Panthers double Cougars 4-2 on Carson Cox winner

January 25th, 2018
Esquimalt, B.C.

On a cool and overcast Thursday evening, the Peninsula Panthers ventured into their foe's den at the Archie Browning Arena in Esquimalt looking to garner the all too important two points in VIJHL action.  The opposition was the Victoria Cougars on the night and both teams had a significant reason to pack home the two points.

"We are trying to squeak into the 6th seed overall or better, while the Cougars are in a battle with the Saanich Braves for 1st in the South," said Pete Zubersky.  "I think every single player knows the importance of the game and for us, the importance of every game from here on in.  As far as I am concerned, we are in the playoffs from this point." 

The Cougars opened the scoring at the 4:37 mark when a snap shot from the low slot was too tough for Panthers' starter Bryce Schiebel to handle.  He blocked the shot but it tumbled over him and landed right in the crease where Cougars' forward Jaden McNulty pushed it the remaining nine inches to paydirt.  But it seemed to wake up the "Cats" from the Peninsula and at the 11:41 mark, Riley Braun snapped a shot of his own past Cougars' goaltender Nate Reinhart to bring his Club back to even.  Nolan Lee was awarded the assist on a nifty pass from the corner to Braun.  Reinhart was the busier of the two goaltenders during the period, including a save off Panthers' Josh Lingard.  A pretty passing play found Lingard to the left of Reinhart with nothing to shoot at but net, but the stopper came across and somehow made what might be the save of the year.  The first frame would end with the score knotted at 1-1. 

The Cougars carried most of the play in the middle stanza however, Bryce Schiebel came to play and nary a puck went by him over the 20 minutes.  Braun was whistled for a penalty in the neutral zone late in the 2nd period and after serving the minor, he raced out of the penalty box and into the Cougars' end and gained control of the puck.  Braun did a quick wrap-around that Reinhart somehow managed to block however, the puck squirted behind the net and Braun was able to regain possession.  He skated out and found defenceman Shota Yamamoto pinching down from the point and threaded a seeing-eye pass right onto his tape.  Yamamoto wasted no time and ripped a shot into the top of the cage to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead going into the final 20 minutes of regulation. 

With only 29 seconds elapsed in the 3rd period, a shot from the point seemed to change direction several times and Cougars' forward Oliver Hahn was "Johnny on the Spot" to tip in the tying marker. Both teams exchanged chances and midway through the period, the Panthers went on the power play after a Cougars' forward was sent to the sin bin for tripping.  Panthers' defenceman Bailey Ross moved the puck into the corner to Marshall Brown and he quickly sent the puck onto the stick of Carson Cox.  Cox, who has one of the heavier shots in the VIJHL, let one go and it beat Reinhart to give his Team the all-important 3-2 lead.  The one-goal cushion held up until the final minute when Reinhart was pulled for the extra attacker.  Schiebel was forced to make a big save and the rebound was coralled by Braun who chipped the puck off the glass and into the neutral zone.  Cox skated onto the puck, went wide around the lone Cougars defender, and then romped in alone on the wide open cage to pop the insurance marker with only 16 seconds left in the game.

Panthers' Head Coach Brad Tippett could not have been more pleased with the effort and the results on the evening.  "We were a determined team tonight. I thought we had great effort, made good decisions and managed our emotions very well. When a good team does those three things - they are very hard to beat. Our special teams worked and our goaltending gave us a chance to win. Bryce made timely saves and had good rebound control.
We picked up some bumps and bruises - those are part of the game. The funny thing is, they don’t seem to hurt nearly as much when you win.  Without technically being there - we know that we are basically in the playoffs now.  When Feb 20th rolls around, we will have 8-10 playoff type games under our belts."

The Panthers are right back at it Friday night when they play host to the visiting Kerry Park Islanders with the puck set to drop at 7:30 pm.