Panthers top X-Women in close 4-3 shootout game

Charlottetown, PEI - The UPEI Panthers battled to an intense 4–3 shootout victory over the STFX X-Women Friday night, with both teams trading goals and momentum late in the game.

Panthers forward Orianna MacNeil scored the lone shootout goal as all three X-Women shooters were unable to find the back of the twine.

UPEI got on the board late in the first period when Renee Chapman finished a setup from Anjali Simms and Maren Holt at 18:49. It was a penalty-filled opening frame, with special-teams chances both ways, but neither side could capitalize on the power play.

In the second period, the Panthers doubled their lead as Chloe McCabe converted a pass from Simms at 13:45. UPEI carried the play for much of the frame, outshooting StFX 13–4, and went into the intermission ahead 2–0.

The third period turned into a scoring frenzy. STFX finally broke through at 4:42 on a power-play goal from Bree MacPherson, assisted by Mackenzie Lothian and Alexis Perry.

The X-Women tied the game six minutes later on a shorthanded breakaway effort by Kalle Hastman at 10:54.

The Panthers answered almost immediately when McCabe buried her second of the night just 34 seconds later with help from Clara Williams. But the X-Women refused to quit — only 11 seconds after that, Toby Graham knotted the score again at 3–3, finishing a feed from Laci Boyd.

Neither team could find the go-ahead marker through the final eight minutes or in overtime despite good scoring chances at both ends. StFX finished 1-for-7 on the power play, while UPEI went 0-for-9.

Shots were close with UPEI holding the 26-24 edge, and both goaltenders were sharp. Brooklyn Oakes stopped 23 of 26 for STFX, while UPEI's Erin Cabaday made 21 saves on the night.

Samantha Morrison was excellent in the faceoff circle for STFX, going 10–3, and provided a strong two-way effort that earned her second-star honors. McCabe took the first star with two goals, while MacPherson's power-play tally and leadership earned her the third star.

With the tie, STFX moves to 21‑4-0‑1 on the season in first place, while UPEI sits at 15‑9‑2-0, tied for fourth. The AUS regular season winds down Saturday as the X-Women have a quick turnaround, playing in a 3:00 pm game in Moncton. The Panthers will play at Mount Allison at 7:00 pm.

The X-Women have already secured a first round playoff bye into the best-of-five semifinal series. They will await a quarterfinal winner for the first two games of that series on home ice February 26 and 27.

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