Young Panthers win again at home 5-2 against Islanders

If home cooking makes the heart grow fonder, the Peninsula Panthers want more home cooking.  After thumping the visiting Kerry Park Islanders in convincing fashion by a 5-2 count, the two Clubs will do it all over again Saturday evening in Mill Bay to complete the back end of the home-and-home pair of games.

On Friday night in front of a sparse crowd in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre, the Panthers were full value for the win.  Alex Olson blocked 22 of 24 shots directed his way while tending goal for the Panthers while Chase Anderson in goal for the visitors was chased at the 2:51 mark of the 2nd stanza after allowing three Panthers markers.  Ty Rennie mopped up for the Islanders and only allowed a single tally.

The local "Cats" clawed their way to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes were completed on goals by 16-year-old Marty Westhaver and 17-year-old Cam Thompson.  Westhaver scored at the 3:34 mark when he sped down the left wing and unleashed a high shot that bounced off the mask of Anderson.  The rebound popped right back onto Westhaver's stick and the 2nd opportunity proved to be one chance too many for the Islander's target.  Westhaver pounded it past the surprised netminder to give the Panthers the early lead.  Both teams played a tight-checking affair for the rest of the period however with only 14 seconds remaining, Panthers Kai Turner picked up a puck in the neutral zone right in front of the Panthers bench.  He backhanded a pass to Thompson who was coming through the zone with a full head of steam and after a fortunate bounce went past the Islanders defender, Thompson found himself in alone with Anderson.  And he made no mistake putting the disk to the back of the net giving his mates a boost going into the 1st intermission.

Not getting the puck in deep cost the Panthers early in the 2nd stanza.  The Islanders countered quickly on the rush and Keegan Eddy made no mistake in beating Olson to pull his Club within a goal.  But the Panthers Hunter Frampton had the answer.....actually two answers.  Frampton who had been out of the lineup for the past five weeks came in on Anderson and made no mistake putting a shot past him to give the Panthers their two-goal cushion once again.  And it would be Frampton who would score the goal that was a back breaker for the Islanders when with only 18 ticks to go in the 2nd period he found paydirt once again after a long shift, this time against Islanders backup Ty Rennie.

The two teams exchanged a couple chances in the final frame but both Olson and Rennie held firm.  With just over two minutes remaining and a faceoff set to the left of Olson, the Islanders called their timeout and took the opportunity to yank Rennie for the extra attacker.  Only several seconds later, 17-year-old Michael Neale gathered in the puck and sent it 160 feet down the ice into the yawning cage.  That goal would mark the end of the scoring.

Frampton, Turner who had two helpers and Neale who had a helper to go along with his insurance goal were named the three stars on the night.

"We did a lot of good things out there," explained Coach Rob Mortin.  "We worked on our powerplay a bit this week but we need some more time in that area.  I thought our penalty killers did a great job and there was a minute in the 2nd period when Michael Neale and Koby Hale were simply outstanding on the kill.  We are trying to make the game simple in our own end as we have coughed up a couple games with our defencemen doing too much.  That has been a focus in the last few games and I think that this is one of the reasons that we have put some important wins up on the board.  We have another game against the Islanders tomorrow night and I know that they will be playing hard in their barn.  I expect that our guys will as well."

The Panthers face the Victoria Cougars next Thursday evening and will be back at home next Friday night when they host the red hot Westshore Wolves.  The puck will drop at 7:30 pm.

Panthers Tracks....The Toronto Blue Jays were playing in Game 6 of the ALCS on Friday and the result was one of the more sparse crowds in a long while....Frampton's two markers were the first time he has had a multi-goal game in the VIJHL....Michael Sproule was out of action due to an injury and but should be back in 7-10 days.....The rest of the Club is healthy....A "Celebration of Life" for long time Peninsula Panthers equipment manager Larry Orr will take place this coming Thursday, October 29th at the Panorama Recreation Centre "B" Arena at 1:00 pm.....After the ceremony is over, the venue will change to the Tennis Bubble for refreshments....