Panthers tune up for make-up game vs. Cougars on Wednesday

There is most likely not one person who enjoys the game more than Peninsula Panthers 18-year-old power-forward Braedan Pearce.  He is usually the first on the ice and always the last one to leave.  And on Friday night after scoring once and adding three helpers in what was his biggest offensive outburst in his two-year Junior Hockey career, he probably loves the game even more.

The Panthers welcomed in the visiting Oceanside Generals in an important game for the Club.  The "Cats" are still looking North in the standings to the Kerry Park Islanders, a team that they will play in the final regular season game on February 13th at the Panorama Recreation Centre.  Going into the game the Panthers trailed in VIJHL South Division standings by five points with only five games remaining and so it made the game against the Generals a "must win."

The Panthers had a so-so 15-minute warmup and one that was a bit concerning to Head Coach Rob Mortin.  "We have been starting slowly and so I was not happy with the way we were jumping in the warmup.  I mentioned it to Pete (Zubersky) but he brushed it off.  In fact, he said he had seen bad warmups in the past and the team came out with guns blazing."  And that is exactly what happened.

Sean Buchanan, Kai Turner and Hunter Frampton -with a hammer from the point - all scored power play markers before the game was six minutes old and it looked like this one might just end up to be a laugher.  And the onslaught contined in the 2nd frame when Turner added his 2nd of the night at the 1:15 mark, again on the power play.  Pearce made it 5-0 when a shot off the stick of 16-year-old rookie Conner Mowatt bounced off his ankle.  But the Generals were not quite ready to take their marching orders for the night.  At 12:54 Logan Savard beat Panthers' netminder Alex Olson on the glove side and then with only 17 seconds left in the stanza the Panthers got caught pushing for their 6th tally and gave up a 4-on-1 chance.  And Mathiew Jallabert made no mistake getting the Generals to within three goals when he cleanly beat Olson.

The Panthers were whistled early and often in the third period, a marked departure from a trend over the last 20 games that has seen the team as the most disciplined club in the VIJHL.  "We had a hard time understanding all of the calls and it took all the momentum out of the game," explained Zubersky.  "We have not run into this situation for the past couple of months but I suppose this happens on occasion and is part of the game and we managed to get through it."

The Generals scored twice by the 12:06 mark of the 3rd period on goals by Teddy Bailey and Joshua Carless-Jones on the power play and the two teams went back and forth over the closing minutes.  The Generals called a time-out with just under two minutes remaining and pulled goaltender David Anderson for the extra attacker and with the face-off in the Panthers end.  Pearce won the draw and then with the help of Turner, the two were able to move the puck from the defensive zone and onto the stick of Josh Poland as he roared through the neutral zone.  Poland went 1-on-1 with an Oceanside defender and showed unusual patience waiting before pulling the trigger into a wide open net.  The Generals pulled Anderson once again and with only 12 ticks left in the game, Mowatt let a shot go from the blueline that found nothing but net to seal a 7-4 win.

The Panthers hit the ice again this Wednesday evening, February 4th when they welcome in the Victoria Cougars for a game that was rescheduled after a power outage cancelled last Friday's affair.  The game will start at 6:30 pm - an hour before their regular start time.  And next Friday night the Panthers will continue their chase of the Kerry Park Islanders when they welcome in the visiting Westshore Wolves.