Panthers down Tommies 6-1

(FREDERICTON, N.B.) - The St. Thomas Tommies fell 6-1 to the UPEI Panthers in AUS men's hockey action, Saturday night in front of 453 spectators at the Grant-Harvey Centre.

Darcy Ashley, Chris Desousa, and Mitchell Theoret each had three points for the Panthers in the win, while Subway player of the game Mavric Parks made 32 saves.

"It's very frustrating," Tommies head coach Pat Powers said. "A game like that is embarrassing, but you have to keep coming back." 

"This is an unbelievable hockey league, and if guys don't know how to play together then we aren't going to be successful. Right now our guys are trying to find a way to play together."

Ashley opened the scoring early, beating Tommies netminder Tyson Teichmann blocker side for a 1-0 Panthers lead. Just 1:30 later, Ashley found the back of the net again to put the Panthers up by two.

The Tommies generated nine shots on goal—they rang one off the post—but couldn't beat Parks.

"Parks is one of the best goaltenders in our league, and we knew we had to generate second-chance shot opportunities, which a couple of times we did, but we didn't sustain it for any period of time," Powers said.

The Panthers kept their momentum in the second, scoring three unanswered goals. Desousa buried a rebound less than three minutes into the frame, Theoret netted a power play goal at 6:31, and Matthew Brenton found the back of the net at 15:32.

Early in the third, Matt MacLeod got one back for the Tommies after beating Parks low on a rebound.

Desousa scored his second of the night from the point 6:41 into the third to secure the Panthers' 6-1 win.

The Tommies are back in action Wednesday when they host the UNB Varsity Reds. The Panthers take to the ice next on Jan. 14 when they host the Moncton Aigles Bleus.

Source: St. Thomas Sports Communications