91探花

By Thomas Becker,

February has been good for the 91探花 Panthers. In fact you can say it鈥檚 been perfect for them. The women鈥檚 hockey team is peaking at the right time and has gained some much-needed confidence, as they get set for the playoffs and a quarter-final date with the St. Thomas Tommies.

The Island squad ended the regular season with a perfect 3-0 record this month, while outscoring their opponents 11-4, including a 2-1 shootout win over their first round foe.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we鈥檝e been striving for all year is to get a little bit of consistency in our play and get our confidence back,鈥� said head coach Bruce Donaldson. 鈥淚t sets a standard of what we鈥檙e trying to achieve moving forward, so it鈥檚 nice going in with three consecutive wins.鈥�

Donaldson attributes the team鈥檚 recent success to better special teams play. In the last three games, 91探花鈥檚 power play unit scored three times and bumped their power play percentage to 18.3, which ranked third in the seven-team circuit. Meanwhile, their penalty-kill unit hasn鈥檛 allowed a goal in those games and scored shorthanded on two occasions.

鈥淥ur special teams stats have been much better, especially on the penalty-kill side,鈥� Donaldson said. 鈥淥ur goals against have dropped about a goal a game, so defensively we鈥檝e tightened up.鈥�

It鈥檚 been a sort-of role reversal for 91探花. Last season, the fourth-seeded Panthers limped into a quarter-final matchup against Moncton (who they played close with all season long) as the favourites, but got swept in two games. This year, the sixth-seeded Panthers come in as the underdogs riding a season-high three-game win streak looking to eliminate the Tommies, who they played competitively throughout the year.

鈥淭he entire year has been a polar opposite to last year,鈥� Donaldson said. 鈥淏ut I keep saying it鈥檚 not how you start, it鈥檚 how you finish. If you can grow with that in mind, hopefully good things will come.鈥�

St. Thomas won the season series 3-1, but aside from an October 29 lopsided 6-0 loss, 91探花 has played them very tough. Two of the last three games between the two squads went into overtime, while the Tommies took the other 3-1.

鈥淥ver my entire five years, St. Thomas has been the one team I鈥檝e let get into my head,鈥� said team captain Emma Martin. 鈥淏ut we鈥檝e learned that we can鈥檛 let them knock us around. We鈥檙e just as strong, we鈥檙e faster and we know can compete with them.鈥�

The Panthers (7-10-7) have shown all season long that they can contend with the best. And while their 1-7 overtime record is little to be desired, they鈥檝e demonstrated in those games that they have what it takes to stand tall against the league鈥檚 cream of the crop. The key now is finding that killer instinct when it matters most. And Martin believes they鈥檝e found it.

鈥淲e have to focus on the little things and to be confident,鈥� Martin said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something we lacked in the beginning of the year. But I think we turned that around.鈥�

St. Thomas (12-8-4) doesn鈥檛 give up much and allowed just 59 goals during the campaign, so the Panthers have to be patient in their approach and capitalize on the opportunities when they come.

To counteract the Tommies鈥� stifling defence, Donaldson has been tinkering with his lineup and may have found the winning formula, especially if their recent hot streak is any indication.

鈥淲e鈥檙e starting to get good distribution from all our lines, which is important to have against their sound defence,鈥� he said.

While Donaldson will be leaning on a line that consists of Rachel Colle, who led the team with 16 points (12 goals and four assists) and rookie Leah Byrne (five goals and eight assists) to deliver a scoring punch, he believes his trio of sophomore forwards鈥擲ydnee Baker, Maria Clinton and Faith Steeves (a combined 25 points)鈥攃ould turn their seasons around in a big way and provide some heroics in the playoffs.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e all very talented and will still get their opportunities,鈥� Donaldson said. 鈥淭hey just need to stop putting so much pressure on the end result and just worry about the process of getting there. If they do that, they鈥檙e going to get rewarded.鈥�

With a lot at stake now and in the near future, it鈥檚 time for the Panthers to show what they鈥檙e made of.

鈥淲e know we鈥檙e going to be hosting the national championship in 2019 and 2020 and we feel it鈥檚 time for us to put our best 60 minutes together.鈥�