Panthers win in Overtime Thriller to take 2-1 lead in a most unusual 10-game series

October 8th, 2020
Esquimalt, British Columbia

Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones was a lot younger than he is now when he first belted out the lyrics "I Can't Get No Satisfaction."  And on Thursday night, it was the Peninsula Panthers who tried and tried and their effort left the Victoria Cougars the ones who got 'no satisfaction.'  A Cougar shot the puck wide of Panthers' netminder Carter Johnstone and it rimmed around the boards to Tanner Wort who was waiting patiently on the left wing on the half wall.  Wort tipped the puck to defenceman Matt Seale who picked it up in stride and ambled through the neutral zone on a 2-on-2 rush with Josh Lingard.  Lingard brought both checkers with him as he attacked the net and that allowed Seale to drift to the left side of Jonah Chambers who had been blocking pucks all night long for the Cougars.  And Seale made no mistake as he ripped a bullet to the top of the cage to end the game midway through the five minute overtime stanza and send the Cats from the Peninsula home with the win. 

In what has been the most unusual season in Vancouver Island Junior Hockey history, the two Clubs will play ten straight games due to the pandemic, the final one coming on Friday October, 30 at the Panorama Recreation Centre.  But that date seems far on the horizon and both Clubs would like to put up a significant number of wins on the board before the trick or treaters come knocking on your door.

Eighteen-year-old rookie stopper Johnstone made his first start between the pipes for the Panthers and picked up his first win in dramatic fashion, while another couple of players including veteran Eric Horricks and rookie Reid Fryer also made their 2020/21 debut.

Josh Lingard opened the scoring only 3:51 into the initial frame on a shot from the point on the power play after a nifty setup by Seale and Riley Braun.  And then Wort arrived at the party with just over five minutes left in the period when he banged one past Chambers from 24 inches.  Lingard and Braun helped out on the play and the Panthers would skate to the dressing room with a well-deserved 2-0 edge.

It was Wort who would once again put a marker on the board at the 6:14 point of the 2nd stanza.  Rookie defenceman Evan Crawford picked up the puck deep in his own end to the left of Johnstone and romped through the neutral zone and just over the Cougars' blueline on the right side.  He dropped the puck to Braun, who drew a defender and then moved the puck deep into the offensive zone back onto Crawford's stick.  Crawford made a slick play and Wort was the right guy to move it to and last year's top scorer would make absolutely no mistake giving the Panthers a 3-0 lead.  But the Cougars would not die and at the 10:14 mark, Spencer Golden seemed to bang one off the post but was awarded with a goal completely changing the complexion of the affair.  And they were not done.  A Panthers' power play resulted in several outstanding scoring chances however Cougars Ryan Strange and Bryce Irwin burst from the defensive end and it would be Irwin who would toss one past Johnstone to make it a one-goal game.   And then with just 36 ticks left in the in the period, a Panthers' defenceman made a rookie mistake by pinching at the offensive blueline and it resulted in Cougars Ethan Roworth darting down the right side and tossing a soft backhand at Johnstone that somehow found the back of the net. It is probably a goal that the youngster would have liked a do-over.

Nothing was solved in the final 20 minutes and the two sides went into the extra frame setting up the heroics from Seale.  Johnstone blocked 39 of 42 attempts to pick up the win, while Chambers was good on 30 of 34 and absorbed the loss.  Wort for the Panthers and Irwin for the Cougars were named the game stars.

Brad Tippett on the game:
"Any win in OT is exciting - even more in a tough building to play in. All three games with Cougars have been very close with an intensity usually seen in March.  I thought our special teams were critical led by our improved penalty-killing.

We had a great first period and start to the 2nd. The Cougars got a spark from a goal that clearly did not go in the net. Give the Cougars credit as they parlayed the break into a three-goal comeback. The 3rd period was even and Seale made a high skill play to net the winner.

Similar to the other games, we have had some really good performances and some that will require much more effort, commitment and better execution. The lack of exhibition games has made for a steeper learning curve where mistakes bring immediate consequences. Some of our younger guys should be getting used to the league however we have veteran guys who we need more from as well. As we move along, the generous strategy of getting everyone into action will be replaced by one where ice time is earned. We are happy with the start but happier knowing we can still play better."

The two Teams will hit the ice for their 4th of 10 games with the venue changing to the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre.  A crowd of 50 is expected.