Panthers bounce Bucs 3-1 in Hub City action and prepare for the Braves on New Years Day

With just over four minutes left in the game, 18-year-old Kai Turner gathered in the puck on the wall in his own end however, a Nanaimo Bucs forward was bearing down on him.  Turner took a hit but muscled past the would-be checker and managed to push the puck out of the Panthers end and into the neutral zone.  And that play really summed up the play of a gritty Peninsula Panthers effort on the evening.  At the time the Panthers were up 3-1 and the final score remained that way and plays like the one made by Turner might not have shown up on the scoresheet after the game, but were huge in determining the outcome.

"I thought that might have been our best team game of the year," explained Pete Zubersky.  "We put the puck in the right spots in all areas of the ice and the kids really bought into the type of hockey we need to play to win games.  A couple times we had guys who were not defensively responsible however, those were few and far between and the outcome showed that.  I thought we could have had more traffic in front of the Bucs net especially on the power play and we will look at getting the players to buy into that as well.  I was really pleased with the effort."

The game did not start out well for the Panthers.  Perhaps it was "Bus legs" after driving up from Victoria or perhaps it was just a young squad that still does not understand the importance of playing 60 minutes but for whatever reason, the Club came out flat.  And the Buccaneers' Jared Fedosoff made them pay early when he beat Panthers goaltender Alex Olson only 2:30 into the 1st frame.  And it was almost all Bucs for the first ten minutes before the light went on.  Midway through the 1st frame the Bucs were outshooting the Panthers 6-4 but the home squad would not have another shot in the frame and the Panthers would go on to outshoot them 12-6.  The visitors went on the powerplay late in the stanza and after a Kyle Richardson blast from the point at the 17:46 mark, 18-year-old Braedan Pearce was in the right place at the right time to tap the puck behind Bucs goaltender Greg Maggio to tie the game going into the break.

And the Panthers would strike on the power play once again.  Sean Buchanan unleashed a shot from the point that smashed into the body of Turner who was screening down low on Maggio.  The puck seemed to get caught in the upper paraphernalia of Turner but it then dropped to the ice and onto the stick of Josh Poland who banged it past Maggio.  It was not pretty but it counted and it was the kind of tally that the coaching staff has been looking for from the young Panthers squad.  And then Buchanan gave the Club a 3-1 lead with just over five minutes left in the frame when he picked up the puck in his own end, dashed down the left side and at full speed snapped a blistering shot to the top of the cage past Maggio. 

As the ice was being greased between periods in the 2nd intermission, the Panthers were preparing for a torrid final period.  But Fedosoff was whistled for roughing only 1:36 into the period and then Robert Mitchell was called for a delay of game only 10 seconds later and the Panthers went on an extended two-man advantage.  They had several chances however wasted the opportunity to bury the Bucs and once again traffic in front was clearly not visible.  But the two-man advantage seemed to take the steam out of the Bucs and the Panthers continued to control the game as the minutes and then seconds ticked off the clock.  Maggio was pulled with two minutes to go however, a faceoff was forced deep inside the Bucs end and he was forced back into the cage.  There would be no further scoring.

Olson blocked 17 of 18 shots directed his way while Maggio was the busier of the two and was good on 26 of 29 attempts.  Buchanan, Richardson and Fedosoff were named the three stars.

With the win, the Panthers moved further away from the Oceanside Generals in VIJHL standings but put them back in the conversation with the Saanich Braves.  The Braves are 6 points up however, the win over the Bucs set up a big game on New Year's Day at the Panorama when the Panthers host the Braves in a classic 4-pointer.

"I really like how our kids are responding right now," explained Head Coach Rob Mortin.  "We were talking about it on the bus on the way home and felt that it was our most complete game of the year.  We had a couple good practices on Sunday and Monday after the Christmas Break, discussing some issues we felt we could improve upon.  We have a lot of work to do but we will enjoy this one for now.  It sets up an important game on January 1 against the Braves; should be a lot of fun."

The Panthers play on Thursday...New Year's Day...when the puck drops a bit earlier than usual at 6:00 pm, and will be right back at home again the following night when on Friday the Club plays host to the Kerry Park Islanders.  The puck will drop at the usual time of 7:30 pm on Friday night.