Panthers best Wolves on the road, open 2-0 lead in series

At this time of year nobody asks "How" but rather the question is "How many?"  And for the Peninsula Panthers, the answer to the second question is a 2-0 lead in their 'Best-of-7' series against the crosstown rival Westshore Wolves.  The "Cats" from the Peninsula arrived at the Q-Centre in Colwood on Wednesday night and although there were moments that the Club will look fondly back on, there were also stretches in the contest where the play could have been much better. 

The Panthers outshot the Wolves 31-29 on the night and outscored their opponents by a 6-4 score with the final and insurance marker coming off the stick of Justin Post into an empty net.  Alex Olson for the Panthers and Chris Smith for the Wolves were Game 1 starters for their respective Clubs and both veteran goaltenders once again got the nod. 

"I thought Alex made some real key saves when it mattered," said Head Coach Rob Mortin.  "There were periods where a number of our guys did not play that well, certainly not as good as they were on Monday night.  But with Alex making a few key saves and with a timely goal here and there, it was enough to win and at this point, that's all that matters.  The Wolves are a really strong squad and we feel fortunate to be up 2-0 in the series.  We know that this one is a long way from being over."

It was all Panthers in the 1st period as they outshot the Wolves 13-5.  Smith had to be great early but Kai Turner finally solved him at the 14:17 mark when he tipped a shot past him.  Ryan Warner and Ben Dawson were awarded helpers on the play.  The puck was dropped at Centre ice and only 17 seconds later, Dawson gathered it in and sped down the left side on Smith.  Dawson wristed a low shot that eluded the Wolves' stopper and suddenly the Panthers lead 2-0.  There would be no more scoring and the two Clubs headed to the dressing room for the first intermission.

It took Branden Tangney 5:32 into the 2nd stanza to get the Wolves right back into the contest when he beat Olson.  And the Wolves seemed to gain momentum off the goal and carried the play to the Panthers until just past the midway mark.  Things seemed to turn and the game evened out as both teams exchanged several chances.  With just 4:33 remaining in the period and at the end of a power play, Panthers' Mitch Moloney wristed a shot from the right point and in a bit of a scramble that ensued, Cam Thompson managed to find the disk in time to bang one past Smith.  The Panthers took the 3-1 lead into the intermission although this story had several chapters left to write.

The Wolves howled out of the chutes and only 16 seconds into the 3rd period and on the power play, Tangney took a shot that Olson stopped however, Cory Hatcher was "Johnny-on-the-spot" to bang in the rebound.  Wolves Marshall Brown knotted the score at 3-3 only three minutes later and at the 12:41 mark, the Wolves would take the lead when Tangney scored again on the power play.  The Panthers stopped the bleeding immediately.  Only 11 seconds after the Wolves went ahead for the first time in the game, Panthers Kai Turner scored his 2nd of the night on a set up from Josh Poland and Moloney.  With three minutes left, the Panthers iced the puck but it would be Trevor Owens for the Cats who would win the draw, help work the puck out of his end and then score seconds later at the 17:22 mark to give the visitors the lead back at 5-4.  The Wolves pulled Smith and that set the stage for the Post insurance marker, the final score 6-4 Panthers.

"We have had a nice start to the series, no doubt about that," said Pete Zubersky.  "But hockey is a funny game, you have to go out and put in a big effort.  Lots of these kids have only played in Best-of-3 series and so we will need to come up with a huge effort on Friday night back in our barn.  I expect that this will be a great game and that both Clubs will want it bad.  It should be a lot of fun in what I expect will be a pretty good crowd."

The puck will drop for Game 3 at the Panorama Recreation Centre on Friday at 7:30 pm.