Panthers defeat Huskies 4-3 in overtime

HALIFAX, NS – UPEI forward Brett Bressette scored the overtime winning goal, lifting the Panthers to 4-3 overtime win over the Saint Mary's Huskies in Atlantic University Sport men's hockey action on Friday night at the Dauphinee Centre in Halifax.

The Huskies opened the scoring with a goal from U SPORTS leading scorer Reid Valade (Caledon, ON), who tipped in a point shot from defenceman Luke Vardy (Hammonds Plains, NS) for his 24th goal of the season, putting SMU ahead 1-0, 6:14 into the first period.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Reid Valade tips in the Luke Vardy point shot for his U SPORTS leading 24th goal of the season, and the Huskies take a 1-0 lead!

��R. Valade (24)
��L. Vardy
��B. Allison pic.twitter.com/Go1I2o0K6v

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) January 17, 2026

But the Panthers equalized just 40 seconds later, on a similar play, with forward Simon Hughes (Stratford, PEI) redirecting a Alexandre De Gagne (Mississauga, ON) one-timer to tie the game at 1-1, 6:54 into the first.

Late in the period, Saint Mary's took the lead again, as the initial chance by forward Will Chisholm (Lunenburg, NS) was stopped by Panthers goaltender Jakob Robillard (Rockland, ON), but defenceman Ethan Ritchie (Oakville, ON) jumped on the rebound to put the Huskies ahead 2-1, with 58 seconds remaining.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Ethan Ritchie knocks in the rebound to put the Huskies ahead 2-1 late in the first!

��E. Ritchie (4)
��L. Van Loon
��W. Chisholm pic.twitter.com/G2PzPmqDd5

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) January 17, 2026

The Panthers outshot the Huskies 17-11 in the first period, but it was the home team that took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

Just over five minutes into the second period, UPEI tied it up with a goal from forward Keiran Gallant (Covehead, PEI) who scored on a two-on-none with teammate Brett Bressette (Penetanguishene, ON) to tie it at 2-2.

The Huskies outshot the Panthers 8-5 through the second period, and the two teams went into intermission tied 2-2.

The back-and-forth continue in the third period as both teams pushed for the go-ahead goal, but goaltenders Marcus Vanderberg (Dorchester, ON) and Jakob Robillard were solid.

Midway through the third, the Panthers took the lead, as Bressette found forward Ben McFarlane (Ayr, ON) in front of goal, and he beat Vanderberg high to put UPEI ahead 3-2, 10:23 into the period.

The Huskies tied it up with under five minutes remaining, as Ethan Ritchie's initial shot was blocked, but Ben Allison (Halifax, NS) was able to score on the rebound, tying the game at 3-3 and forcing overtime.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Ben Allison ties it up late, 3-3!

��B. Allison (18)
��E. Ritchie pic.twitter.com/WDp6TDhSvA

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) January 17, 2026

Bressette's third point of the night ended the game 41 seconds into overtime, as defenceman Cole Larkin (Mermaid, PEI) deked past a Huskies defender before sliding a pass over to Bressette who lifted it high over a diving Vanderberg to secure the Panthers victory.

The Huskies outshot the Panthers 32-29 on the night, with Jakob Robillard stopping 29 shots for the win, while Marcus Vanderberg. Bressette was named Player of the Game with one goal and two assists.

The Panthers third straight win improves their record to 13-8-0-0 on the season. UPEI will be back in action on Saturday, visiting the Acadia Axemen (13-5-1-2) at 7 p.m. in Wolfville, N.S.

The Huskies loss snaps a three game win-streak, but they recorded a point for the eighth straight game, and remain third place in the AUS standings with a 12-6-1-2 record. Saint Mary's will be back on home ice on Saturday, hosting the UNB REDS (12-8-1-0) at 7 p.m. at the Dauphinee Centre. GET TICKETS

Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Mona Ghiz / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics