Cougars over Panthers 4-3 in yet another one-goal game

October 16, 2020
North Saanich, B.C.

It was a strange mid-October day.  The wind was gentle but it seemed to blow in some chinook winds and with it came some unseasonably warm weather.  And nothing changed once the ice was greased and the Victoria Cougars and Peninsula Panthers hit the ice at 7:30 pm in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre Friday night.  But this time the game was unseasonably hot!  These two squads were playing in their 6th straight game against each other and although they are also the first six games of the season, the level of play and the feel around the game seems like the games should be played in mid-March in the South Island Finals.  And it is something that both teams seem to be enjoying immensely.

Logan Speirs was clearly the best player on the ice for the Panthers Friday evening and he put his squad on the board first when he beat Cougars' starter Brett Anderson from in close.  Reid Fryer kept the puck in at the left point and moved it down into the corner to mate Ryan Grambart.  And Grambart wasted no time shovelling the disk to Speirs who made a sweet move before putting the puck to the back of the net.  And the Panthers looked for the two-goal lead on the power play when they deftly moved the puck around the offensive zone and forced Anderson to make a couple solid saves.  But a defensive miscue at the left point at 11:13 saw Cougars' Zach Guerra force a turnover and then race down the right side and in on Panthers' goaltender Carter Johnstone.  Guerra ripped one to the blocker side that cleanly beat the Panthers starter to knot the score at 1-1, the goal coming on a short-handed effort.  And then with only 20 ticks left in the frame, veteran Bryce Irwin found himself only a couple feet in front of Johnstone and he rammed another puck by him to give the visitors a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes were in the books.

The 2nd stanza did not start well for the locals.  A veteran forward gathered in the puck to the left of Johnstone and then attempted to make a rinkwide pass in an effort to break out of the zone.  The puck slipped off his stick and onto the blade of Jackson Estey and he promptly ripped a shot on the glove side past Johnstone to give the Cougars a solid 3-1 lead.  The Panthers went on a short two-man advantage and moved the puck around nicely at the top of the circles before it landed on the stick of sniper Denver Maloney at the 13:01 mark.  Maloney loaded up and blew one past Anderson who had no chance on the play.  Hunter Jensen and Speirs were awarded helpers on the tally.  But it would be the Cougars once again who would hit paydirt late in a period.  At the 18:49 mark, Estey once again scored to give his Club a 4-2 lead going into the break after 40 minutes were solidly in the books.

The two Clubs exchanged several chances in the early going of the final period of Regulation time and at the 8:13 mark, Panthers' Captain Tanner Wort brought the 'Cats' from the Peninsula to within a single shot.  Riley Braun battled for the puck in heavy traffic and then moved it to Grant Gilbertson behind the goal line to the right of Anderson.  Gilbertson popped the puck onto Wort's stick as he sat just five feet from the Cougars' cage.  Wort did not seem to get all of it but he did get enough as the puck fluttered over Anderson's shoulder and into the back of the net.  The Panthers pushed for the equalizer and pulled Johnstone with a minute to go in the contest.  At one point there was a scramble and Anderson made a huge save to preserve the lead and seconds later, the 4-3 win.

Speirs and Estey were named the Players of the Game for their respective squads.  Johnstone stopped 26 of 30 shots and took it on the chin with the loss while Anderson was all smiles in colllecting the win knocking down 18 of 21 Panthers' shots.

Head Coach Brad Tippett on the heartbreaking loss:
"Adversity does not create character, rather it reveals it. The last 36 hours have shown us just how much our guys care about the team and care about each other. We worked our tails off, blocked shots, took hits to make plays and pushed a veteran-laden team to the brink on back to back nights. We had raw rookies - especially on the blue line - step up and embrace the challenge. Yes - we made some mistakes - mostly caused by lack of experience.
 
Yes - we lost 2 one-goal games to the pre-season favourite. We refuse to take the easy out playing the injury card. No matter how long you have been here - we expect you to play hard and get better each day. We hold everyone accountable. We might not have picked up any points this weekend - but the experience we captured will bring us a lot of points down the road."

The Cougars are back at the Panorama next Friday night before the two Clubs move over to the Archie Browning on Sunday afternoon for games seven and eight of their ten-game series.  One can only hope that the effort and entertainment value continue to play a huge part in the games.