Panthers clinch 2nd place in VIJHL with win over Wolves Friday night

February 14th, 2020
North Saanich, British Columbia

The Peninsula Panthers used Valentine's Day as an opportunity to give their fans a little something special.  And it came against their 1st Round opponent on Friday night in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre.  The Panthers topped the Westshore Wolves by a 3-1 count and in doing so, managed to lock up 2nd place in the VIJHL.  The Club will have home-ice advantage in the 1st Round of the playoffs against the Wolves and if they were to advance to the League Finals against the Northern Division, they would once again own the home-ice advantage.

Denver Maloney opened the scoring for the Cats at the 8:57 mark of the 1st frame when he pounded home a one-timer off the hustle and off the stick of Riley Braun.  The Wolves had cleared the zone however, Thomas Spink gathered up the disk in the neutral zone and dumped it back to the right of Wolves' starter Haydar.  Braun outhustled the Wolves defencemen, took control of the puck and moved it to Maloney who was 14 feet out and standing all alone.  He made no mistake beating Hadar and it would prove to be the only goal of the opening 20 minutes.

The two squads exchanged goals in the middle stanza.  At the 5:40 mark, Jack Taylor took the puck deep inside his own zone and skated swiftly into the neutral zone.  Taylor spotted Panthers' mate Mackenzie Benn-Wipp racing down the right side of the ice and he hit him on the tape in full stride.  Benn-Wipp raced around a Wolves defenceman and cut to the net.  Hadar made the initial save off the power forward however, Tanner Wort was in the right place at the right time and he banged home the rebound for the 2-0 lead.  It was Wort's VIJHL-leading 40th marker of the season.  But the Wolves had a few tricks of their own and after a bit of a scramble, Affiliated forward Cam Smith found himself with the disk to the left of Panthers' starter Connor McKillop with the stopper down and out.  Smith ripped a shot over McKillop and to the back of the net to bring the game within a goal at 2-1, scoring at the 11:43 point in the period.

Both teams raced up and down the ice in the final period and while the Panthers were on the power play at the 8:48 mark, Danial Larson raced in on a breakaway on McKillop.  Drew Coughlin chased Larson and softy tapped him but was a penalty shot was called on the play.  Larson came in and shot the puck but McKillop confidently turned aside the shot.  Both teams exchanged some great chances but Haydar and McKillop held.  And with only 23 seconds left and with Haydar on the bench for the extra attacker, Josh Lingard moved the puck up to Wort in his own end and Wort shot the puck to the heart of the net from 140 feet.  It was the sniper's 41st goal and it tied the Panthers franchise record for most goals in a single season, a record that has held since 2001/02 when Tyson Pace popped 41 as well.  It also gave Wort 85 points, just two shy of Evan Campbell who had 87 in the 2010/11 season.  The Panthers have two games left in the Regular Season, both in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre.

Haydar and McKillop were named the Players of the Game and for McKillop the win proved to be his 26th of the season.

Head Coach Brad Tippett and his thoughts on the game:

"We had a much better effort in every facet of the game. The coaches all agreed we played with much more emotion, determination and wisdom. The effort was there as was willingness to engage physically. Horricks, Coughlin, Pelletier and Taylor to name a few were finishing checks and creating loose pucks. The defence moved the puck better. Connor (McKillop) was his calm cool self. We did pick up some bumps and bruises which will likely necessitate bringing up some guys on Monday. We didn’t  get a PP goal but had some great chances. Our penalty killing was efficient and included some new faces.
 
Our leadership group consists of the 8-9 veteran players and the coaching staff. Early in the year we set out some specifically defined goals. Tonight’s win ticked off a huge box in that we have clinched 2nd overall giving us home ice advantage against all but one team. A win Monday and Friday also knocks down a couple more on our wish list in terms of head-to-head season series results."

The Panthers will next play at home Monday afternoon at 1:00 pm when they host the Saanich Braves.  The Cats will wear a special 3rd jersey and these will be gifted on ice after the game is in the books to lucky PMHA players and fans.  28 jerseys will be given away during the ceremony.  The biggest crowd of the season is expected and fans are asked to arrive early.