Team effort turns the tide in a 3-1 Panthers' win over the Kerry Park Islanders

The Peninsula Panthers' dressing room prior to hitting the ice for warmup on Friday night at the Panorama Recreation Centre had a lot of energy, and this energy flowed onto the ice from 7:00 - 7:15 pm.  As the Panthers and the visiting Kerry Park Islanders took the customary pregame warmup, the local "Cats" seemed to have a bit more of a jump in their collective step than usual.  Pucks bounced off starting Goaltender Alex Olson and forwards jumped into their lines during the various drills.  With just over a minute remaining, the players began to trickle off the ice but unquestionably the energy was present.

The sheet was greased and the two teams returned for the opening faceoff.  Clayton Butler belted out the National Anthem and there were a couple of comments on the Panthers bench that he seemed to be getting better and better each time out.  But the puck dropped and the giggles quickly came to a halt.  The older and more experienced Islanders carried the play and, as the Panthers rolled out all four lines and six defencemen, the energy that had been so present had quickly evaporated.  The Islanders tested Olson and although the local squad threw a few shots on Islanders netminder Ty Rennie, none of them could have been considered to be dangerous.  And it was Islanders' Caleb Franklin who would be the first to crack the nut when at the 17:20 mark, he beat Olson for the opening marker.  The Panthers did not seem to come out of their slumber however, Grayden Hohl and Garnett Roberts teamed up to get the puck through the neutral zone only 40 seconds later and it landed right on the stick of Marty "Westy" Westhaver.  The blazing fast 16-year-old forward picked up the puck just outside the Islanders blueline and blew by the would-be Islanders checker as if he was standing still.  Westhaver then cut in on Rennie and made no mistake ripping a shot to the long side to the top of the cage to knot the score at 1-1.  The two teams went to the first intermission and although the shots were 12-12, the Panthers' Head Coach Rob Mortin felt his Club was fortunate to be in this position.

"It's a trend that has hurt us all season long," explained Mortin.  "We have started slow and we were all disappointed with the effort in the first twenty minutes.  The only player that really seemed to be going was Michael Neale, he was all night."

Something happened inside the dressing room and the group seemed to have a much different attitude coming out of the chute in the 2nd stanza.  It was the Panthers turn to carry the play and they were rewarded on the power play at the 11:35 mark.  Rugged winger Michael Sproule picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and attacked the Islanders defenceman with speed.  Sproule tried to make an inside move on the defender however, it was knocked off his stick just above the circles in the offensive zone.  But smooth-skating defenceman and Panthers' Captain Spencer Loverock was giving Sproule close support.  He gobbled up the loose puck and quickly sent a bomb from just below the top of the circle that beat Rennie cleanly to the long side, giving the Panthers a 2-1 lead.  Both teams exchanged a couple of great chances, but Olson and Rennie were up to the task and the score remained the same after 40 minutes were in the books.

The 3rd period saw the Panthers dominate the game, outshooting the Islanders 15-4.  But it was still a one-shot affair late in the game when Ty Tremblay beat Rennie.  At the 15:40 mark, Neale dished the puck in the neutral zone to right winger Ty Hermsen who was flying down his wing.  Hermsen went around the Islanders' defenceman and then sent a pass to Tremblay who was screaming down the middle towards Rennie.  Tremblay completed the "Ty and Ty show" depositing a huge insurance marker with just over four minutes to go.  The Panthers held the Islanders at bay for the remaining minutes and, although Rennie was on the bench for the final minute for the extra attacker, it was all for naught as the "Cats" scratched out the 3-1 win.

Olson, Neale and Tremblay were selected as the three stars in the contest.  Olson stopped 26 of 27 attempts on net while Rennie was not quite as good in blocking 37 of 40 Panthers' shots.

"We seemed to have all four lines going tonight," explained Mortin.  "The three goals were scored with three different lines on the ice and all in all, that was a great team win at a pretty big point in our season.  The game was a bit like a war, you have to know when to go on the offensive and when to take a defensive posture, and tonight our guys had that figured out for the final forty minutes."

The Panthers will have a week of practice before they meet the Saanich Braves next weekend in a big South Division pair of games.  The Braves will host the Panthers next Friday night and then in the Panthers only SATURDAY night game of the season, the Braves will come into the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre with the puck set to drop at 7:30 pm.