Cats-nip Cougars 4-3

November 18, 2021
Esquimalt, British Columbia

The Peninsula Panthers Cats-nipped the Victoria Cougars 4-3 on a rainy evening in Esquimalt, British Columbia.  There has been a lot of rain as of late but the 'Cats' from the Peninsula were dry behind the ears when they waltzed into the Archie Browning Arena on Thursday night for a 7:00 pm date with the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey leading Victoria Cougars.  And riding the strength of their dynamic power play the visitors put three on the man advantage behind Cougars' stopper Jonah Chambers and the output along with a Davey Moody 2nd period deflection was enough to garner two points at the end of the night.

Logan Speirs and brothers Riley and Payton Braun each scored on the power play and, along with the Moody marker, held what looked to be a commanding 4-1 lead well into the 3rd period.  Jackson Estey had been the lone Cougars marksman until late in the final stanza when Connor Delay scored to make it 4-2 with just over four minutes remaining.  Chambers was on the bench for the extra attacker and the move paid off when Dylan Jessa beat Panthers starter Brady Kelly with exactly one minute left.  And the Cougars had a bit more in the tank and pressed for the equalizer in the dying seconds, but the visitors held firm and vacated the ice with the win in their back pocket.

Kelly blocked 24 of 27 shots and added a win to his belt while Chambers was tagged with the loss, blocking 19 of 23 scoring attempts.  Speirs collected the Player of the Game for the Panthers while Delay was awarded the honour from the home side.

Head Coach Brad Tippett was tracked down outside the Panthers dressing room in the tunnel underneath the stands at the Archie Browning Arena after the game and shared his thoughts on the night:

"The Cougars came out flying as they usually do at home. We talked about just keeping things even through the first part of the game.  A couple of lines really struggled to get possession of the puck. We finally got a little pressure which resulted in the Cougars taking a couple of restraining penalties. Our power play struck twice in the first and we had them chasing the game from there.
We went into the game short one forward and with Seth Fryer called up from PCHA to fill in the defensive corps. We picked up a couple more injuries with Mason McNeill (thumb) and Ryan Grambart (leg) unable to finish the game. It was a courageous effort. Moody chipped in a goal screening the goalie. Sdrakas skated hard and was a pest all night. The big line was – the big line again. Jensen was the steady solid defenseman we need him to be. Brady Kelly picked up his second win in a tough building. Lots of good things and a few fixable areas, and back at it tomorrow with another tough opponent in Westshore."

The Panthers do not have a lot of time to enjoy the win as they are right back at home Friday night when they play host to the visiting Westshore Wolves.  The Club has reeled off six wins in a row and expect that tomorrow evening will showcase two of the fastest teams in the VIJHL.  The puck is set to drop at the Panorama Recreation Centre at 7:30 pm.  Please arrive early.