Braves Bashed as win streak extended to six. (#6-shooters)

September 22, 2019
Saanich, B.C.

The line of Josh Lingard, Tanner Wort and Riley Braun will be a man down next weekend when the Peninsula Panthers host the Victoria Cougars on Friday night and then head to the Comox Valley for a date with the Glacier Kings on Saturday evening.  At the 11:27 mark, the puck went deep into the Saanich Braves zone to the right of Braves' netminder Robert Michetti.  If the name Robert Michetti sounds familiar that is because last Saturday the Panthers chased Michetti from between the pipes for the Campbell River Storm with three quick goals to end the 2nd frame in a 5-2 win in Campbell River.  The lanky goaltender from Calgary, Alberta was moved for cash to the Braves just last Monday.  Riley Wiens gathered up the puck while Wort steamed down the left side on the forecheck and Lingard swooped in from the opposite side, both snipers looking to turn the puck over in the offensive end.  Lingard made what appeared to be a harmless hit however, Wiens seemed to drop his head somewhat and the ensuing collision sent him to the ice.  He remained there for a couple of minutes however was able to get up and skate off on his own steam.  But for Lingard, it was his last play of the game as referee Grady Hamilton chased him to the dressing room with a 5-minute major for head contact.  With the five-minute major, comes an automatic two-game suspension. And so an innocent play which could just as easily have been a no-call, will result in one of the VIJHL point leaders to watch from the sidelines next weekend.  The unfortunate turn of events might have been the only thing that went wrong over the 60 minutes as the Panthers continued their winning ways by bashing the Saanich Braves on the road in convincing fashion by a 6-2 count.  With the win, the Panthers remain undefeated running their win streak to open this 2019/20 season to six games.  

The Braves feature four former Panthers in Joe Stafford-Veale, Fraser Auchterlonie, Cianan Briscoe and David Edgar and two of them made an impact on the scoreboard in the game.  Panthers' Thomas Spink opened the scoring at the 5:31 mark on a blast from the left point on helpers from Matthew Sparrow and Luc Pelletier.  But Stafford-Veale beat Cats' starter Chris Combiadakis at 11:58 with Edgar chipping in with an assist.  The two teams had some nice chances the rest of the way in the opening stanza however both goalies were clearly up to the task.

And it remained tied at 2-2 after 40 minutes were in the books.  An early period goal by Wort gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead, Alexander Benger and Braun were awarded helpers.  But it was clear the Braves would not go away easily and Edgar knotted the game one more time when he hit paydirt on an unassisted marker at the 16:58 mark.

Head Coach Brad Tippett must have whispered something in the collective ear of the Panthers' players because a team showed up for the final stanza that was markedly different from the previous two periods.  Sparrow from Pelletier and Jack Taylor from Mackenzie Benn-Wipp scored before the period was three minutes old.  And Sparrow did it again, beating Michetti at the 12:17 mark on assists from Wort and defenceman Stefan Grunert.  Wort completed the Panthers soring barage on perhaps the prettiest play of the game.  Spink gathered in the puck behind the Panthers' net and Combiadakis, and deftly drew a Braves' defender to him.  He then shoveled the disk up the wall on the right side to Braun who took two quick steps and sent a seeing-eye pass rinkwide to Wort who was streaking down the left side.  Wort took the puck in full stride and found himself bearing in all alone on Michetti who was considering suing his defensive corps for lack of support on the play.  Wort looked as though he was going to shoot but then moved the puck to his backhand, skated around the big stopper and after seeing nothing but net, finished off the play with the marker.

Wort for the visitors and Edgar for the Braves were named as Game Stars for their respective squads.  Combiadakis picked up his 2nd win of the season turning aside 33 of 35 Braves' shots in a nice effort while Michette was stung with the loss blocking 46 of 52 shots.

Tippett on the pair of weekend wins, 5-2 over the Bucs and 6-2 over the Braves: 

"I thought we were ready and prepared today. Combiadakis made some key saves and we battled through some penalties.  We are doing a lot of little things right.  We ran into a big netminder and finally solved him in the 3rd.  Our penalty killing has been excellent.  This weekend was yet another growing experience. We were tested by a hot goalie and a fast-breaking skilled team from Nanaimo. The coaching staff loved the way we made the right adjustments and were patient with our game plan.  Sunday we overcame being short-handed numerous times. The players have found a real partnership amongst themselves.  We battled through the short-handed stretch and just put the pedal down in the third.  I'm looking forward to a good week of practice."

A large crowd is expected into the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre Friday night when the Panthers welcome in the Victoria Cougars.  Fans are asked to arrive a bit early, puck drops at 7:30 pm.