Panthers McKillop picks up 19th win in 3-1 road decision over Generals

December 15th, 2019
Oceanside, British Columbia

It was a bright sunny day in the South, and when the Peninsula Panthers loaded up the Iron Horse to depart Greater Victoria for a date later that afternoon in Oceanside with the Generals, the group was a bit larger than typically the players and staff.  Also boarding the bus was a group of Moms and Dads and one frisky Grandfather to boot.  The large group settled in for the trip making one stop to pick up Drew Coughlin in Langford and then it was full steam ahead.  The trip was uneventful and two hours later the bus pulled into the back area of the Oceanside Place Arena and the large group walked down the steps of the bus to stretch their collective legs.  The parents went their own way for the next 90 minutes and the players and staff simply went about their normal routines getting ready for what they were well aware was going to be a dogfight.  And it was.

The Generals and Panthers warmed up at the customary 2:00 pm Sunday time and after spending 15 minutes tossing pucks at goalies and warming up their bodies, both squads retreated to their respective dressing rooms while the ice was greased.  The two Clubs appeared 15 minutes later and after the introduction of the Generals starting lineup and the customary National Anthem had been put into the rearview mirror, it was time to get down to business.  It was after all the reason that a sizeable crowd had gathered.

The two Clubs exchanged some early chances and it would be the Generals' Elijah Goyer who would be the first to draw blood deep into the opening stanza at the 15:27 mark.  The Panthers failed to clear a puck from the low slot in front of starter Connor McKillop and Goyer made no mistake pounding the puck past the stopper.  The goal would both open and close the scoring in the period.

Some Tim Bits played a mini-game between periods and it caused the break to be somewhat protracted and this was not lost on Panthers' Coach Brad Tippett.  "I thought it seemed like a 25 minute intermission and that was probably more to our advantage than theirs."

Tippett was probably right.  When the puck was finally dropped to start the middle frame, it quickly squirted into the Panthers' zone.  Tanner Wort gained control and moved it to Josh Lingard who was flying down the left side.  Lingard blew a lot of snow inside the Generals' zone and he deftly moved the puck to Braun who was cutting through the middle.  Wort attacked the net and brought a defender with him and that allowed Braun to power his way past the lone defender, cut across the top of the crease, and bury a shot past Oceanside Generals' starter James Brendeland to knot the score at 1-1.  Only 20 seconds had expired.  Both 'tenders made some excellent saves for the remainder of the 2nd period and as a result, both squads were held off the scoresheet setting the stage for a key final frame.

Mackenzie Benn-Wipp had played a physical affair for the Panthers and his play seemed to have the Generals players a bit rattled.  And at the 4:07 mark, a Generals' forward grabbed Benn-Wipp by the neck and threw him rather unceremoniously to the ice and was promptly sent to the sin bin for a two-minute cooling off period, sending the Panthers to the power play.  And they did not disappoint their parent group.  Braun controlled the puck on the half-wall to the left of Brendeland and moved it to Lingard who was on top of the umbrella near the blueline.  Lingard waltzed down the right side and slid the puck to Wort behind the net.  Wort walked out front and waited and waited and waited just a little bit longer before spinning and then blowing the puck past Brendeland for the 2-1 lead.  With two minutes left, the Panthers iced the puck and the Generals took the opportunity to call a timeout.  Coming out of the 30 second break, the home side chose to go with six attackers leaving nobody behind to take care of their own cage.  The Panthers were able to move the puck outside the zone however, the Generals quickly pumped it right back in to the left of McKillop.  Captain Thomas Spink retrieved the puck and moved it to Braun who was just inside his blueline.  Braun took a couple strides into the neutral zone and then he sent the disk 115 feet down the ice towards the yawning cage.  The shot was true and on the mark and it gave the Cats the insurance marker they were looking for.  Brendeland whent back between the pipes and the clock slowly clicked to zero followed by the closing horn.

The visitors had a short celebration and then it was to the showers and then quickly back onto the bus for points south.  There was a couple short blasts of the horn as they departed the parking lot and then a round of pizza and drinks followed.

Coach Tippett expounded on the bus on the way home.  "We knew going in this would be a huge test for us. They have a veteran club, depth scoring and solid goaltending. They play with a great deal of enthusiasm. We just wanted to play a very tight, ugly road game - keep it close and see if we could make a break in the third. Our PP came through when we really needed it. The scoresheet will only tell our big line accounted for all the scoring. It doesn’t show the great efforts we got from everyone. Taking a hit to make a play, checking with tenacity, and moving the puck at the right time to the right person and key saves at momentum changing moments. We are taking pride in locking down games by managing the puck and playing stifling defence."

The Panthers pre-Christmas work is not yet complete.  The Club will travel to Campbell River on Friday to take on the Storm and then will be in Saanich to face the Braves next Sunday afternoon.  And then, and only then, will they be able to put their feet up and wait for the heavy set man in the red suit and the big white beard to come down each of their chimneys.