Panthers ice Glacier Kings after sweeping home-and-home 2-game weekend series

Comox, British Columbia

Just when it looked like the South Division of the Vancouver Island Hockey League could not possibly get any tighter, a host of weekend games put that idea to rest.  The Westshore Wolves upended the Kerry Park Islanders on Saturday evening giving them 19 points and a hold on the top rung in the South.  The Islanders and Saanich Braves each have 15 points, while the Victoria Cougars and Peninsula Panthers are only a single point behind at 14.  And both the Cougars and Panthers have multiple games in hand on the rest of the division and so it is clear, the South did in fact just become a whole lot tighter!

The Peninsula Panthers took care of their own business over this past weekend when they bounced the Glacier Kings on Friday by a 5-2 count in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre and they followed that up with a convincing win in Comox on Saturday evening, doubling up the Glacier Kings by a 4-2 count.

Friday night was the Marshall Brown show as he tallied the Panthers' first two markers and added two helpers for good measure.  Josh Lingard, Riley Braun and Thomas Spink added singles.  Brown, Lingard and Spink were named as the three stars while Bryce Schiebel picked up the win between the pipes.

On Saturday, Chris Akerman got the nod in goal for the Panthers and he was also outstanding in picking up the win. Tanner Wort picked up the hat trick after scoring a trio of markers while Braeden Hansen added a single.  Lingard was named the 2nd star.

Coach Brad Tippett was extremely pleased with the weekend sweep and now the Panthers have won three of their last four contests.  "It was a real character weekend," noted the Head Coach.  We took advantage of the games in hand over a few other teams in the South and that was important to our group.  The psyche of our team is different this time around.  Going into the weekend as the favourite was a different feeling.  Even the bus ride home from Comox was different.  Our mission was to collect all four points on the weekend but when we accomplished that, there was no ticker tape parade.  The effort and commitment level is different.  Most of all, the expection level is different.  It would be unfair to single out any one player because everyone contributed.  We got confident goaltending with saves at critical times from Schiebel on Friday and Akerman on Saturday.  Our defencemen were very intelligently aggressive and they held the blue line and initiated counter attacks.  The top four logged a lot of minutes. All forward lines dominated the offensive end at times.  Things got a little testy in both games.  We went nose to nose when called upon but stayed disciplined avoiding the ticky tack momentum killing penalties.  The South Division is so tight with one point separating four teams.  We just need to continue getting better each day."

The Club will have a week of practice before they welcome in the visiting Saanich Braves on Friday night in what looks to be an important outing for both squads.  The puck will drop at 7:30 pm and a large crowd is expected.

Panthers tracks.....Forward Cianan Briscoe looks like he will color his hair bright red for next Friday night...the likeable rookie promised his mates that he would do the deed as soon as someone on the Club notched a hat trick...with Wort's effort on Saturday in Comox, Briscoe might be going with a new nickname, "Red."...Joe Stafford-Veale has been out of the lineup for several weeks and was seen walking around the Panorama Friday night without an air cast...Jack Taylor will be back at practice after returning from Thailand where he spent three weeks hiking with family...the trip had been in the making for a number of months...16-year-old players cannot be sent back to Minor Hockey Clubs after October 31st and based on their play, Riley Braun and Logan Speirs will not be going anywhere.