Panthers scratch and claw Cougars 6-4 in a battle of power plays

January 3rd, 2020
North Saanich, British Columbia

The game was on the line late in the final stanza with the Peninsula Panthers leading 5-4 and on the power play.  The Cougars managed to yank starter Jonah Chambers for the extra attacker and now they had five skaters on five Peninsula skaters but they had nobody home to guard the chicken coop while they pushed for the equalizer.  And then with only 13 seconds remaining in the contest, Denver Maloney intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and dished it to linemate Logan Speirs and the speedy Panthers forward waltzed in from the blueline and from 9 feet, slid the puck past nobody into the vacated cage for the insurance marker.  A large crowd had gathered around 7:30 pm and had watched the two top squads in the VIJHL battle for 59:47 minutes but now they were able to have a collective party, it was game, set and match.

Approximately two hours earlier, Skyler Diamond-Burchuk had opened the scoring for the Panthers when at the 3:26 mark of the first frame he walked out from the half wall to the right of Chambers after mate Denver Maloney had battled to turn the puck over and he deftly shoveled it past the deserted target.  But the one-goal lead was short-lived.  Bryce Irwin answered for the Cougars beating Panthers starter Connor McKillop from 12 feet out on the power play.  And only three minutes later, Evan Eason hit paydirt when he tucked the biscuit between the legs of McKillop for a 2-1 Cougars lead.  Luc Pelletier would not let his team go to the first intermission down a goal and he scored on the prettiest goal of the evening on a setup from Speirs and Maloney at the 14:54 mark to knot the game at 2-2.  There would be no more scoring and after 20 minutes were in the books, nothing had yet been decided.

The two Clubs exchanged power play markers in the middle period.  At the 5:25 mark, Riley Braun and Tanner Wort battled for the puck in the corner to the right of Chambers and Wort eventually moved it to Braun who was now at the hash marks on the wall.  Braun found Josh Lingard at the top of the umbrella near the blueline and he took a couple steps in and sent a snap shot towards Chambers.  A juicy rebound popped out and onto the stick of Drew Coughlin and Coughlin pounded past the visitors netminder for the 3-2 lead.  But 12 minutes later, Eason would strike again, this time on the power play and once again the two clubs would head to the intermission with nothing decided, this time at 3-3.

Easton scored his 3rd marker of the night just 56 seconds into the final stanza and once again, while on the power play.  The goal would give the Cougars a 4-3 lead but it would be all Panthers in the scoring department in the final 19 minutes of the game.  At the 6:27 mark, Wort finished off a play from Lingard and Diamond-Burchuck on the power play.  And three minutes later, Braun ripped a shot past Chambers on the power play with helpers coming off the sticks of Lingard and Wort.  There were chances in both ends in the final ten minutes but the Speirs power play marker into the empty net sealed the outcome in what had been a fast-paced affair.

McKillop stopped 32 of 36 shots in posting his 20th win of the season while Chambers blocked 28 of 33 shots and was tagged for the loss.  Easton and Coughlin were selected as the two stars for their respective Clubs.

Brad Tippett commented on the contest just minutes after the conclusion of the game from his office in the tunnel across from the Panthers' dressing room where the tunes were blasting. 

"In our practice Thursday we pushed the players very hard.  Having a game under their belt following the Christmas break granted the Cougars an advantage going into the game. We survived the first period and thought we got better as the game progressed. Our puck pursuits got better. While we dished out some thunderous checks we need to be more consistent simply finishing checks.
With 7 power play goals in the game, special teams played a huge part. We made some changes in regards to getting Josh Lingard more involved in the scoring aspect versus a primary role as a set up man. That unit was much better. We need to get the second unit using the defence more. Giving up three power play goals is obviously a concern. We were simply too soft on Easton in the scoring areas."

The Panthers will head to Saanich on Sunday afternoon for a 4:30 pm date with the Braves.  They will be at the Archie Browning Arena next Thursday night before returning home next Friday night to take on the visiting and North Division leading Oceanside Generals in what is expected to be a hotly contested affair.  The puck drops at 7:30 pm and if the game proves to be anything like the one the fans on the Peninsula just witnessed, the entertainment ticker will be right around 9 or 10 out of 10 once again.  A good sized crowd is expected.