Olson as cool as the other side of the pillow in 2-0 win over Wolves

To win hockey games, a team needs a goaltender that is cool under pressure.  18-year-old Goaltender Alex Olson was perfect in the cage for the Peninsula Panthers on Friday night blocking all 37 shots fired at him and the result was a 2-0 win over the visiting Westshore Wolves.  Olson collected the 1st star selection in the contest and it looked like he had ice running through his veins for the entire 60 minutes.  Yes, this netminder was cool, as cool as the other side of the pillow!

The Panthers have now won 4 of their last 5 games, the only loss coming at the hands of the Saanich Braves and that one by a 1-0 count.  The Club had outshot the Braves 32-20 and simply faced a sharp goaltender but clearly the group is feeling better about themselves and their play and it is showing on the scoreboard.

The Panthers received some bad news earlier in the week when just prior to Wednesday's practice, Head Coach Rob Mortin learned of his Mother's passing back in Ontario.  In practice Wednesday evening the mood was sobering however, there were some good messages for the boys and from the boys.  "Drayson Lum said a few words to me after practice was over and it made a big impact on me," explained Mortin.  "The kids were so supportive, it's the side of hockey that most people have no idea about.  I love being at the rink and tonight this practice gave me a bit of a distraction from everything."

Without their Head Coach, the Club hit the ice Friday night at the usual 7:30 pm.  Owner Pete Zubersky made a quick comment to Olson just before going on the ice, something to the effect of, "Let's put up a win tonight."  Olson's response was short and sweet, "That's the plan."  But for the first several minutes of the period it was clear that the youngster had not told the rest of his team of the plan and he was forced to make a couple key saves early as the Wolves controlled the game from the drop of the puck.  But the Panthers alarm clock went off around the seven minute mark and it was back and forth for the rest of the period.  At the 18:04 mark, speedy Panthers defenceman Spencer Loverock gathered in a puck on the right side just inside the Wolves blueline and after walking down into scoring position he let a hard wristshot go that beat the visitors goaltender Chris Smith to the blocker side.  18-year-old Grayden Hohl and 17-year-old Mitch Newman were awarded assists on the play.  Although there was no further scoring in the first period, both Olson and Smith each blocked 14 shots and both Clubs could have easily cashed in on a couple of those chances.

There was no scoring in the 2nd stanza, the first 15 minutes dominated by the visitors.  But once again the Panthers turned the tables in the final minutes of the period and held onto their slim 1-0 lead after 40 minutes were etched into the books.  The Wolves had a wide 18-7 advantage in the shots on goal and were probably feeling pretty good about their chances going into the 3rd frame.

But the Panthers had other ideas and it showed as the puck was dropped for the final 20 minutes.  It appeared as though someone had jacked up one end of the ice as the Panthers were skating downhill for the rest of the game.  Outshooting the Wolves 17-5 in the period, they added to their lead at the 7:00 mark when Braedan Pearce hit paydirt.  Pearce came off the left wall after being fed by Loverock and Josh Poland and after making a nifty move on a defender snapped a rocket past Smith giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead.  And that would be all she wrote.  The Wolves did not seem to have any pushback and then ran into some discipline problems and this allowed Olson to sit back in his rocking chair down the stretch and simply enjoy the shutout win.

Smith blocked 38 of 40 shots while Olson was perfect on 37 Wolves attempts.  Olson, Loverock and the energy driven Koby Hale were the three stars on the night.

The win sets the stage for next weekend when the Panthers host the Saanich Braves on Friday night at the Panorama Recreation Centre before heading North on Saturday when they will face the Oceanside Generals