Panthers at Home, September 15-17
The Panthers have a busy weekend at home with five games on home ice, field, and turf. UPEI Men’s Hockey kicks off the weekend with an exhibition match against the University of New Brunswick. The puck drops 7:00 pm Friday at the Cavendish Farms Wellness Centre arena in Montague.
"It is a fun time of year,” said coach Forbes MacPherson. “We are still in the evaluation stage of our group. The game against UNB will be an opportunity to take that evaluation to the next level. We have six exhibition games this fall. The plan is to be playing well as a team for our first game in October.”
Saturday is your day to break in your Panther Package! There are four games that day featuring UPEI Women’s Hockey, UPEI Women’s Rugby, and UPEI Men’s and Women’s Soccer. The women’s hockey team starts the day with a 2:00 pm exhibition game against Mount Allison University in MacLauchlan Arena.
“First exhibition game of the year, so it gives the girls a great opportunity to jump right into AUS hockey,” said coach Bruce Donaldson. “Tryouts are still in process, so it will give the coaches a chance to see how we transition from practice to game speed.”
At 3:00 pm, UPEI Women’s Soccer plays Acadia University. Coach Graeme McDonald says the team is riding high after a successful road trip in Sackville, New Brunswick.
“I was delighted to get the win against Mount Allison,” said McDonald. “We will build on this. We go into the Acadia game with confidence.”
UPEI Women’s Rugby plays their home-opening game at 4:00 pm. The Panthers will have their hands full with the 2016–17 CIS champions, St. Francis Xavier University.
“Playing against the national champions is a great opportunity to gauge how your team is developing,” said John Laboyne, coach of UPEI Women’s Rugby. “St. FX always plays a hard, quality game. The Panthers also give everything they have, game in and game out. We hope the fans will enjoy watching us play one of the top university rugby teams in North America.”
UPEI Men’s Soccer gets its turn against Acadia at 5:15 pm. They’re also fresh off a road-trip win and feeling confident.
“Acadia is one of the top teams in the conference, so expect a tough game,” said coach Lewis Page. “The team has had a great week of training and playing and are up for the challenge.”
The start of a new season is a great time to pick up your Panther Package. For just $75, you get admission to every home game for UPEI Women’s and Men’s Soccer, UPEI Women’s and Men’s Rugby, UPEI Women’s and Men’s Basketball, and UPEI Women’s Hockey. Head to gopanthersgo.ca and click on ‘tickets’!
And don’t forget, UPEI students get into all Panther home games for free. Let’s fill the stands and make 2017–18 the best season ever!
