Panthers #55 Jarrod Lucoe battles with Wolves #21 Branden Tagney for a loose puck in 2nd period action Friday night at the Panorama Recreation Centre. Lucoe and his mates were bounced 5-2 by the visitors on a rainy evening in North Saanich. (Photo by Gordon Lee Photography)
It was a rainy and wet night in North Saanich on Friday night and it did not go much better inside at the Panorama Recreation Centre for the Peninsula Panthers. The "Cats" were dispatched by the visiting Westshore Wolves by a 5-2 count.
After knocking off the Wolves in Colwood on Wednesday, the youthful Peninsula Panthers thought that they could just show up on Friday night in the back end of the home-and-home series and cash two points in the bank. They were sadly mistaken!
The "Cats" from North Saanich played a solid 1st period that ended without a goal being scored but when the Wolves turned up the heat in the 2nd stanza, it was game, set and match. Wolves' goals in the period by Nick Polomark, Keegan Durrance and Jordan Guiney spelled disaster for the home bench and when Branden Tagney scored early in the final frame to extend the Wolves lead to 4-0, the fat lady was singing her song. Tagney scored another late and Panthers goals by Braeden Hansen and Jarrod Lucoe helped to make the score respectable but by that time, the book was almost closed and the game ended 5-2 in favour of the Wolves.
"Success is sometimes harder to handle than adversity," quipped Head Coach Brad Tippett. "We had three solid efforts in a row and then tonight a good first period. Lazy and individualistic are a deadly combination. We got away from playing as a group of five and started playing as five groups of one."
The Bench boss was not unhappy of Shawn Parkinson's play between the pipes. "After the first period, Parkinson could have successfully sued our skaters for abandonment. And faceoffs and recovery of loose pucks are good indicators of a team's compete level. We got a lot of silver medals getting to loose pucks tonight and 35% in the faceoff circle would have been generous."
Tippett seemed hot under the collar for the way his Club handled the final 40 minutes and was holding back from saying what was really on his mind. "The two best times to keep your mouth shut are when you are mad and when you are swimming."
The Club was hopeful that they could sweep the two-game mini series this week and Tippett was clearly disappointed. "Winning the first game of a home-and-home series is key - especially winning in your opponents building. Wednesday our best players were our best players and we put ourselves in a great position coming home. Tonight our 4th line was by far our best getting both goals including one on the power play. Collectively we did not seize the opportunity."
The Panthers head to Campbell River on Sunday to take on a talented Storm Club and will be in Saanich on Wednesday evening in a contest against the Braves. They will be back at home next Friday night and have a date with their crosstown and longtime rival Victoria Cougars.
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