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Johnson's hat-trick powers Huskies to 6-4 win over Panthers
Posted: Jan 24, 2025

Johnson's hat-trick powers Huskies to 6-4 win over Panthers

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Scoring Summary
1st - 05:29 - Ben McFarlane (UPEI)
2nd - 05:31 - PP - Kaleb Pearson (UPEI)
2nd - 06:13 - Bradey Johnson (Saint Mary's)
2nd - 09:02 - Bradey Johnson (Saint Mary's)
2nd - 12:35 - Bradey Johnson (Saint Mary's)
2nd - 16:49 - PP - Kaleb Pearson (UPEI)
3rd - 04:48 - Luke Vardy (Saint Mary's)
3rd - 18:57 - SH - EN - Derek Gentile (Saint Mary's)
3rd - 19:07 - PP - Elias Cohen (UPEI)
3rd - 19:35 - SH - EN - Derek Gentile (Saint Mary's)
Game Leaders
Saint Mary's
G: Bradey Johnson - 3
A: 3 Players (#8, #15, #26) - 2
Sh: Derek Gentile - 6
Sv: Ben West - 33
UPEI
G: Kaleb Pearson - 2
A: Kurtis Henry - 3
Sh: Elias Cohen - 6
Sv: Joe Ranger - 25
Team Stats
Full stats

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI - Saint Mary's forward Bradey Johnson scored a natural hat-trick, while Derek Gentile added two goals and an assist, as the Huskies defeated the UPEI Panthers 6-4 in Atlantic University Sport men's hockey action on Friday night at MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown, PEI.

It was the Panthers who took an early lead, with forward Ben McFarlane scoring at 5:29 in the first period. The Panthers outshot the Huskies 14-12 through the opening 20 minutes, and took a 1-0 lead into first intermission.

The Panthers added a powerplay goal at 5:31 of the second period, as forward Kaleb Pearson scored on a one-timer from Kurtis Henry, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead.

But the Huskies came back in a hurry, thanks to the heroics of forward Bradey Johnson (Lindsay, ON). Less than a minute after Pearson doubled the lead, Johnson got one back as he deflected a point shot from defenceman Ben Roger (Brighton, ON) past Panthers goaltender Joe Ranger, cutting the lead to 2-1, 6:13 into the second period.

Less than three minutes later, Johnson struck again. Johnson carried the puck into the Panthers zone and slid a pass to teammate Will Chisholm (Lunenburg, NS), who was unable to get a clean shot off, but Johnson jumped on the loose puck to tie the game at 2-2, 9:02 into the second period.

Johnson would complete the natural hat-trick just over three minutes later, taking a pass from defenceman Connor Olson (London, ON) and firing a shot from an awkward angle that fooled Ranger. Johnson's third of the night and 11th of the season gave the Huskies a 3-2 lead, 12:35 into the second period.

But the Panthers equalized before the period was over, with Kaleb Pearson scoring his second powerplay goal of the period, tying the game at 3-3, 16:49 into the second.

The Panthers once again outshot the Huskies 15-10 in the second period, but the two teams headed into second intermission tied 3-3 on the scoreboard. 

Just under five minutes into the third period, the Huskies retook the lead for good, as defender Ben Roger sparked Derek Gentile (Sydney, NS) on a three-on-two. Gentile played a cross-ice pass to teammate Connor Trenholm (Cole Harbour, NS) who was denied by Joe Ranger, but defenceman Luke Vardy (Hammonds Plains, NS) jumped on the rebound to score. Vardy's second career AUS goal gave the Huskies a 4-3 lead, 4:48 into the third period.

The Panthers went on the powerplay with just over a minute remaining and pulled their goalie, and AUS leading scorer Derek Gentile took advantage, beating a pair of Panthers to a loose puck to give the Huskies a 5-3 advantage with 1:02 remaining in regulation.

UPEI got one back just 10 seconds later, as Elias Cohen scored a powerplay goal right off the face-off. But Gentile wasn't done, as he took a pass from Connor Olson and scored his second empty net goal, with his 16th goal and U SPORTS leading 37th point of the season securing the Huskies 6-4 victory. 

The Panthers outshot the Huskies 37-31 on the night, but Ben West was solid, stopping 33 shots, while Joe Ranger made 25 saves in defeat.

Bradey Johnson was named Player of the Game with three goals. Derek Gentile (two goals, one assist), Ben Roger (two assists) and Connor Olson (two assists) also recorded multi-point nights for the Huskies.

With the win, the Huskies improve to 14-8-2-0 on the campaign, good for second place in the AUS standings, and have an inside track on clinching a bye to the semi-finals. Saint Mary's will be back on the road next weekend, visiting the UNB REDS (20-1-1-0) on Friday, Jan. 31 and Moncton Aigles Bleues (13-8-2-0) on Saturday, Feb. 1, with both games dropping the puck at 7 p.m.

The Panthers loss drops their record to 7-14-0-1. UPEI will next head to Wolfville, NS to face the Acadia Axemen (10-11-1-1) on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m.