REDS Edge Panthers In OT

(CHARLOTTETOWN, PE) Tyler Boland (St. John's, NL) played hero on Friday, giving the UNB REDS a 3-2 road win over the UPEI Panthers.

On the power-play, the REDS capitalized a minute and half into the extra frame when Kade Landry (Gowanstown, ON) found Boland in the left circle where the fourth-year forward buried the game-winner on a one-timer.

Big moments like that never get old, said Boland.

"It's always a battle here at UPEI, so to get the win tonight was incredible."

The REDS improve to 2-and-0 after two close games, but Boland insists his team is just scratching the surface of their potential. 

"There's still plenty to improve upon, but we're on the right foot," he said. "This team excites me, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the year."

The first period was a defensive grind as both teams limited their opponent's chances. But the REDS, as they so often do, took advantage of a miscue and turned it into a scoring chance. With three minutes remaining in the period, Richard Whittaker's (Holland Landing, ON) pass was picked off, setting up a three-on-one opportunity. On the odd man rush, Nicolas Guay (Chateauguay, QC) fed Austen Keating (Guelph, ON), who fired it off Jonah Capriotti's (Charlottetown, PE) glove before Guay put away the easy rebound giving UNB the 1-0 lead heading into the break.

The Panthers responded early in the second when Owen Headrick (Garden River, ON) aimlessly slung a shot on net leading to a long rebound that rookie forward Danil Antropov (Toronto, ON) put away at 3:27.

Rookie netminder Capriotti left his mark throughout the game, as he turned aside 38 saves for the Panthers. None was bigger than his sensational diving save on Thomas Casey's (Charlottetown, PE) shot that was set up perfectly by Boland in front of the net. 

After the game, Capriotti reflected on a memorable night in which he provided a standout performance in the opening day start.

"I battled and gave it everything," he said. "Like you saw out there, there's a couple saves where you just have to throw yourself at it. It's never going to be an easy game, especially against them."

That big save kept the game tied at one, but that didn't faze the REDS, who scored with two minutes remaining in the game on a goal by Samuel Dove-McFalls (Montreal, QC), off another rebound.

With just eight seconds to play Kyle Maksimovich (Oakville, ON) drove hard at the net and managed to get the puck by goaltender Rylan Parenteau (Saskatoon, SK), sending the game to overtime.

Moments after squaring the game, Maksimovich was called for tripping, 24 seconds into overtime, and for a team as prolific as the REDS that's all they needed to come away with win, as Boland made them pay with the winner.

The Panthers will look to build off a strong performance when they travel to Moncton on Saturday, while the REDS return home and will welcome Acadia to the Aitken Centre on Wednesday evening.

RECAP BY: Thomas Becker/for UPEI Athletics

PHOTOS BY: Janessa Hogan/for UPEI Athletics