CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — We are all pretty excited and we have a big rivalry with (Moncton). They are a pretty physical team and every game we’ve played against them has been close for the most part. It should be exciting.
- Taylor Gillis
The UPEI Panthers are hoping to carry a record-setting regular season over to the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) women’s hockey playoffs.
“It was a great season to get to the 20-win mark for the first time in the team’s history,” said Panthers head coach Bruce Donaldson.
The third-place Panthers, who completed the regular season 20-7-1 (won-lost-overtime losses), will host Game 1 in the best-of-three quarter-final series against the sixth-place Moncton Blue Eagles (8-18-2) at MacLauchlan Arena on the UPEI campus in Charlottetown on Thursday at 7 p.m.
“We are all pretty excited and we have a big rivalry with them,” said Panthers’ second-year centre Taylor Gillis of Summerside. “They are a pretty physical team and every game we’ve played against them has been close for the most part. It should be exciting.”
The Panthers battled with the first-place Saint Mary’s Huskies and St. Francis Xavier X-Women, who finished with identical 22-5-1 records to earn first-round byes, right up until the final minute of the second-last regular-season game Saturday.
The Huskies defeated the Panthers 3-1 to clinch a bye while the X-Women secured second place with a 4-3 win over the Mount Allison Mounties (3-22-3) on Sunday. UPEI closed out the regular season with a 3-1 win versus the St. Thomas Tommies (13-14-1) on Sunday.
“Our goal was to finish in the top three and we were really pushing to see if we could get a first-round bye and it came down to the third period on Saturday and Saint Mary’s got the better of us,” said Donaldson. “The fact we had a strong season is great and the girls have been working really hard and we are quite pleased.”
Home-ice advantage
One big difference for the Panthers entering this year’s post-season is the opportunity to open on home ice.
“The last couple of years we haven’t opened on home ice and this year we get to do that,” said Donaldson. “The girls have played well here and have been playing with some pretty good confidence.
“We have had really good crowds and have been supported by the community, especially the young female minor hockey community. I think on Sunday we had six minor hockey teams here and they help with the atmosphere. They are loud, cheer like crazy and the girls like to have that type of hometown support.”
Gillis said that support does not go unnoticed by the players.
“We have been very lucky to have big crowds all year,” said the 20-year-old daughter of Dale and Marilyn Gillis. “There are lots of girls’ hockey teams coming out to support us.
“It's awesome to play at home every game. We have tons of fans and everybody is cheering.”
Season series
Although the Panthers, who will host the Cavendish Farms U Sports women’s hockey nationals from March 12 to 15 at MacLauchlan Arena, won three of four head-to-head meetings against Moncton, Donaldson is expecting a tough series.
“We won the season series against Moncton this year, but it wasn’t without its challenges,” said Donaldson. ”They work hard and they are a very good forechecking program.
“You have to figure out how to get past their forecheck to have any kind of success. All our games have been very competitive and challenging. They have gotten better and better over the season, especially in the second half.
“They are playing with quite a bit of confidence. We are going to have to be at our best to move forward.”
Donaldson anticipates special teams will play a big role as well.
Regular-season meetings between UPEI and Moncton:
Oct. 17
UPEI 4 at Moncton 1.
Nov. 9
Moncton 0 at UPEI 4.
Jan. 9
UPEI 1 at Moncton 4.
Jan. 29
Moncton 1 at UPEI 4.
“We’ve had very good success on our penalty killing and we need to continue that,” he added. “Our power play has been intermittent at times and we’ve had good zone presence with the power play, but we are not finishing the way we need to.
“I find in our league a lot of times it comes down to winning special teams. We need to be a little bit more disciplined, too.
“I find there are times we are taking some penalties when the timing is poor, or they are penalties you should be able to avoid and stop putting yourself in harm’s way. We need to show good discipline and try to win both sides of the specialty teams.”
Gillis, who scored a team-leading 12 goals and recorded 17 points in 28 games, admits she feels more comfortable on the ice in her sophomore season.
“Last year was quite a bit of a jump from playing midget hockey to the AUS,” said Gillis, who is studying business. “This year has been a lot better.”
Gillis said it’s an exciting time to be playing for the Panthers.
“It’s been fun,” she said. “It’s pretty awesome to watch our program grow from last year to this year.
“We have improved so much.”