Last shot wins in 8-7 Wolves overtime victory over Panthers

It was a game that had more ups and downs than a yo-yo tournament but in the end, the Westshore Wolves were the Club that took the last shot and beat the Peninsula Panthers 8-7 in an exciting overtime affair.  The Panthers do not have the luxury of spending time licking their wounds as they host the Saanich Braves this coming Monday, Family day at the usual 7:30 pm start.

Wolves' tough guy Tyler Smith scored twice in the 1st frame to give the visitors a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes; a period in which the Panthers deserved a better fate.  The boys from the Peninsula outshot the Wolves 15-11 however, Chris Smith between the pipes was perfect going into the intermission.

But in the 2nd stanza it was the Panthers who would get on the scoresheet first when at the 5:41 Hunter Frampton simply outhustled and outworked the Wolves defence before moving the puck to hard-working Cody Allison in front.  Allison somehow managed to get the puck up from in close and the effort was good enough to beat a very surprised Smith.  Frampton, who usually plays on the back end, was up front on a line consisting of Allison and another converted defenceman in Brett Carpendale.  Although he struggled in the first 20 minutes looking to feel comfortable, Frampton was very effective the rest of the way and would later add a goal of his own.  The same could be said for Carpendale who had two assists on the night.  The Panthers controlled play for most of the middle period however, Adam Page and Connor Kruppa beat Panthers starter Alex Olson with two quick goals midway through the stanza to give the Wolves a convincing 4-1 lead after 40 minutes were in the books.  The Panthers outshot the Wolves 18-8 in the period and were outshooting and outworking their opponents and held a wide 33-18 shots advantage.

Head Coach Rob Mortin addressed his squad as the zamboni greased and prepared the sheet for the 3rd period and the "Never say quit" Panthers came out of the chute with some energy and purpose to start the 3rd.  And Braedan Pearce on a helper from Kai Turner waisted no time in getting the Panthers back into the game when he beat Smith in the first minute of play.  Later at the 5:12 mark, Drayson Lum found himself all alone in front of Smith and he unselfishly dished off to linemate Torin O'Brien who quickly lifted the puck behind the Wolves netminder bringing the score to 4-3.  But it would be the Wolves who would stop the momentum when two minutes later Clay Carson snapped one past Olson to make it 5-3 and it looked liked the Wolves were howling once again.  But the feeling would be short-lived and at this point proceedings became significantly more than interesting!  Rugged Panthers defenceman Sean Buchanan scored on the Power Play at the 9:06 mark and then Koby Hale beat Smith twice and Frampton blasted in a shot of his own to give the home squad a 7-5 lead with only 10:22 having been played in the 3rd period.  The Panthers had just scored four goals in 1:16 of play and it had the pundits heading for the record books to see if the offensive outburst was the fastest four goals in Club history.   With a 7-5 lead and all the momentum in the "Cats" favour it looked like this one might be over as the Wolves used their timeout in an attempt to halt the offensive onslaught. 

A shaken Chris Smith skated from the Wolves net to be replaced by Blake Pearson.  Smith had allowed 6 goals on 7 shots in just half of the 3rd period after having been the story of the game throughout the first 40 minutes.  The move seemed to breathe some life into the visitors and they started to see some time in the offensive zone.  And with just 4:30 remaining, the diminutive and crafty Cory Hatcher beat Olson to get the game to within a goal and then Wolves James Severs scored at the 17:33 mark to tie it at 7-7 and send the affair into overtime. 

The Panthers were killing a penalty early in the extra frame as the Wolves buzzed the Panthers net and although they managed some scoring chances, Olson held firm.  But just as Panthers O'Brien stepped onto the ice from the sin bin, Severs gathered in the disk and snapped the winner past Olson just 1:19 into the extra frame.  A silenced and shocked crowd departed the Panorama Recreation Centre after having just witnessed an incredible and improbable nine-goal 3rd period and an 8-7 Wolves win. 

Smith and Pearson blocked 36 of 43 shots in picking up the win while Olson was good on 21 of 29 Wolves shots.  Wolves Cory Hatcher was named the game's 1st star while Hale and Pearce picked up the 2nd and 3rd stars respectively.

The Saanich Braves will be in Kerry Park to take on the Islanders on Saturday night before they head out to the Peninsula on Monday evening to meet the Panthers for the last time in the regular season.  And the Panthers will close out the regular season next Friday night when they host the visiting Islanders.  The game will feature the Panthers 3rd jersey for the PMHA Appreciation game.