S.S. Panthers make final adjustments as they ready to set sail

September 4, 2021
North Saanich, British Columbia

On a warm Friday September evening on the Saanich Peninsula, vehicles began to converge on the parking lot at the Panorama Recreation Centre just before 7:30 pm.  Some people walked hastily from their various modes of transportation while other ambled towards the entrance seeming oblivious to the music coming from the "B" Arena.  That same music had been playing on Friday nights for the past two decades and with the timing and the fact that it was a Friday, the sounds were synonomous with Peninsula Panthers Junior Hockey.  But somehow this evening felt a bit different than years gone by.  The recent arrivals were putting masks to their faces as they entered the premises and actually seemed happy to do it as it meant they could once again enjoy the game they all had grown to love.  Coreen Zubersky took her familiar place in the lobby at the Panthers table and once again welcomed all comers to the game.  Although the patrons were masked and their smiles were not visible, the glint in their collective eye was.  It was refreshing to be back and as Panthers play-by-play commented a couple of times throughout the evening, it all almost seemed normal once again.  It is not yet quite normal as the fans are required to be masked and a 200 fan limit has been placed on the Club, but it is unquestionably getting there!

The 'Cats' had only dressed 11 regulars last Friday evening in a 3-2 Overtime win against the Westshore Wolves but dressed a full roster of signed players on Wednesday for the return game with the Wolves at the Q Centre.  And after being outplayed, outhustled and beat in just about every aspect of the game, the Club limped back to the Peninsula knowing there was work to be done.  Veteran Logan Speirs came into Panthers GM Pete Zubersky's office on Thursday evening before practice looking for swag and the two discussed the contest of the previous evening.  

"Logan has been around a long time and I have always thought of him as a great measuring stick with any questions surrounding the team," said Zubersky.  "It's enjoyable talking with him, nothing is sugar-coated.  The theme of his comments about the 8-5 beating we took on Wednesday night was that the Wolves are a really good Club and that we were not ready for what they brought that night, that they surprised us.  I thought his comments were on the mark.  There were no excuses, only that we had to be better."

And Friday night they were.  As the team entered the ice to start the game at 7:30 pm, the energy could be felt immediately.  The lineup exploded out of the gate at the North end of the rink under the large video screen and most took one or two hard laps before settling onto their bench to await young Brendan Dawes' rendition of the National Anthem.  And when the puck hit the ice, a markedly different looking squad played 60 minutes of hockey and were full value for a 4-2 win on the evening.

Panthers Head Coach Brad Tippett was not at all pleased as he left the Q Centre on Wednesday but was pleased with adjustments which were made and the effort level on Friday as compared to two days earlier.

"Our staff liked our composure for the most part," quipped Tippett. I thought we outplayed Saanich in the first period but were down 2-0.  We stayed with the game and our game plan and clearly our compete level was much better than Wednesday. We still have a long way to go with the on-ice communication and that is something we have been talking about in the past couple of weeks.  Unfortunately we have picked up some bumps and bruises so we might have to get just a bit creative with our lineup next week when we open the regular season."

Based on the shot clock after 20 minutes were in the books and once again at the end of the game, the Panthers were full value for the win.  The home side recorded the first 11 shots of the contest and although they outshot the visitors 23-8 after the initial stanza, the visitors were ahead where it counted 2-0.  Zach Greenfield opened the scoring at the 15:29 mark on a gift from Panthers starting goaltender Connor Sveinson.  The stopper failed to control the rebound on a seemingly harmless shot and Greenfield was on the spot to shovel the disk by Sveinson.  And 35 ticks later, Kyle Brown romped right down the middle and at the hashmarks let a blistering snapshot go that cleanly beat the startled 'Cat' netminder high on the glove side.

Down 2-0 going into the middle frame, one had the sense that it was a matter of time before the home side would be able to get on track.  Predators goaltender Andrew Palm had been the story of the game but only 1:55 into the period, Panthers gritty left winger Sterling Lyon would change all of that.  Lyon collected some garbage right in front of Palm, went to his backhand and promptly made the delivery past the 20-year-old target to bring his squad within a marker with Robson Scott and Ryan Grambart picking up helpers on the tally.  The Panthers had control of the period for the most part and at times showed some real offensive flare and teamwork in the offensive end.  And it would be Speirs who would draw the Club even at 2-2 when at the 17:32 mark, he scored with an assist going to Lyon.  The two foes would go to the dressing room deadlocked after 40 minutes.

Payton Braun opened the scoring at the 9:14 mark of the final frame on a helper from stalwart defenceman Matt Seale to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead, it would prove to be the winner.  Once again the locals carried the play but Palm kept his side close as the final minutes on the clock wound down.  Palm raced to the bench for an extra attacker with just over a minute remaining in the game however an unfortunate turnover for his squad put the game on ice.  Grant Gilbertson scored his 3rd goal in as many games when he picked up the disk in the neutral zone and skated in on the vacated cage wih only one defender between him and paydirt.  The 2nd year veteran crossed the blueline and chose to shoot the puck sending it six inches inside the right post and to the back of the net for the insurance marker with just 55 seconds remaining.  It was the final nail in the coffin for the Predators who were the hunted rather than the hunters.

Svienson blocked 20 of 22 shots in collecting the win while Palm was collared with the loss, albeit, blocking 51 of 54 shots fired in his direction.  Palm was selected as the Predators player of the game while Seale skated miles and was the Panthers selection.

The Panthers will take a couple days off before hitting the ice early next week in preparation for a pair of games against the Victoria Cougars.  The Club will travel to Esquimalt on Thursday evening to face their crosstown feline foes and next Friday the same two squads will be right back into the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre for the back end of the home-and-home regular season pair of games.  It will be interesting to see what Speirs has to say this week.

Cat tracks....Panthers sat out three regular defenceman in Mason McNeill who was down at the Victoria Royals WHL camp, Reid Fryer with a suspension coming out of the Westshore game on Wednesday and Evan Crawford who has been on the shelf with an injury for the past number of weeks....Skilled top-6 forward Denver Maloney was also out on Friday due to work commitments....a crowd of 150 fans showed up Friday but the Club is expecting a full complement of the 200 allowed for their home opener on Friday against the Cougars....Julien Phillips has made the squad due to his gritty reputation and in the 3rd period on Friday, he demonstrated a bit of what the Panthers brass is looking for from the 18-year-old rookie....Tippett has indicated that he will be naming his Captain and the three Assistant Captains this coming week going into Thursday's game in Esquimalt....The atmosphere at the Panorama at Panthers games is electric at times and provides a clear home-ice advantage....14-year-old Rylan Pow has been added to the squad and will be taking over duties as the Panthers stickboy....former Panthers sniper Josh Lingard was in the house to see the progress of his 16-year-old sibling Ethan.