Panthers put Glacier Kings on ice for 5th straight win

The Peninsula Panthers mantra all season long has been to put development over winning with the belief that winning will take care of itself.  Stocked with nothing but players from the Greater Victoria area and goaltender Alex Olson who hails from Langley, the Club has started to put wins up on the board as management thought all along that they would.  And after cooling off the Comox Valley Glacier Kings on Friday evening in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre by a 5-0 count, the Panthers have extended their winning streak to five games and have now won seven of their last eight contests.  The "Cats" will look to add two more points in the standings on Saturday evening when they head up Island to Oceanside to take on the Generals.

"Our Organization has always put development of players ahead of wins and losses," explained Pete Zubersky.   "We try and give local kids the opportunity to play Junior Hockey, young local kids.  There is always growing pains in taking this approach however when I looked closely at our situation at the beginning of the season and sat down with our Head Coach Rob Mortin, we both thought that we might catch fire in a bottle around Christmas time.  We don't want to lose our focus now.  It's about development, about each player getting better.  It's about using our entire bench.  We have always thought that if we just follow the blueprint of the Organization the wins will come and we will find our way in the standings and in the VIJHL.  It's an enjoyable time right now for all of us within the Club, kids and coaches are both having a good time."

16-year-old Goaltender Shawn Parkinson drew the start between the pipes for the Panthers on Friday night and he came up with a strong performance on the evening blocking all 31 shots shot in his direction.  The Glacier Kings tandem between the pipes was not as good.  Paul Broadbent blocked 9 of 12 Panthers shots but was chased from the net after two 1st period goals by Captain Spencer Loverock and a early 2nd period marker by Michael Sproule.  It was Braddock Otton who would next take a shot at putting up a wall in goal however he was quickly lit up after having been between the pipes for only nine seconds when Ben Meyerink gathered in a puck almost on the goal line to the right of Otton.  Meyerink fired a shot that somehow escaped the Glacier Kings goaltender to give the Panthers a commanding 4-0 lead.

16-year-old Marty Westhaver scored a pretty goal just 4:03 into the final stanza when he romped past a would-be defender inside the Glacier Kings line and made no mistake after getting in alone and putting a snap shot past Otten.  From that point it was not a question as to if the Panthers would pull out a win but rather if Parkinson could nail down the goose egg.  The Glacier Kings had several great scoring chances, most coming on the power play however Parkinson was up to the task and held firm.

Parkinson was named the contest's 1st star while Loverock and Meyerink were 2nd and 3rd stars respectively.

With the win the Panthers moved a full six points ahead of the Saanich Braves with two important games in hand and also kept pace with the Kerry Park Islanders who remained one point ahead of the "Cats" after bouncing the Braves 2-0 in Saanich on Friday night.  The Panthers also have a close eye on the Westshore Wolves who lie five points ahead and currently hold down 2nd place in the South Division, a moon shot behind the Victoria Cougars.

The Panthers look to keep their winning ways in tact on Saturday when they will head to Oceanside to take on the suddenly charging Oceanside Generals for a 7:30 pm start.   This will be the start of four straight road games before Christmas before the squad returns back home on Wednesday, Decmeber 30th against the Kerry Park Islanders.