Panthers send Wolves packing after series ending win on home ice Friday night

March 6, 2020
North Saanich, B.C.

Round 1 for the Peninsula Panthers ended with a win on Friday night in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre.  The Westshore Wolves who were their opponents departed after the game knowing that it was the last time they would play hockey this season.  The Cats won the series 4-1, albeit, the games were hard-fought and not a quarter was given by either squad.

A large and boisterous crowd filtered in the Panorama before the puck dropped at 7:30 pm and the partisan and faithful fans were rewarded.  With the hard fought 3-2 win, the Panthers move on to face the Victoria Cougars in a series which will start this Sunday afternoon at 3:30 pm at the Archie Browning Arena.

Head Coach Brad Tippett spoke to his Club after the game in the dressing room and congratulated his troops and then laid out the path ahead.  He was spoken to as he stepped from the room for some comments on the night and on the series.

"We never really got a break throughout the series - on a number of fronts - but a bounce in our direction tonight was the difference-maker. This was a very unique game in that it was non physical - only three retraining penalties - but was tight, tight checking. There was very little time or space for players to make things happen. Both teams had stretches where they pushed the agenda.  Even though we finished 2nd overall in VIJHL standings, Westshore proved that we drew the toughest opponent in the first round. The OT win in Game 3 was huge. Running into the adversity that we encountered will hopefully help us in the long run."

Tippett and his squad came out firing early in the game and after a couple of solid chances, Panthers' forward Logan Speirs beat Wolves' netminder Dalan Marleau on a one-timer only 5:45 into the 1st stanza.  Jonah Ragsdale moved the puck to Denver Maloney to the left of Marleau and he then sent it cross ice to Speirs who blasted it past Marleau for the early lead.  But the Wolves were playing for their lives and had no intention of going away.  At the 13:57 mark, VIJHL Rookie of the Year Chase Klassen picked up a pass from Andy Westhaver and sped down the left side.  At the top of the circles he snapped a shot at Panthers' goaltender Connor McKillop and it beat the Cats' stopper cleanly, a marker that McKillop undoubtedly would have liked to have a re-do.  The Panthers went to the power play and 94 seconds later they regained their one-goal lead while on the man-advantage.  Riley Braun moved the puck to Skyler Diamond-Burchuk who made a nifty move and got the puck to the front of the net for Tanner Wort who was stationed there.  Wort took a couple cracks at the disk and then slid it past Marleau and the crowd erupted in response.

Wolves' Caleb Parkhouse knotted the game at 2-2 midway through the 2nd period.  Both the Wolves and Panthers raced up and down the sheet for the remainder of the frame but neither could get one past McKillop or Marleau.

At the 10:48 mark of the final stanza, 16-year-old rookie "Lucky" Luc Pelletier scored the winner.....sort of.  Lucky Luc and Denver Maloney were working on the half wall to the left of Marleau however, it was the Wolves' player who came out of the scrum with the puck.  He slid it towards his own net to a Wolves' defenceman however the puck was mishandled, deflected off the defenceman's skate and incredibly went past Marleau to the back of the net.  "Lucky" Luc was the last Cat to touch the puck and was awarded with the goal from referee Graedy Hamilton.  The roof almost blew off the Panorama Recreation Centre as the Cats finally got a bounce in the series that they were looking for.  And they played lock-down textbook hockey from that point to the final buzzer, chipping the puck out and getting it deep into the Wolves' end while watching the scoreboard clock move methodically towards the final buzzer.  Marleau did get to the bench with just over a minute remaining, however it would not impact the final 3-2 win.

Only three minor penalties were called in the game where the two teams were allowed to decide the winner.  It was perhaps one of the best officiated games at the Panorama in recent memory.

Speirs and Klassen were named the Players of the Game.  McKillop blocked 22 of 24 shots in collecting the win, while Marleau was tagged with the tough-luck loss blocking 27 of 30 shots.  There was no question the series was a lot closer than 4-1 and a goal here or a save there could have written an entirely different story.

The Panthers will now look forward to Round 2 of the VIJHL Playoffs facing the Victoria Cougars.  The following is the schedule for that Best-of-7 series: 

Game 1  Sunday, March 8 @ 3:30 pm at Archie Browning Arena

Game 2  Wednesday, March 11 @ 8:30 pm at Archie Browning Arena

Game 3  Friday, March 13 @ 7:30 pm at Panorama Recreation Centre

Game 4  Saturday, March 14 @ 7:30 pm at Panorama Recreation Centre

Game 5  Thursday, March 19 @ 7:00 pm at Archie Browning Arena 

Game 6  Friday, March 20 @ 7:30 pm at Panorama Recreation Centre

Game 7  Sunday, March 22 at 3:30 pm at Archie Browning Arena