Panthers' gutsy 4-2 road win makes trip home an enjoyable one!

Twenty-three subdued Peninsula Panthers players boarded the Iron Lung on the Peninsula and headed North towards Oceanside just after 11:00 am.  There would be one more stop to pick up six players waiting patiently in the Westshore and after they loaded their gear, boarded the bus, grabbed a sandwich and a drink, it was all systems go.  The iron horse ambled past Goldstream Park and there were several comments about the salmon that were beginning to run but for the most part, there seemed to be a significant focus on the upcoming game in Oceanside early in the afternoon. 

The Club had played a solid game on Friday night and perhaps a couple mistakes, a pass or two that were not made, a bit of undisciplined play and a bit of bad luck held the Panthers from collecting a win.  But there was overtime and although the goal with just 2.6 seconds left in the 2nd and final overtime frame cut deep, there were a lot of positives to take away when all was said and done.

The arrival into Oceanside was a bit later than normal by design, but still plenty early enough for each of the players to prepare.  There had been some good news on the way up.  Marshall Brown was healthy after Friday's contest; his first of the year after coming back from a big injury late in August.  And Trevor Owens was on board and let Head Coach Brad Tippett know that he would be joining the squad on the ice on Monday evening.  The players did their usual pregame routine and soon the team went out for the 2:00 pm warmup.  There was nothing unusual about the 15 minutes but as the players went through their routine, there was a little more urgency than had been witnessed in the past two months.

The puck dropped at 2:37 pm and for the next forty minutes, the two Clubs raced up and down the sheet, both looking for an edge.  Panthers' Jack McMillan opened the scoring at the 2:03 mark of the 1st period after taking a feed from Josh Poland and Garnett Roberts but the Generals replied late and the two teams went to the room tied 1-1 after one.

The Generals Brandon Roberge was the only marksman in the middle stanza when he capitalized on the power play.  But with only 3 seconds to go in the period, the Generals were whistled for an infraction and it would prove to be a big point in the game.

Coming out for the final 20 minutes but with the benefit of the man-advantage, Michael Sproule and Garnett Roberts banged the puck around near Generals' starter Matt Henwood.  Brown gathered in the loose puck just to Henwood's right and from just outside the blue paint sent a shot right to the top of the cage.  It was a goal-scorer's goal and seemed to ignite the Panthers.

Perhaps the biggest play of the game occured on the very next shift.  An Oceanside forward somehow found his way in behind the Panthers' defence and was sent in all alone on starter Shawn Parkinson.  He deked and then moved to Parkinson's right however, the big netminder had the answer and the puck bounced harmlessly into the corner.

It was Sproule's turn on the power play.  At the 6:00 minute mark the lanky and talented Panthers' forward gathered in a puck from Drew Coughlin and danced into the high slot and then into the low slot.  He then snapped a wrist shot high over Henwood's glove to give his mates the first lead of the affair.

The Panthers power play had not yet run out of steam.  Defenceman Bailey Ross collected a pass from Holden Cochrane at the point at the 7:12 mark and let a hard, low wrist shot go towards Henwood.  The puck found the shin pad of a Generals would-be shot blocker however, he only caught enough of the puck to change its direction.  The puck skipped past the startled Henwood to give the Panthers a 4-2 lead and one which they would not relinquish.

Tippet was really pleased with the effort of his troops.  "It was a very gutsy road win," he said.  "Our six defencemen had their best weekend of the year to date.  It would be unfair to single out one or two because they all played so well.  We are seeing signs of three pairs working together vs six defencemen playing as individuals."

Tippet was pleased with his forward group as well as the stellar goaltending of Parkinson.  "Overall, 3 out of 4 points was a good weekend.  More importantly, we started doing some of the little things that were burying us before.  There is a good vibe in the room.  We will have some good practices this week to reinforce some of the positives and continue to work in the areas where we need improvement."

Parkinson blocked 34 of 36 shots in picking up the win while Henwood was good on 18 of 22 Panthers attempts and was tagged with the loss.

The bus pulled from the Oceanside arena with two long blasts of the horn to signify a win and after picking up the pizza, the Iron Lung lumbered back down the highway.  It was an upbeat atmosphere for the two-hour trip and a satisfying way to welcome in a rainy Sunday evening on the Peninsula.

The Panthers host the Kerry Park Islanders next Friday night at 7:30 pm and Tippett will be looking for a huge effort once again from his young men in front of what will be largely a partisan Peninsula crowd.