The anatomy of a road game with the Peninsula Panthers

It was just past the midway mark of the 3rd period when Peninsula Panthers Michael Neale picked up a loose puck and meandered down the right side through the neutral zone.  The diminutive but gritty 17-year-old, who is affectionately called "Mr.Taekwondo" for having obtained a black belt in the Discipline, dumped the puck softly to the left of Glacier Kings' starting goaltender Paul Broadbent and then dashed into the offensive zone.  He was somewhat impeded just outside the blueline, but his dogged determination paid off as he was first to the puck.  Neale wasted no time in quickly sending a sharp angle shot at the Glacier Kings net, most likely hoping that Broadbent would send out a rebound to either of his wingers, Ben Meyerink or Ty Tremblay.  But there would be no rebound this time as the red light flashed behind the netminder and Neale and his mates lifted their sticks in celebration.  The tally would prove to be the difference in the game as a gritty and determined Panthers group cooled the Glacier Kings by a 3-2 count in regulation time.

The Club had boarded the bus earlier in the day after a short delay.  Cam Thompson had car troubles and Neale cleaned up that matter, picking up the 17-year-old silky-smooth sniper at his residence.  Seventeen-year-old Matt Forbes - who would go on to play his best game of the season - was zigging when he should have been zagging on the way to the pick-up point.  Forbes arrived a bit late as a result, but the "Steel Horse" would eventually pull out from the station for points North.  A couple guests had joined the Club for the trip, including 11-year-old Malcolm "Sticky" Fletcher and his father/Panthers' Timekeeper Jason, as well as photographer Gordon Lee.  There would be one further stop required to pick up the Panthers' starter for the evening - 16-year-old Shawn Parkinson at the Tim Horton's just before Goldstream Park.  The lanky netminder's usual partner at the pick up point, 17-year-old Ryan "Woody" Warner was a no-show as he was called up by the BCHL's Cowichan Capitals for the second consecutive evening.  After Parkinson lazily put his gear under the bus, he walked on and the Iron Lung continued the trek to the Comox Valley.  The Club chewed on sandwiches from the Red Barn Market, sipped on some drinks and shared stories and laughs.  Coach Rob Mortin prepared players one by one with video analysis, it was not unlike any other Panthers' bus trip.

But something was different.  The Club had been knocked off the previous night at home when the Victoria Cougars extended their winning streak to eight however, there was a sense around the team that it was time to start putting wins up on the board.  This conversation was sprinkled throughout the bus on the trip up Island from both players and coaches.  The Club had worked hard in their loss the night before and it was a one-goal game midway through the 3rd frame before the Cougars pumped three quick markers in to nail down the win.  There was a sense with the group that the tide was turning and the group wanted the momentum for the second half of the season to start in Comox Saturday night.

The first stanza saw Kai Turner scoring the lone marker for the Panthers at the 7:27 mark on a tip-in with helpers on the tally going to Spencer Loverock and Trevor Owens.  However, the Glacier Kings scored two of their own and held a 2-1 lead going into the first intermission.  Parkinson had let out two rebounds that he probably would have liked to have back, but the young stopper showed the heart of a lion the rest of the way as he slammed the door shut, not allowing a goal in the final 40 minutes.

Lightning-fast 16-year-old Marty Westhaver joined the party only 1:23 into the second stanza when he came out of the left corner and cut through the slot.  He waited and waited and then waited just a bit longer before ripping the tying marker past Broadbent.  There would be no more scoring in the period as Parkinson seemed to gather his legs beneath him and made several brilliant saves.

A torrid pace dominated the final period with the youthful Panthers group showing some of the character needed to win close affairs.  Seventeen-year-old Ben Dawson - perhaps the best Defensive player on the ice on the night -blocked a shot and cleared several pucks out of harm's way, while Meyerink dove in front of a drive from the point to send the puck rebounding to safety in the neutral zone.  With just over two minutes remaining, hard-nosed Michael Sproule pasted a Glacier Kings defenceman right in front of the Panthers' bench in what was clearly the biggest hit in the past month however, he was whistled for a charging penalty and was sent off to the sin bin.  During the ensuing penalty kill, Forbes saw his lid pop off and rattle around in the corner to the left of Parkinson.  After every single player and coach on the Panthers bench yelled for him to get off the ice to avoid being penalized for playing with illegal equipment, the light bulb went on and the "Never say die" defender raced to the bench.  With 15 seconds remaining, the Glacier Kings called their timeout and with Broadbent sitting on the bench for an extra attacker and the face-off to the right of Parkinson, Owens won the draw and the Club watched the clock strike 00:00. 

Parkinson blocked 28 of 30 shots and was awarded the game's 3rd star in picking up the win, while Broadbent was collared with the loss, stopping 19 of 22 along the way.

Several minutes later, Rob Mortin would address the Club after the win and then the tunes began to boom as the players showered, packed their gear and loaded the bus for the trip to points South.  The pizza arrived and was piping hot and three of the players jumped out of the crowd of Panthers that were mulling around the bus to load the food for the trip home.  Players sat down to eat and refresh with fluids and the Wilson's bus driver (Phil)  mentioned that the boys seemed very happy.  The bus was loud on the way home, very loud, and in Duncan it pulled over at the 7-Eleven on the main drag.  The players unloaded, went inside and bought a bunch of junk food that they probably would have been better off not having.  The momentary stop did nothing to quell the mood on the evening, there was still an hour for the group to enjoy each other's company.

The bus rolled along at a good speed and although it laboured just a bit climbing the Malahat Drive, nobody inside seemed to notice and if they did they certainly did not care.  Parkinson was dropped to an awaiting ride and 20 minutes later, the balance of the team arrived and unloaded the bus.  All the garbage had been removed and Phil was happy about that.  Players bid each other a final adieu, some already talking about the next time they would be together at practice on Monday.

Eleven hours had gone by and the clock had rolled quite a distance past midnight since the Club had boarded the bus early in the afternoon the previous day.  But it was an eleven hour span that not one person on the bus would ever want to give back.  Loverock mentioned that he was tired after logging a lions share of minutes.  Mortin and Panthers trainer and equipment man Josh Armstrong quipped how much they enjoyed being on the bus on a Saturday night.  Mortin added that he was already looking forward to the practice on Monday evening.  "Sticky" and Gordon Lee had fallen asleep amidst all the noise on the final leg from Duncan.  But one thing was obvious to anyone who simply sat back and watched the day.  Hockey is much, much more than just a game.

The Panthers will hit the ice in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre next Friday night when they host the Kerry Park Islanders with the puck set to drop at 7:30 pm.