Hofley has played in each of the Panthers 13 games this season with Matthew Mancina, the team’s other goalie entering the season, missing the first half with an upper-body injury. Hofley, an Ottawa native, is in his final season of eligibility.
“He’s done a great job for us,” head coach Forbes MacPherson said. “There’s a lot of pressure there, knowing you that not only are you the No. 1, but you’re the only one.”
Down a goalie, the Panthers turned to the student body. Ben Parent, Noah Laybolt plus brothers Jed and Sam Walsh have helped out in practice and taken turns dressing as the back-up.
“We give them a lot of credit,” MacPherson said. “As tough of a spot we’re in, it would be a lot worse if they weren’t jumping on board as UPEI students and . . . helping us out. . . They’ve been a huge part of our team this semester and they’ve helped out tremendously when they really didn't have to.”
UPEI is 4-6-3 while Saint Mary’s is 9-6-0. The Huskies have won both meetings this season, 8-2 in Charlottetown on Oct. 18 and 5-4 in overtime in Halifax on Nov. 5.
“We’ve been playing fairly well and consistent as of late, so it’s just a matter of continuing to grow from there,” MacPherson said.
Filip Rydstrom will serve his final game of three-game suspension tonight while Drake Pilon has been out since Oct. 18 with an abdominal injury. Pilon is improving but may not play until the second half.
The Panthers women’s hockey team (11-2-1) heads to Fredericton, N.B., for games tonight at UNB (9-5-0) and Saturday at St. Thomas (7-7-0). The Panthers are ranked sixth in the country and will host the U Sports national championship in 2020.