Panthers bounced in Game 2, looking for rebound

With only four teams remaining in the VIJHL playoffs, the Peninsula Panthers are looking to put a couple wins up on the board in Game 3 & 4 on Sunday and Monday against the Victoria Cougars.  The Club is in a 2-0 hole in the best-of-7 series after being bounced by the Cougars by a 4-0 count in the confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre on Friday night.  In the only other series going, the Campbell River Storm have taken a 3-0 stranglehold in their series against the Nanaimo Buccaneers and look for the "Buck to stop here" on Sunday in Nanaimo.

A big crowd in attendance on Friday night witnessed a much better game than the 4-0 score would indicate.  After Clayton Butler sang the National Anthem both teams lined up at Centre Ice and the treat would start.  The Panthers may have played their best ten minutes of the season in the first ten minutes of the game and had several brilliant scoring opportunities on Anthony Ciurro, who was making the start between the pipes for the visitors.  But Ciurro would hold the fort and looked relatively calm in doing so.  The Cougars had a couple scoring chances of their own however, Panthers starter Alex Olson was once again as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar and it looked like he could stop a BB with his eyes closed.  But at the 19:20 mark of the opening stanza, the VIJHL leading scorer Nathan Looyson ambled down the right side and into the Panthers' end.  It appeared as though the big winger was corralled however, he cut sharply to the middle of the ice at the top of the circles and then ripped a shot that beat Olson high on the glove side.  It would be the only marker in the game until early in the 3rd period.

At the 2:43 mark of the 3rd period, Cougars' Brett Lervold scored a back-breaking goal.  Lervold was behind the net and threw a puck out front however, the hard working Panthers had two forwards in tight and the play did not look dangerous.  However, the Hockey Gods were not smiling on the "Cats" from the Peninsula on the evening and the disk was inadvertantly tapped past a shocked Olson rather than into the corner and out of harm's way.  But the Panthers did not blink and continued to try and put a dint in the lead.  It appeared all for naught when the Cougars went on the power play midway through the period and at the 11:49 mark and still on the power play, Lane Vandewetering tallied to give the Cougars what appeared to be an insurmountable 3-0 lead.  At the 15:26 mark, Cougars Dom Kolbiens took a trip to the sin bin and the Panthers took the opportunity to pull Olson for an extra attacker and to throw everything at Ciurro but the kitchen sink.  And they did but to no avail.  Ciurro was lights out and when Cougars Kody Hodges managed to grab the puck and send it 180 feet down the ice to the heart of the empty net, the nail was in the coffin for Game 2.

Ciurro blocked all 19 shots he faced and was full value for the 1st star selection on the night while Olson stopped 29 of 32 attempts and was collared with the loss.  Panthers Trevor Owens was dangerous all night long and was the 2nd star while Vandewetering rounded out the selections as the 3rd star.

The two Clubs head back to the Archie Browning Arena on Sunday afternoon and will then be back at the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre on Monday night at 7:30 pm for Game 4.