An Open Letter - 2017/18 season

To Peninsula Panthers players, families, volunteers, fans, friends, sponsors, Panorama Recreation Centre Management and Staff, as well as the Peninsula Recreation Commission, we sincerely thank you for supporting the Club at every single turn.  Your involvement with the Peninsula Panthers allows us to be a viable organization in our community, providing the best possible experience for our Club, and ultimately our players.  It also allows many of our players to continue to chase their hockey dreams while still residing in the comfort of their own home with the support of their families; a situation rarely found in Junior hockey in the country.

The atmosphere in Campbell River was electric on a Tuesday evening late in February in Game 5 of the best-of-7 series against the Storm.  The 700 fans in attendance that night were trying to will their team over the finish line against a young and banged up Peninsula Panthers squad that believed they could win.  And with less than four minutes remaining, the two teams were knotted at 4-4.

I was standing in the corner to the right of our goaltender Connor McKillop.  Next to me was a longtime Storm Volunteer who I recognized as a fellow that was usually working in the penalty box.  He asked me if I was nervous, he certainly was.  I told him that the longer the game went tied, the better it was.  I would have liked to have seen the game move into the last minute of play or into overtime, a situation where a goal would end the game.

We had been bounced in Campbell River in the first two games but held serve at home in Game 3 with a heart-pounding one-goal win on a Sunday afternoon.  The Storm came in for Game 4 the following night and I knew that they would be loaded for bear.  Of course they would.  We were bounced 6-1 in the game on Monday night to go down 3-1 in the series.  As I was cleaning up, I spoke with the Storm's play-by-play Mark Berry.  He said that it was the quietest bus ride home on Sunday that he had ever been on; that the Storm did not expect the effort and level of performance of the Panthers and that they were determined that it would not happen again.

We went up to Campbell River on Tuesday for Game 5, jumping on the bus around 1:30 pm.  We stopped in Nanaimo for a meal but there was a bit of a buzz within our group.  We might have been the only folks who thought that the series was not over, but none-the-less that was the feeling and it was a distinct one.  Everyone on the roster had made the trip except for Bryce Schiebel and Brendan Martin; even the guys that were banged up and could not play.  And there were some good ones including Josh Lingard, Chris Akerman, Logan Speirs, Nolan Lee and Bailey Ross.  Late in the 2nd frame with the Panthers up 3-2, Marshall Brown took an innocent hit and immediately you could tell that it was not good.  Marshall dropped his gloves and supported his arm and skated right off the ice.  His arm was broken.  I met Marshall by the dressing room as did a number of the players who were in the stands and although not a group of Doctors, we could all tell right away it was broken.  I took Marshall to the end of the tunnel to the back of the Arena so that his arm could be immobilized in order to be transported to the hospital.  I also did not want him to be around the team when they came off the ice for the 2nd intermission, for Marshall's sake and for all the other players. 

The thing that struck me about the whole situation was how badly Marshall wanted to win that game, to win the series.  He had completely bought in and so had the rest of the players and that could not have been more clear as he spoke.  Marshall was transported to the hospital and was told that he required surgery, however within several hours of the injury, he was talking about getting it healed in six weeks and making a commitment to getting stronger and coming back with his best year ever.

Every season brings lessons and this one was no different.  We have owned the Panthers since 1999 with an absence of a few years between 2007 and 2011.  I have always enjoyed playing games in Campbell River over the years.  Sometimes we have been the fire hydrant and sometimes we have been the dog, but in the past the rivalry was a great one.  There was a young fan who I noticed a dozen or so years ago and I made a point of having a quick chat with her every time we played the Storm.  Sometimes it was simply to say hello, sometimes it was a bit longer.  For some reason - and I just don't know why - we spoke to each other a lot more these past few games.  I learned alot about the young lady who is now 25.  She told me she still has the ticket stubs from her very first game she attended a way back when.  I told her that I thought she was an awesome lady and a great catch for someone, but when I asked her if she had a boyfriend, she rolled her eyes and looked at the chair she was sitting in.  It was a wheelchair.  Izzy has been sitting in that chair since she was born, but I have always thought over the years what a cheerful gal she is.  The more we spoke over the course of this series, the more insight I was able to gain about her situation.  She told me that it is hard when you are in a chair, that people are intimidated to come and chat and that many look at people such as Izzy in a wheelchair as being mentally disabled as well.  Izzy is the furthest thing from being mentally challenged.  I asked her if she had a job and she shrugged her shoulders and asked what she could do.  I suggested something like a dispatcher with the RCMP but she said that she would not react well in stressful situations.  I made a couple other suggestions and even mentioned that perhaps she could sell ads in the Storm Program and that it could all be done on the phone.  I encouraged her to talk to the Storm ownership about opportunities and she promised me that she would work at getting employment.  She followed it up the next day with an email asking about Marshall and telling me that next season when we come back, she would hopefully have some news. 

We went onto the ice for the 3rd period and I was proud of our boys and our coaches.  We were banged up but were playing with the heart of a lion.  We were playing with the heart of Izzy.  It's funny, the score in the game was important but once again, I had learned a lesson from the game and from the people around the game.  Sometimes things happening around the game and the lessons learned as a result are more important than the game itself.  For me, this was one of those times.  Open your heart if you are in a position to do so.  Izzy is easy to find, just show up at a Storm game and you will find her in her Storm jersey.  If you have an employment opportunity for her, even on a part-time basis, please open up your heart.  It will change her life and I bet it will change yours as well.

The Storm scored twice before nine minutes had expired in the 3rd, but there would be no quit in our boys.  Carson Cox tied the game with under six minutes to go and it was anyone's game.  If we could pull this one out of the hat we would be going back to the Panorama on Friday night and I know that our barn would be packed and that we would once again empty the tank.  Storm's Reid Wheeldon scored with just 3:24 left in the game and I watched the place go bananas and the Storm players really celebrate the goal.  I watched the players shake hands and I watched both Clubs show mutual respect for how the series had been played.  We were banged up and so were the Storm players. 

Coach Tippett spoke in the dressing room after the game and made a point of discussing the leadership of our lone 20-year-old forward Ty Hermsen who played his last game in Junior. 

We will lose "Hermy" and probably another 2-5 guys to other levels of hockey.  There will be two or three more who will want a move for various reasons as is always the case.  I would expect that we will have at least 15 players back next season and the Campbell River series has set a great benchmark for us as a starting point rather than a finishing point.

Until we are lucky enough to see you all again in September, we wish you all a wonderful summer and good health!


Sincerely,

Pete Zubersky,  GM/Governor
Peninsula Panthers Junior Hockey Club