Panthers at Home

Season preview contributed by Thomas Becker

 

The 糖心vlog官方入口 Men's Hockey Panthers are a team on the hunt.

After upsetting the Acadia Axemen in the AUS quarterfinals last season but losing to the eventual national champions, the UNB Varsity Reds, the Panthers are hoping to use that experience as their championship pursuit begins.

To combat the inevitable injury bug that decimated their lineup last season, the Panthers armed themselves with a group of skilled recruits who will provide much-needed depth to their lineup.

鈥淭he teams that do well in our league are able to protect themselves against injuries, suspensions and illness,鈥 said Panthers head coach Forbes MacPherson. 鈥淎t this time last year, we felt like we had a pretty good team. But all of sudden three weeks into the regular season, and we were down three top-six forwards and we just couldn鈥檛 recover from it.鈥

Now, after a successful offseason in which they acquired 10 new players, the Panthers are eager to hit the ice when it all matters Saturday night.

鈥淲e had a big recruiting year, both in quantity and quality,鈥 the coach said. 鈥淏ottom line, we just had to get better and we had to get deeper and I think we did that.鈥

Strong relationships with past and current Panthers helped make the acquisitions possible, promising their new linemates a small but welcoming school with a hockey program gearing up for a championship run.

鈥淲e wanted to bring in players who have all the qualities we are looking for in a person and as a player.鈥

Among them are former NHL prospects Austin Levi (third-round pick by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2010) and Cody Payne (fifth-round pick by the Boston Bruins in 2012), Kurt Etchegary (former captain of QMJHL鈥檚 Quebec Remparts), Beau McCue (Tri-City Americans of the WHL), J.C. Campagna (St. Thomas Tommies), Riley Whittingham and Bobby Zinkan (Summerside Western Capitals).

鈥淔rom a hockey perspective, they increase our skill level.鈥

Forwards Payne, Etchegary, McCue, Campagna and Whittingham will help shore up an offence that struggled to score at times, notching just 78 goals in 28 games 鈥 the fewest of any playoff team. They鈥檒l join winger Marcus Power (32 points) and P.E.I.鈥檚 own Brent Andrews (25 points) to form a skilled attack that will have opponents scrambling for answers.

鈥淲e won鈥檛 be relying on one or two players to carry the workload offensively,鈥 said MacPherson. 鈥淚t鈥檒l be more of an offence-by-committee and that will make us more difficult to go up against. We鈥檙e going to get everyone involved so our depth becomes an asset.鈥

Physically the Panthers are a bigger team, built with the strength necessary to push top-tier teams like UNB and St. FX off the puck while making their rivals uncomfortable throughout the game.

鈥淲e have to use our size, physicality and aggression on the forecheck to make an impact.鈥

Led by all-star and Summerside native Ryan MacKinnon and fellow defenceman Nelson Armstrong, the defence aims to improve after allowing 100 goals in the 2015-16 campaign 鈥 the third highest of any team.

While Levi鈥檚 NHL experience will be felt behind the blue line, the key to success will likely come down to sound fundamentals and a team approach that MacPherson has been preaching throughout training camp.

Longtime Panther Mavric Parks鈥 place between the pipes has been taken over by Matt Mahalak, who is expected to get the majority of the starts this season. Mahalak put together a respectable season as a reserve, posting a 2.77 goals against average with a .917 save percentage. Connor Wilkinson, meanwhile, will serve as Mahalak鈥檚 backup.

鈥淭he two goalies left behind are going to be handed the keys and we believe they can get the job done.鈥

While the (AUS) conference has a lot to offer in terms of national superiority (UNB, St. FX and Saint Mary鈥檚 finished as CIS鈥檚 top ranked teams), the Panthers aren鈥檛 ready to just hand over a championship. They鈥檒l have a lot to say about it when the puck drops for real on Saturday.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to be the most competitive year ever for this conference. Anybody who鈥檚 watched our team over the last few years knows when they buy a ticket, they鈥檙e going to see a very fast-paced, competitive, hard-hitting, aggressive hockey team.鈥

Catch the Panthers at home on October 8 when they take on the defending national champions the UNB Varsity Reds at MacLauchlan Arena. Puck drops at 7 pm.

It鈥檚 not too late to purchase your Panther Package, the best sports deal on Prince Edward Island! Your $75 season ticket gets you into every home Panther home game, in every sport (except Men鈥檚 Hockey). Find more details at .

Dr. James Moran delivers the inaugural 2016 Shannon Lecture

糖心vlog官方入口鈥檚 Dr. James Moran delivered the first of the 2016 Shannon Lectures at Carleton University. This year, the Shannon Lectures examine the social, intellectual and cultural history of health, sickness, disease and medicine. Dr. Moran鈥檚 lecture was entitled 鈥淭rials of Madness: Civil Law and Lunacy in a Trans-Atlantic World During the 18th and 19th Centuries.鈥

Dr. Moran is an associate professor in the history department at the 糖心vlog官方入口. He researches and writes about the history of disease, medicine, and mental health. Recent publications include, 鈥楾ravails of Madness: New Jersey, 1800-1870鈥, in Waltraud Ernst, ed., Work Therapy, Psychiatry and Society, c. 1750 鈥 2010 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2016) and, with Dr. Lisa Chilton, 鈥楳ad Migrants and the Reach of English Civil Law,鈥 in Marjory Harper ed., The Past and Present of Migration and Mental Health (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016). He is in the completion stages of a book entitled, Madness on Trial: English Civil Law and Lunacy in trans-Atlantic Context.

糖心vlog官方入口 announces the Panther Subway Athletes of the Week, October 3-9

UPDATE: Matt Mahalak has also ! Congratulations, Matt!

Every week, 糖心vlog官方入口 Athletics and Recreation recognizes two student-athletes for their hard work and dedication to their respective sports. Congratulations to Carolina Del Santo (women鈥檚 basketball) and Matt Mahalak (men鈥檚 hockey), the 糖心vlog官方入口 Panther Subway Athletes of the week for October 3-9!

Matt Mahalak is a third-year Business student and a goalie from Monroe, Michigan. With Mahalek between the pipes, the 糖心vlog官方入口 Men鈥檚 Hockey team won back-to-back games in the last week. The Panthers beat Universit茅 de Moncton 7-5, and won against the University of New Brunswick in an overtime shootout. 鈥淢att played very well for us on the weekend,鈥 said coach Forbes MacPherson. 鈥淚t was important for Matty to get off on the right foot, and with two wins and 60 saves, he was a key factor in our two-win week.鈥

Carolina Del Santo comes to the 糖心vlog官方入口 Women鈥檚 Basketball team from Barcelona, Spain. The first-year science student kicked off her career as a Panther at the Concordia tournament in Montreal, pulling a double-double in her final two games. She scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against the University of Ottawa, and 14 points and 10 rebounds against the University of Guelph. She shot over 50% from the field and was selected to the tournament all-star team. 鈥淐arolina played very well at the Concordia tournament getting better in each of our three games,鈥 said coach Greg Gould. 鈥淪he gives us the low-post presence that we have been lacking. She not only gives us scoring and rebounding, but is someone who can defend opposing posts exceptionally well. I feel that as Carolina gets more experience at the CIS level she will become a dominant force in the AUS.鈥

Congratulations Carolina and Matt!

It鈥檚 not too late to purchase your Panther Package, the best sports deal on Prince Edward Island! Your $75 season ticket gets you into every home Panther home game, in every sport (except Men鈥檚 Hockey). Find more details at .

Winter鈥檚 Tales Authors鈥 Reading Series presents Elizabeth Hay

Fiction writer Elizabeth Hay is deservedly blessed with devoted fans across Canada, and PEI is no exception. She will read from her new work, including the novel His Whole Life, on Friday, October 21, at 7:30 pm in the 糖心vlog官方入口 Faculty Lounge, SDU Main Building. A reception and book signing will follow.

Novelist Annabel Lyon says of His Whole Life, 鈥淭his most wonderful of novels offers an unsentimental look at the sweetness and pain of boyhood against the backdrop of Quebec鈥檚 independence movement in the 1990s. Conflicts large and small between city and country, French and English, [Canadian] wife and [American] husband, mother and son play out in Elizabeth Hay鈥檚 signature tender but incisive prose.鈥

His Whole Life partly grows out of Hay鈥檚 experience of marrying an American and having dual-citizen children, her lasting regret for not getting her son a dog when he wanted one at age ten, and a question he asked during a camping trip: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the worst thing you鈥檝e ever done?鈥

Hay鈥檚 fictional worlds reflect her loving embrace of the landscapes and communities where she has lived, from her childhood years in Owen Sound and the Bruce Peninsula to a richly influential adolescent stay in England. Her adulthood and writing career have found her in Yellowknife, Winnipeg, New York City, Latin America, and now Old Ottawa South and her mother鈥檚 home region of the Ottawa Valley.

Her numerous prize and nominations include the Giller Prize for Late Nights on Air, the Ottawa Book Award for Garbo Laughs, and being a finalist twice for the Governor General鈥檚 Award for Fiction for Small Change and A Student of Weather. In 2002 she was honoured with the Marian Engel Award for a woman writer in mid-career.

Winter鈥檚 Tales is sponsored by the 糖心vlog官方入口 English Department, Faculty of Arts, and the office of the Vice-President Academic and Research, with funding from The Canada Council for the Arts.

The 糖心vlog官方入口 prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions鈥擯rince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan鈥檚 University鈥斕切膙log官方入口 has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. 糖心vlog官方入口 is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.Description: https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif

Robertson Library kicks off 鈥淥pen Pages鈥 series with Time and a Place

糖心vlog官方入口鈥檚 Robertson Library is hosting a new book event series this fall called 鈥淥pen Pages,鈥 which will feature local authors speaking about their books: what inspired them, what they learned, what they shared. The public is warmly invited to this series. Light refreshments will be served. Books will be available for sale and signing.

The first Open Pages features Time and a Place: An Environmental History of PEI, published by Island Studies Press. The event is Wednesday, October 12, 7 pm in the second floor common area of the Robertson Library.

Time and a Place is the first environmental history of Prince Edward Island and the first such history of any Canadian province. It features 12 essays and explores how the Island has evolved from the Ice Age to the Information Age. One of the book鈥檚 strengths is the diversity among its expert authors. They discuss agriculture, fisheries, and forestry with some topics in common, including climate change. They also discuss the human impact on the Island鈥檚 fields, forests, and waters, and in turn, how nature has affected Islanders.

Several of the book鈥檚 contributors plus two of its editors, Dr. Ed MacDonald and marine biologist Dr. Irene Novaczek, will be featured at Open Pages to discuss Time and a Place, and encourage questions on its content.

The 糖心vlog官方入口 prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions鈥擯rince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan鈥檚 University鈥斕切膙log官方入口 has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. 糖心vlog官方入口 is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.Description: https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif

Dr. Edward MacDonald presents Island Studies October Lecture The Romance of Prince Edward Island: A Tour Through the 1941 Visitors' Guide

The Island Studies Lectures Series gets under way for a new season on Tuesday, October 18, at 7 pm in the SDU Main Building Faculty Lounge on the 糖心vlog官方入口 campus. Kicking off the season is 糖心vlog官方入口 historian Dr. Edward MacDonald, who will present a public lecture, 鈥淭he Romance of Prince Edward Island: A Tour Through the 1941 Visitors' Guide.鈥

Along with fellow Islander Dr. Alan MacEachern of the University of Western Ontario, Dr. MacDonald has been working for many years on a history of Prince Edward Island tourism. In 1941, for special reasons, Prince Edward Island dressed itself up as 鈥淭he England of Canada鈥 in a bid to attract war-wary American tourists. One visitor saved the guide, adding their own comments in the margins. Six decades later, that guide has come back to the Island. Its pictures, text, ads, and annotations provide a revealing glimpse into an industry that was still struggling to define itself.

Dr. Edward MacDonald teaches in the History Department at 糖心vlog官方入口. His research focus is the social, cultural, and environmental history of Prince Edward Island. Along with Dr. Josh MacFadyen and Dr. Irene Novaczek, he is co-editor of Time and A Place: An Environmental History of Prince Edward Island, co-published by Island Studies Press and McGill-Queen鈥檚 University Press. The best known of his seven books is If You鈥檙e Stronghearted: Prince Edward Island in the 20th Century (October 2000).

Admission to the lecture is free, and everyone is welcome to attend.

Watch for details for another lecture about islands鈥搉ear and far鈥揘ovember 15. For more information, please contact Laurie at iis@upei.ca or (902)894-2881.

Dr. Robert Gilmour speaks at inaugural Cardiovascular Research Day at OVC

糖心vlog官方入口鈥檚 vice-president academic and research spoke recently at the inaugural Cardiovascular Research Day at the Ontario Veterinary College. In addition to his many duties at 糖心vlog官方入口, Dr. Robert Gilmour is also a prominent cardiovascular researcher. His lab focuses on the cellular mechanisms for the development and suppression of heart rhythm disorders, in particular ventricular fibrillation, which is the leading cause of death in developed nations. A collaborative multidisciplinary approach involving physiologists, physicists, computer scientists, and engineers, as well as human and veterinary cardiologists, is used to develop new and better methods of detecting and treating these life-threatening disorders. His talk was titled 鈥淐ardiac Defibrillation: It鈥檚 been a LEAP Year.鈥

The inaugural research day for the  (CCVI) at the University of Guelph brought together more than 100 researchers, students, and research collaborators. 

New lounge for graduate students!

The 糖心vlog官方入口 Graduate Student Association (GSA), along with 糖心vlog官方入口鈥檚 Vice-President Administration and Finance Jackie Podger and Vice-President Academic and Research Dr. Robert Gilmour, are pleased to announce that the GSA now has a student lounge. The lounge is located in room 403 of the Duffy Science Centre and is available for use by any student currently enrolled in a graduate program at 糖心vlog官方入口. This is a great space to drop in, take a breather, and meet other graduate students on campus. Stay tuned for announcements from the GSA about upcoming events in our new lounge.

Panther Package: your seat is waiting

To celebrate the inaugural basketball season in the new stadium-style seats, 糖心vlog官方入口 Athletics and Recreation is offering reserved, personalized seats to all Panther Package holders for an additional $25.00. The best deal in sports on the Island just got better!

Your Panther Package gets you into every Panther home game of the 2016/2017 season (except men鈥檚 hockey). It costs $75.00 and includes a Panther coin and key chain, poster and pocket schedules, a piece of Panther swag (T-shirt or hat). These can be purchased on-line at gopanthersgo.ca, or at Panther Central (front desk of Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre).

Children are not charged admission to the games, but you can purchase a reserved seat for each child in your family, without the purchase of a Panther Package. Reserved seating will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Sales will commence on Thursday October 13 at 9:00 am.

Stop by Panther Central. Your seat is waiting!

糖心vlog官方入口 posts highest enrolment increase among regional universities

Enrolment at the 糖心vlog官方入口 is reflecting an upward trend once again this year; in fact, 糖心vlog官方入口 tops the region.

The Atlantic Association of Universities (AAU) recently posted its on its website, with data from universities around the region as of October 1, 2016.  糖心vlog官方入口 has grown the most in terms of total full-time undergraduate and graduate enrolment with an increase over last year of 2.8 per cent. The regional average shows a decline of 0.5 per cent.

鈥淲e are working extremely hard in every way we can to highlight the excellent quality of our programs, our faculty, and our unique learning environment at 糖心vlog官方入口,鈥 said Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, 糖心vlog官方入口 President and Vice-Chancellor.

鈥淲e take pride in our collective efforts to provide experiential learning opportunities to our students, to allow them to reach their full potential. This work is paying off in attracting new students, vitally important at a time when demographics are changing.鈥

One way that 糖心vlog官方入口 is overcoming declining high school numbers in the region is by being extremely successful in drawing students from around the world. This year 糖心vlog官方入口 saw a substantial increase of international applications, resulting in 894 international student enrolments, an increase of 19.5 per cent. Of 糖心vlog官方入口鈥檚 total student body, 21 per cent is made up of international students.

鈥淲e warmly welcome this important diversity to our campus,鈥 adds President Abd-El-Aziz.

As of October 1, a total of 4,433 students, both full-time and part-time, were enrolled at 糖心vlog官方入口.

The 糖心vlog官方入口 prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students to reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions鈥擯rince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan鈥檚 University鈥斕切膙log官方入口 has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. 糖心vlog官方入口 is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.