Panthers complete exciting weekend with 4-1 win over the Islanders

November 27, 2021
Mill Bay, British Columbia

The Peninsula Panthers were one of the two hottest Clubs going into Friday night after reeling off seven consectutive wins, but something had to give.  The Club was set to welcome in the other red hot squad in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, a group that had won 10 of their last 11 games and so something had to give.  But one thing was certain after 65 minutes and a lengthy shootout was in the books.  The fans on the Peninsula were treated to yet another fantastic night of entertainment in what has been a string of heart-stopping games that seems to have been ongoing for the past two months.

The two Clubs had completed their warmups, had their final instructions from the two respective coaches and then waltzed out onto the darkened big white sheet set for what most hockey pundits believed would be a hotly-contested affair.  They were right.  After the introductions, the McDonald's Player of the Week took a spin around the barn to the cheers of everyone in attendance including the visiting bench.  And after the National Anthem was belted out by incumbent and talented vocalist Brendan Dawes, it was time to get down to business.

Brady Kelly made the start between the pipes for the 'Cats' while his counterpart 200 feet away was Aaron Kaner.  The ice was tilted for the Panthers in the first 40 minutes and they held a two-goal lead at 3-1 going into the 2nd intermission on a pair of goals by Payton Braun and a single marker from Aleko Sdrakas.  It would prove to be not quite enough.  Evan Dyce was the lone marksman for the Generals.

The final stanza was the most dominant effort the Panthers have experienced this season as the Oceanside squad seemed to get some inspiration from their name as they came at the Panthers in wave after wave.  But Kelly was much better than good and slammed the door shut until two defensive miscues in the final 2:49 cost the Club a win.  At the 17:11 mark, the Generals dumped the puck into the Panthers' zone and onto the stick of defenceman Reid Fryer on what appeared to be a seemingly harmless play.  Rather than just collecting the puck and banking it off the glass and out, Fryer handled it just a bit and then tried to dump the puck high over the oncoming forecheckers.  The puck unfortunately bounced on him as he handled it and his attempt to clear the zone went just several feet and onto a Generals' stick.  Three seconds later it was behind Kelly and for both Clubs it was game on.

The Panthers held the fort although it was safe to say the Generals were buzzing and clearly had the momentum.  But with just 33 ticks left in the contest, the locals cleared the zone and the puck slid all the way down the ice and into the Generals' zone.  Oceanside Generals defenceman Brendan Carlson gave chase.....sort of.  It was clear that he would reach the puck before it crossed the Generals' goal line and he wisely stopped skating in hopes of getting the icing call.  His decision paid dividends as the linesman whistled down the play on what was a questionable call at best.  The Panthers bench were shocked and vocally not happy about the call but their outcry changed nothing and the faceoff moved back into the Panthers' zone to the left of Kelly.  Facing six attackers the Panthers played frenzied team defence when defenceman Hunter Jensen found himself with the puck just to the left of Kelly.  He, like Fryer earlier, overplayed the disk rather than just firing it to the corner and a second later it was behind the 'Cats' stopper with only 8 ticks left on the clock to knot the score at 3-3.

The two teams battled for five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime and when the game was still not decided, it came down to a shootout.  Both goaltenders made a number of saves and after each team had taken five shots, only Generals' Greyson Weme and Panthers' Tanner Banks had scored.  Kaner stopped Grant Gilbertson and then it was up to Generals' Miles Carson to see if he could win it.  Carson came in and made a nice move on Kelly and when the puck hit nothing but mesh, the entire Generals bench swarmed Carson and together they romped off with the win.

Dyce and Kelly were named the Players of the Game, while Kaner added a win to his belt.

"This was really like a playoff game," said Panthers owner Pete Zubersky.  "Kelly played a great game and put us in a position to win.  We really gave it away rather than the Generals beating us.  Our guys have played great hockey as of late but it comes down to understanding the clock and the situation in the game.  Fryer is really becoming significant for us on the back end and I love and feel comfortable when he is out there.  That puck did not have to be handled.  It needed to get onto his stick and before any forechecking pressure arrived, it should have been out.  And Jensen was in a bit of a crowd but it was no time to have the puck on his stick.  It should have been sent right to the corner.  We got a point from a tough opponent and giving up the additional point will make us better.  Our guys have to play the clock and the situation.  It will make us better."

On Saturday night, the Panthers were full value for their 4-1 win.  Ashton Lukan backstopped the Club on the evening and played perhaps his best game of the season.  He gobbled up every shot, eliminating 2nd chance opportunities and handled the puck around the net significantly better than he has since his arrival on the Peninsula in mid-October.  The Panthers' power play was electric and lights out all night long, if that combination is possible.  Payton Braun led the way once again with another pair of markers while 'Cats' Captain and brother Riley Braun and Logan Speirs each added a single.  Three of the four goals were on the power play and the other for all intents and purposes was as well as the Islanders player had just exited the penalty box and had not yet arrived in time to factor into the play.  Islanders' Jack Strom scored the lone Islanders' tally when he beat Lukan on a penalty shot midway through the 2nd stanza.

Lukan and Strom picked up the Player of the Game for the respective sides.  Lukan also picked up the win while Islanders' goaltender Dryden Demelo was collared for the loss.

As the Panthers bus idled outside the Arena in Mill Bay, General Manager and Head Coach passed along some thoughts on the two games:

"We played really hard for all 125 minutes over the weekend and although we didn’t get the result we wanted on Friday, Oceanside is a great Club and played to the final buzzer.  "We played pretty hard against a really good team who are big and strong and really play a heavy game.  And to then come right back and play the way we did tonight here against the Islanders, is just simply outstanding.  I thought our guys did everything they could and needed to do and felt like it was a really solid effort for 60 minutes.  We managed the puck well and I think back two months ago and see how far we have come as a group and I could not be happier right now.  This was an unselfish effort by every single guy in our lineup.   We managed the puck well and had some bite back when they started to run around a bit in the 3rd period.  Fryer had a huge hit with five minutes left, he has been that guy for us all year long.  I'm really proud of this group right now but there are a lot more fish to fry and we have to continue to get better and play for each other."

The Panthers have yet another tough week ahead of them as they travel to Victoria to take on the Cougars Thursday evening before heading back to the Panorama next Friday night to host the Westshore Wolves with the puck set to drop at the usual 7:30 pm.  And then on Sunday they will head to Lake Cowichan to take on the Kraken, their only visit into Lake Cowichan this regular season.