Panthers continue to roll with 5-2 road victory over Glacier Kings

Saturday, October 26, 2019
Comox, British Columbia

It was a perfect day for a drive.  The Peninsula Panthers bus was loaded and departed just shortly after the 2:15 pm departure time.  Skyler Diamond-Burchuk was just a couple ticks late after having been snarled in some traffic, but he missed out on nothing except perhaps a few laughs for his misfortune.  And once he arrived, the Iron Horse began to amble out of the Greater Victoria area for points North, specifically the Comox Valley Sports Centre Arena where a 7:00 pm appointment was waiting for the Club.

The Panthers had enjoyed a 7-5 win the night before at home in front of their strong fan base and now they had plans on making it a perfect 2-0 later in the evening.  And they did just that, albeit, they had to come back after the Glacier Kings took an early lead.

Shortly after 5:00 pm the bus rolled into the parking lot in Comox and the 19 players - one trainer and two coaches - went through the same routine that they had all gone through hundreds and perhaps thousands of times in their lives.  The ritual of removing the gear began and with little chatter about what had to be done, everything that needed to be moved into the arena was performed in short order.  From 40,000 feet above, it was easy to see that this dance had previously happened a time or two.

Head Coach Brad Tippett said little and soon the players began to partake in their pre-game rituals.  Sticks were taped and some were waxed.  Some used white tape, others used black.  Each player seemed to have their own unique way of getting the job done, but it was safe to say that each one of them got to the finish line in this department.  Defenceman Stefan Grunert and forward Jonah Ragsdale were both conspicuously absent after each was a bit banged up when the final buzzer sounded the evening before.  And with a short roster of 21 players, the Team was one cookie short of a full box but it would have to suffice for this contest.  The players hit a clean sheet of ice at 6:30 pm and after skates cut in and pucks flew for the next 15 minutes, it was once again time for Tippett to take front and centre.  Players did a final check of their gear after the warmup, some sticks needed to be taped just a little bit more and then Tippett addressed his troops.  And after the game, he would address the media who were looking for some of his thoughts in the hallway just outside the dressing room.  And he was pleased after the Panthers had knocked off the Glacier Kings by a 5-2 count with Goaltender Chris Combiadakis picking up his second win in as many nights.

"​This was one of those trap games where everything is stacked in your favour. You are supposed to win and players have to fight the urge to take shortcuts. I was really proud of our mental approach. We managed the puck in terms of risky plays and we managed the clock with tight defence late in each period. Combiadakis was solid in the second when they made a push."

Glacier Kings Matthew Teasdale drew first blood when against the flow of the play he romped down the right side and snapped a shot high on the glove side of Combiadakis at the 6:46 mark of the 1st period.  But that was the last time the Glacier Kings would lead.  At the 11:15 mark, Panthers' Jack Taylor won an offensive zone face-off onto the stick of 16-year-old rookie Lucas Thomson-Fiddes and he quickly moved it back to Hunter Jensen who was waiting at the point.  Jensen wristed a high shot towards Glacier Kings' starter Brandon Naidu but Taylor had taken away the goaltender's eyes with a perfect screen.  And in the blink of an eye, the disk sped past Naidu and did not come to a stop until it had hit the twine behind him and then nestled softly to the ice below.  And Taylor was not done.  Five minutes later, Alex Benger gathered in the puck in his own corner to the right of Combiadakis and he moved it up the wall to Thomson-Fiddes.  The right winger in turn passed the puck to Taylor who was dashing out of his own zone and Taylor carried through the neutal zone and into the Comox end before giving it back to Thomson-Fiddes.  The rookie took a low shot on Naidu and although he made the initial save, Taylor was "Johnny on the spot" to tuck it in to give his Club the 2-1 lead.  It would remain that way until the buzzer sounded to end the 1st period of action.

Mackenzie Benn-Wipp wasted no time giving his squad a 3-1 lead at the 1:00 minute mark of the middle frame.  Matt Sparrow won a draw to the right of Naidu back to defenceman Matt Seale and he quickly moved it over to his partner Jensen.  Jensen floated a shot but it deflected into the corner where it was picked up by Benn-Wipp.  He wheeled down the wall and then across the blueline before putting in a seeing-eye shot on the ice that beat a shocked Naidu for a 3-1 Panthers lead.  Both teams exchanged chances and Combiadakis was busy at times but was able to keep the home side at bay.  And with only 22 seconds left in the period, it was time for speedy forward Logan Speirs to join the party.  Speirs picked up the puck on the half wall inside his own end and deftly chipped it by the Glacier Kings' defenceman.  He then raced down the right side on a 2-on-1 with Sparrow.  Speirs made a perfect pass to Sparrow just 12 feet in front of Naidu but the goaltender somehow made the save on Sparrow.  The rebound popped right out and onto the stick of Denver Maloney and Naidu would not be a fortuitous on his shot.  And with the late Maloney marker, the Panthers would head to the 2nd intermission with a commanding 4-1 lead and pretty well were feeling good about life in general.

At the 5:59 mark of the final frame, Riley Braun would give the Panthers the insurance marker they were looking for as he snapped a shot past Naidu from about six feet out.  Josh Lingard and Seale added helpers on the play.  Glacier Kings Jordan Neufeld replied for the Glacier Kings at the 8:58 mark to make it a 5-2 game.  For all intents and purposes, it was a relatively meaningless marker but one that added to Neufeld's line none the less.  Combiadakis picked up the win stopping 17 of 19 Glacier Kings' shots while Naidu was the busier of the two knocking down 36 of 41 attempts while being tagged with the loss.  Taylor for the Panthers and Teasdale for the Glacier Kings were selected as the Players of the Game respectively.

The bus was loaded and a feed of Chinese food followed as the bus headed South.  There were laughs along the way and shortly after 12:30 pm, the evening came to a close when the gear was unloaded and the players bid each other adieu. 

With the win the Panthers remained a perfect 9-0 against the North Division and moved their VIJHL point total to 28 on the strength of a 14-3 win/loss record.  The Club will get back to work with a week of practice before welcoming into the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre the visiting Nanaimo Buccaneers this coming Friday night.  The puck drops at 7:30 pm.