Panthers stage late comeback but fall short in Double Overtime
2018-09-27
#14 Bryson Hines played his usual hard-nosed game on Thursday evening and chipped in with a goal to open the scoring
The Peninsula Panthers trailed 4-2 late in the final stanza on Thursday night in Nanaimo Thursday night but goals by Tanner Wort and Alex Benger tied the game, only to lose it in Double Overtime in yet another thriller.
The Panthers jumped on Iron Horse to head to Nanaimo for their contest against the Bucs slated for 7:15pm and although the trip took a couple hours, the Club showed no bus legs and departed the bus on the run.
Outshooting and outplaying the Buccneers in every aspect of the game in the first period, the Panthers had taken a lead role in everything except where it mattered the most, on the scoreboard. With the shots in their favor at 12-6 and the chances double what the Bucs had as well it was most likely quite unfair that they trailed in the game 2-1. Their lone marker came off the stick of Bryson Hines who like most nights was one of the "Cats" hardest workers.
Josh Lingard tied the game for the visitors at the 8:03 mark of the 2nd stanza when the gathered in a rebound off the stick of Riley Braun and neatly taped it to the back of the Bucs net. But two minutes later the Home squad once again too the lead at 3-2 when Joshua Zary beat Panthers netminder Connor McKillop and that is how the score remained as the two Teams headed to the 2nd intermission.
The 3rd period had it's share of excitement. The Buccaneers took a commanding two-goal lead at the 5:55 mark on a Riley Gannon marker and as the clock wound down late in the game it looked like the Panthers bus driver was heading for the exits a bit early to warm up the bus. But at the 17:14 mark Panthers Tanner Wort showed the crowd of 250 that it was not quite yet in the books when he beat Nanaimo goaltender Cedric LeSieur. And then while on the power play Alex Benger ripped a drive from the point past LeSieur with only 1:03 left in the game tos send it into overtime.
The Panthers had several good chances but with only two seconds left in the 1st OT period Lingard broke in all alone but could not solve the Bucs stopper. And this would turn out to be the biggest save of the night as Lucas Patton would score early into the 2nd extra frame to send the Nanaimo supporters home happy with a 5-4 win.
Both teams had 33 shots on goal in the highly entertaining game and Head Coach Brad Tippett shared his thoughts on the bus after the game was over. "The game was a tremendous back and forth battletonight. I thought we showed a great deal of character coming back from 4-2 to tie it late. Our PP is getting much better chances and it clicked with the game on the line. We need to put the winning goal behind us. The puck bounces even out throughout the year.Tonightone of the official bumped into one of our players not once but twice on the same play in the double OT period but it's just the way it falls sometimes. We just need to get ready for another hard tilt Friday. Bryson Hines continues to get better every game. Stefan Grunert fit right in playing forward. Cox and Stafford Veale are getting chances again. It's a work in progress but it's coming, we all feel it."
The Panthers host the Kerry Park Island Friday night at 7:30 pm back in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre.
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