An open letter - Pete Zubersky

We were down 1-0 in Game 7 in Campbell River against the Storm in a packed house and more than 1000 fans were going crazy as a stoppage in play was whistled and the two Clubs went to their respective benches for the mandatory mid-period timeout.  There were less than 10 minutes left in the game and it was obvious that we were going to have to open it up to try and pot the equalizer.  Bench Boss Brad Tippett rallied the troops around him as he gave his message to the players that had put absolutely everything on the line.  They had left nothing in the tank for another day.

The best-of-7 series had started two weeks earlier when the Panthers shocked the entire VIJHL, knocking off the Storm 4-2 to capture Game 1 of the series.  And then in stunning fashion, won Game 2 in Double Overtime to take a 2-0 lead, both games playing out up in Campbell River.  And things looked good when we split a pair of contests back in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre.  We headed back to Campbell River on March 5th for Game 5 and we were a confident and close-knit group.  Tanner Wort tied the game late at 2-2 and nothing was solved after the first Overtime period.  I think the Storm won the series in Double Overtime or perhaps better put, we did not put them away.  We went on a power play late in the period and did everything but score.  Over the final 40 seconds of that man-advantage, Riley Braun hit the post, Skyler Diamond-Burchuk floated one just over a wide open net and Matt Sparrow was set up from ten feet out and Storm Goaltender Aaron De Kok made the save of the year to keep his squad alive.  And finally in Triple Overtime, the Storm cashed in on a power play to send the series back to the Panorama for Game 6.  We seemed tight and fought the puck for most of the first period, and that might have been the difference as the Storm prevailed and forced Game 7.

Tippett completed his fireside chat with the Club and the two teams headed back out onto the ice.  The game had not come without casualties as Stefan Grunert had broken his thumb on his first shift of the game.  He will be getting it operated on in the next several days.  Our gameplan the entire series was to force low scoring games, to play solid defensively, and to take advantage when the Storm made mistakes.  And it had worked and now we were only one shot away from getting back to even and facing overtime in the deciding game.  We would have felt more than comfortable being in that situation,  'Next goal wins.'  We knew we would not win 7-6, that we had to play it close to the vest and Coach Tippett had the Club follow the game plan perfectly.  But now we had to open it up and we knew we would be at risk.  The Storm scored with under six minutes to go and then added an insurance marker with only 1:37 left on the clock to take the game 3-0.  The crowd went crazy.  They knew they had watched their team escape from the brink.

The boys had a prime rib dinner on the bus ride home and the disappointment was palpable.  But there was also already a renewed optimism filtering through the team as the iron lung ambled South down the Island Hwy and when the bus pulled in around 2:00 am early Monday morning, a proud group of players departed and headed home for a well-deserved rest.

We had an informal practice on Tuesday night and our lone 20-year-old Braeden Hansen was awarded his Jersey signifying his time in Junior Hockey had come to an end.  Braeden played four years for the Peninsula Panthers and is a person for whom I have immeasurable respect.  He will be back next season with the Club as a 3rd year Student Athletic Therapist.  Tanner Wort was named our Playoff MVP and was presented the award after practice was over.  Tanner put up a decent number of points but in the playoffs he was on a mission.  He not only scored some huge goals but was diving in front of shots and doing everything he could to will the Club past the finish line.  He too is just a great young man! 

Our society is and will continue to stuggle with the fact that marihuana has been legalized and this in my mind will be a huge issue, especially with our youth.  If my dog was getting operated on in the morning, I would not want the Veterinarian smoking pot the previous night.  We all can agree that the Vet would not be at his or her best.  In all his wisdom, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the decision to legalize marihuana in the summer of 2018.  In my opinion there was very little thought put into this, the research was simply not carried out, and this was a political decision rather than a medical one.  The aftermath will be felt by the youth in this Country for many, many years to come and I believe that we will see many issues surface in the next decade surrounding the use of marihuna, with the biggest ramifications being on the mental health of our youth.  They are our most important resource and I believe this political decision was completely irresponsible.  I've seen the damage caused by the 'Soft Drug' as a Police Officer for 28 years, 11 of those years on the Island Drug Squad and the final 7 of those years in charge of Drug Education on the Island.  I have spoken to hundreds and hundreds of addicts and the same amount of parents who have had their families ripped apart.  I have spoken to many, many Doctors and medical personnel who have witnessed the damage.  We have all watched over the past several decades as thousands of people died each year from Lung Cancer caused by smoking and yet it has taken until just the last few years for our Government to accept this consequence.  Today's potent Marihuana is not a benign drug, I have seen it first-hand.  The Peninsula Panthers choose to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.  We care about our players.  We care about our youth.

I look at our hockey team and we are comprised of young men with developing brains aging from 16-20.  For 19's and 20's it is now legal to smoke pot and this situation is and will cause a dilemna for Junior Hockey Clubs right across the Country.  We had an issue just before the Christmas break and I made a decision that the Peninsula Panthers Organization would not allow our players to smoke pot, even if they are of legal age as defined by our Prime Minister.  Coach Brad Tippett is in full agreement.  Yes it is legal but so is arriving late for practice and we don't allow that either.  The early research is not nearly exhaustive enough at this stage.  These young men have developing brains and the active ingredient THC enters the fatty brain cells and remains deposited there for up to 30 days.  The drug takes away motivation and alertness.  It takes away the user's ability to function at 100%.  It hurts the hockey player, and in turn that hurts his teammates.  Next year we will implement policy and we will ask our players to sign contracts confirming that the use of marihuana is prohibited by the Peninsula Panthers Jr. Hockey Club.  It is my hope that more, if not all, Junior teams will follow but I also know that it will take time.  If Clubs care about their players, this move will be a no-brainer.  Yes, there will be blow-back, nothing worth any significance ever comes easy or without risk.

The Peninsula Panthers were the first Junior Club in the Province to implement the use of full facial protection and after a season of headwinds and negative comments coming from every direction, full facial is now mandated at the Jr. B level by BC Hockey province-wide.  We have basically had no facial injuries for the past two seasons since we implemented the policy on our Team.  Junior Clubs have young and impressionable men who come out and give everything they have for the game, the Organizations, and for themselves.  It is incumbent on the Organizations to protect them as much as humanly possible.  The Peninsula Panthers will continue to do just that as long as we are in ownership. 

We conducted player meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday evening and most of the players were in agreement with this policy.  The overwhelming majority of the players let us know that this policy will have no effect on them, that they have already chosen to not smoke pot.  These interviews were the most positive end-of-season interviews that I have ever been involved in and I have been in Junior Hockey at both the A and B levels since 1999.  The players are excited at the prospects of next season and the majority mentioned that they have never been on a team where the collective group has been this tight.  We had a really strong roster this year, but for some reason we just did not click in the Regular Season in terms of wins and losses.  With just a couple of games to go in the Regular Season, we had an important meeting with just a few people and we tweeked the way we were doing things just a bit.  We then went into Round 1 with the Campbell River Storm and fell just short.  Puck luck or lack of puck luck was the difference and allowed them to move past us and on to Round 2.  What a series and this certainly bodes well for next season!

We now look forward to our Spring Camp at the end of March where we hope to fill in some of the holes that will be created with the closing of the season.

Coreen will start the 2019-20 marketing campaign for the Club in the next week or two and the Junior Hockey cycle continues.

We want to thank the billet families, loyal fans, sponsors and volunteers for your time and effort and financial support.  We truly want to run a good Organization and without the support we receive from the various groups, it would be impossible!

We are going to put out a great product for next year and I believe we will be in the hunt near the top of the VIJHL this coming season.  We will most likely play a few exhibition games in August and will get going in the Regular Season in early September.

I hope you all have a wonderful Spring and Summer and Coreen and I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Pete Zubersky, Governor
Peninsula Panthers