ORANGE, Calif. – The Poets defeated the Chapman Panthers in a crucial SCIAC matchup on Saturday. With both teams battling for a spot in the conference tournament, Whittier came away with a 16-12 victory.
Pedro Carvalho opened the scoring with a power-play goal, giving the Poets an early 1-0 lead. After Chapman tied the game, Carvalho struck again at 4:34 to put Whittier back in front, 2-1. The Panthers responded with three consecutive goals to take a 4-2 advantage, but Carvalho completed his first-period hat trick with just under two minutes remaining. Whittier entered the second period trailing 4-3.
The Poets opened the second with three unanswered goals. Daniel Totev scored twice before Jason Dickson found the back of the net to put Whittier ahead 6-4. Chapman answered with back-to-back goals to tie the contest at six. Totev then became the second Poet to record a hat trick, scoring with 2:42 remaining. The Panthers converted a penalty shot just 25 seconds later, sending both teams into halftime tied at seven apiece.
Chapman struck first in the third period, but Tal Fotin and Dickson responded with consecutive goals to give Whittier a 9-8 lead. After the Panthers evened the score at nine, Dickson converted a penalty shot, followed by a power-play goal from Louis Hacket to extend the advantage to 11-9. Hacket added his second goal of the period, while Carvalho netted his fourth with just seven seconds remaining to give the Poets a 13-11 lead entering the final frame.
Both defenses held strong early in the fourth period before Dickson scored to increase Whittier's lead to 14-11. Chapman cut the deficit to two with 1:48 remaining, but Ivan Cardenas answered with a goal at the 29-second mark. Totev capped off the victory with his fourth goal of the game, securing the 16-12 win.
Carvalho, Dickson and Totev each finished with four goals, while Fotin and goalkeeper Mike Hale recorded two assists apiece. Hale also made 10 saves, and Totev contributed two assists.
Whittier now sits in fifth place in the SCIAC standings, currently occupying a spot in the conference tournament play-in match. Chapman sits just behind the Poets in the standings.
Whittier returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 28, when the Poets travel to face the Occidental Tigers at 7 p.m. Catch all the action on
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