Captain Charlie scores twice as Huskies defeat Panthers 4-3

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI - Saint Mary's captain Charlie Da Fonseca scored two goals in 31 seconds, leading the Huskies to a come-from-behind 4-3 win over the UPEI Panthers in Atlantic University Sport men's hockey action on Saturday night in Charlottetown, PEI.

The Panthers opened the scoring with a powerplay goal from forward Donovan Arsenault, 12:29 into the first period. UPEI outshot Saint Mary's 14-7 through the opening 20 minutes, and took a 1-0 lead into first intermission.

But the Huskies equalized just 16 seconds into the second period, with a powerplay goal from defenceman Ethan Ritchie, assisted by Charlie Da Fonseca and Derek Gentile, tying the game at 1-1.

UPEI answered with a pair of goals from Simon Hughes and Keiran Gallant to take a 3-1 lead midway through the period.

That's when Da Fonseca delivered, scoring two goals in a span of 31 seconds to tie the game. First, with the Huskies on the powerplay Charlie received a pass from defenceman Jacob Holmes and quickly cut in on goal, making a deke before beating Jakob Robillard over his pad to cut the Panthers lead to 3-2 at the 13:47 mark.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Charlie Da Fonseca scores a powerplay goal to cut the Panthers lead to 3-2 in the second!

��C. Da Fonseca (8)
��J. Holmes pic.twitter.com/E19CZEHHAg

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 8, 2026

Just 31 seconds later, the Huskies cycled the puck back to Holmes who fired a point shot that was stopped by Robillard, but Da Fonseca jumped on the rebound and stuffed it in, tying the game at 3-3, 14:18 into play.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Da Fonseca double double! Captain Charlie scores two goals in 31 seconds to tie the Panthers 3-3 in the second period!

��C. Da Fonseca (9)
��J. Holmes
��D. Gentile pic.twitter.com/9ABlOtjSPt

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 8, 2026

The Panthers continued to outshoot the Huskies, 14-12 in the second period, but Saint Mary's goaltender Marcus Vandenberg made several great saves, and the teams headed into the third period tied at 3-3.

Vandenberg continued to stand on his head throughout the early moments of the third period, as the Panthers heavily outshot the Huskies thanks in part to back-to-back powerplay chances.

The Huskies defence paid dividends, as 7:40 into the period, forward Davis Cooper sparked Will Chisholm on a breakaway, and Chisholm fired a top corner wrist shot to give the Huskies a 4-3 lead, which would hold on for the final score.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Will Chisholm wins it! His third period breakaway goal puts the Huskies ahead for good, 4-3!

��W. Chisholm (8)
��D. Cooper pic.twitter.com/eaoJDjPOUO

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 8, 2026

UPEI outshot Saint Mary's 43-24 on the night, but Marcus Vandenberg was huge for the Huskies, stopping 40 shots, while Jakob Robillard made 20 saves in defeat.

Da Fonseca was named Player of the Game, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Derek Gentile and Jacob Holmes each added two assists for the Huskies.

The Huskies win improves their record to 15-10-1-2 on the season, fourth in the AUS standings. Saint Mary's will next visit the STFX X-Men (11-13-0-3) on Friday, Feb. 13 in Antigonish, N.S., before returning home for their final game of the season, as they'll host the Dalhousie Tigers (2-23-2-1) on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Dauphinee Centre. GET TICKETS

The Panthers loss drops their record to 16-12-0-0 on the season, fifth in the AUS standings. The Panthers will finish the regular season next weekend on the road in New Brunswick, as they visit the UNB REDS (18-8-2-0) on Friday, Feb. 13, and Moncton Aigles Bleus (19-6-1-1) on Saturday, Feb. 14.

Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Janssa Vanden Broek / UPEI Panthers Athletics