Panthers extend winning streak by knocking off the Braves

The Peninsula Panthers won again on Saturday night in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre running their mini-streak to four games in a row.  And by sweeping the visiting Saanich Braves in both games of a weekend home-and-home series, the local "Cats" now sit alone in 4th place, a full four points ahead of the Braves and have now set their sites on the Kerry Park Islanders who lie directly ahead and in their path.

In the Panthers only Saturday night home game of the 2015/16 season, Head Coach Rob Mortin chose to dress the identical lineup that was full value for a 4-1 win on Friday evening in Saanich.  And after knocking off the Braves 3-0, Mortin looked like he punched all the right buttons.

"I once again loved our effort tonight," beamed Mortin after a dominating effort by his Club.  "Our kids are starting to feel it just a bit and we definitely have some new-found confidence leaking into the room right now.  Our goaltenders have been strong, we have only allowed four goals in our last four games and that is a recipe for success."

For the speedy and diminutive Panthers player Michael Neale, the evening did not last long.  Neale watched Clayton Butler belt out the National Anthem and in his first shift of the game and with only 36 seconds having been expired, disaster would strike.  He picked up a pass breaking through the middle and was immediately met by a charging Braves Quinn Miller.  Miller rocked Neale with a high hit and although Neale quickly jumped to his feet, he immediately went to the bench.  Miller was whistled for a hit to the head and also received a misconduct however, Neale was unable to continue for the evening. 

"He came to the bench and was leaking quite a bit from the nose," explained General Manager Pete Zubersky.  "What a tough kid.  I asked him what month it was and he knew the answer and that was a good thing.  Our training staff wanted to be safe rather than sorry and our Organization also has this mindset.  We decided that Michael should not continue, there will be more games for him down the road."

It was obvious that the Braves had come out and the game plan was to be physical, but the game settled in a bit until Panthers' rearguard Ryan Warner took matters into his own hands......sort of!  Warner wheeled down the right side at the 7:10 mark of the 1st period and, after crossing the centre line, he fired a puck down the wall intended to get it deep in the Braves end so the Panthers could get in on the forecheck.  Braves' starting goaltender Riley Mathieson drifted out of the crease to stop the puck behind the net however, it did not go where intended.  The puck took a wild bounce off the glass and shot straight into the vacated Braves' cage.  Warner's power play marker would prove to be the difference in the game.  And at the 16:24 mark, newly acquired Justin Post cruised down the left side after being set up by Garnett Roberts and Drayson Lum in the neutral zone.  Post did not seem to have a lot of options so he snapped a shot that completely surprised Mathieson, beating the netminder over the glove side for his first goal as a Peninsula Panther.  It was a period dominated by the local "Cats" outshooting the visitors by a 13 to 3 margin, clearly making them full value for the 2-0 lead.

The 2nd period saw the only marker scored at the 18:48 mark by Michael Sproule after a turnover deep inside the Braves' defensive zone.  Sproule wasted no time snapping a shot past Mathieson, Post and Ty Tremblay being awarded helpers on the play.

But the 2nd frame was costly for the Panthers when at the 13:24 mark, goaltender Alex Olson went out to play the puck and collided with Saanich forward Branden Fushimi.  Olson was the worse for wear and after being checked over by the Panthers training staff, he joined Neale for an early shower.  Sixteen-year-old Shawn Parkinson jumped into the fire and was solid the rest of the way for the Club making several huge stops in the final frame.

The final twenty minutes saw the Panthers working the clock and although both teams had opportunites to score, both Parkinson and Mathieson were up to the task. 

In the game, Olson blocked all 3 shots directed his way in 33:24 minutes of playing time, while Parkinson was the busier of the two Panthers' goaltenders taking care of all 14 shots he faced over the final 26:36 minutes.  Mathieson was good on 32 of 35 shots fired at him and took the loss.  Post was selected the 1st star and in a situation very rarely seen in hockey, Parkinson was 2nd star and Olson who shared the shut-out with Parkinson, was the contest's 3rd star. 

"I don't think I have ever seen that before," quipped Assistant Coach Trevor Yee.  "There was a couple of strange things that happened and that was one of them.  Warner's goal was strange and then it turned out to be the winner.  The dressing room was rocking after the win."

The Peninsula Panthers have now won four games in a row and six of their last seven.  They have moved four points ahead of the Braves after sweeping the two-game weekend series and find themselves just a point out of 3rd place, currently held by the Kerry Park Islanders.  They will look to let the good times roll next Friday night when they host the visiting Comox Valley Glacier Kings at the Panorama Recreation Centre with the puck set to drop at 7:30 pm.  The Club travels the following evening to Oceanside to face the North Division Generals.