27-game point streak has Logan Speirs-heading the attack!

Tuesday November 23, 2021
North Saanich, British Columbia

"It sounds so cliché to say and when I was 16 I didn't believe the 20 year olds who would tell me how fast Junior hockey goes by."

Five-year Peninsula Panthers veteran Logan Speirs made that statement the day following a breathtaking 5-4 overtime win on a Speirs marker just 40 seconds into overtime.  The winning goal came right after what was literally a last second goal by Speirs' linemate Payton Braun, a goal where Speirs was robbed on a shot by Saanich Predators goaltender Andrew Palm just two seconds earlier but a shot that also left a rebound just behind the cage and to the left of Palm.  The offensively talented forward moved the puck out front into a crowd and Panthers Grant Gilbertson went to work trying to jam the disk past Palm.  The goaltender made another save however it squirted to the middle of the crease where Braun bulldozed it past Palm with 0.1 seconds remaining to knot the score at 4-4 and send the contest into the extra stanza.  With only 40 ticks having been expired in the extra frame, Speirs picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and raced in on Palm on what could be considered a semi-breakaway.  And he made no mistake sending the rubber disk to the top of the Predators net, popping the water bottle and also popping the corks on a celebration that most pundits in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League agree was the most exciting and exhilarating game of the season.  Speirs ended the evening's work with a goal and two helpers and allowed him to extend his point streak to 27 games.  He has tallied a point in every game the Club has played in this current campaign, a lofty total that is unmatched as long as the same pundits can recall.  The super-sniper sits in 2nd place in overall VIJHL scoring with 54 points, only trailing linemate and his right winger Riley Braun.

Speirs expounded a bit on his feelings about the hourglass on his Junior career starting to slowly sift out of sand and his five years having sped by faster than a shooting star. 

"It is so true, especially with the shortened season last year having only played 12 games.  And already this year we are halfway through my final season. I have enjoyed tremendously playing for the Panthers for 5 years now and truthfully I don't want it to end!  But with the skilled team we have this year and all of my great teammates, it will make it a bit easier to say goodbye when the time comes.  I just hope that the playoffs extends my time as much as possible."

The 20-year-old was born in 2001 and has lived in Victoria all his life and more precisely Brentwood Bay only a kilometer from the world famous Butchart Gardens.  He laced his skates up for the first time when he was five years old with the Peninsula Eagles Minor Hockey Association and played all of his hockey there until joining the Peninsula Panthers as a wide-eyed 16-year-old.  BC Hockey mandates that Junior Clubs can only roster two 16's and Speirs and Riley Braun cracked the 'Cats' roster together and have grown together and now lead the squad. 

"In my youth I tried many sports such as basketball, football and I even used to run competitively. But hockey was always my go to sport," emphatically stated the young man with a great head on his shoulders.

Speirs does not work during the hockey season as his bingo card is completely blacked out with the game and with school commitments. Logan graduated from Stelly's Secondary School with a dual dogwood. (fluent french and english).  He has completed 2 years of post-secondary schooling at Camosun before transferring to the University of Victoria this year where he is enrolled in the Business Program.  But during the summer months he works for a local moving company and this has translated into 'Man strength' which has helped his performance game in and game out.

"I remember every Friday night my family would have pizza, then my dad would take me to watch the Panthers.  We did this for many years.  I have always wanted to play Junior hockey for the Panthers and having the priviledge to play for my hometown team has been and still is surreal."
 
The Club struggled early in the season but with a couple roster moves and players buying into Head Coach Brad Tippett's schemes, they now find themselves on a seven-game winning streak and look for more success this Friday night when the Oceanside Generals come marching into the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre. 

"This season has been a roller coaster of emotions with a tough start however not for a moment was I concerned. Our forwards all know how to put the puck in the net. Our defence - when they are all healthy - are outstanding at pretty much every aspect of the game.  And as of late our goaltending has become spectacular.  We are currently on a hot streak and it feels amazing.  This team has the potential to take it all the way this year. As long as we all buy into the systems, and barring more injuries there is no slowing us down."

Speirs might feel the clock ticking too quickly, but for opponents in the League they love nothing more than to congratulate him on a great career and feel good about not having him light it up each night.  And for fans on the Peninsula, they are still fortunate enough to be able to watch one of the best forwards in the entire League playing for the home side for another half season and hopefully a protracted playoff run.  Five years have moved off the calendar quickly when looking in the rear view mirror but the talented leader and veteran will be savouring every single moment from now until the final buzzer sounds at the end of the playoffs.  And if Lady Luck and Karma have any say, Speirs will hopefully stay out on the ice just a few minutes longer as the Cyclone Taylor Championship hardware gets a final skate around the rink being held high by one of the League's best.

Speirs and his Panthers mates hit the ice this Friday night when they welcome in the Oceanside Generals. The puck drops at 7:30 pm