Panthers Captain Riley Braun is on the cusp of making history as Panthers knock off Wolves in shootout in yet another heart-stopper Friday night

December 3, 2021
North Saanich, British Columbia

After a tough 5-3 loss Thursday evening at the hands of the Victoria Cougars at the Archie Browning Arena, the Peninsula Panthers did not have a lot of time to lick their wounds and regroup. The Club was back at home 24 hours later on Friday night as they welcomed in the visiting Westshore Wolves and this time it was the 'Cats' who would have the last laugh. In what was yet another crazy and exhilarating game, the Club quickly bounced back from Thursday to post a win up on the board and to move four points clear of the Wolves in the chase for 2nd place in the South Division, albeit, it took five minutes of overtime and a six-man shootout to do it.

The last three Friday nights have been as exciting as could possibly be. Two weeks ago, Panthers Payton Braun scored with 0.1 seconds remaining in the affair with the Wolves to knot the score at 4-4 and to send it into the extra frame. The game was complete when only 40 seconds into overtime, Logan Speirs beat Andrew Palm for the winner to send the thrilled faithful happy as they headed for the exits. And last Friday, the Club was forced to go to the shootout after the five-minute overtime period solved nothing but this time it was the Oceanside Generals who would hand out the marching orders as they came out on top in a six-man shootout. As big as the win was on Friday and as exciting as the games have been, what has been somewhat lost is Panthers 20-year-old forward, leader and Captain Riley Braun's assault on the squad's all-time record book.

After Friday's game was in the books and the crowd had long left the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre listening to the sweet sounds of Louis Armstrong's rendition of 'It's a Wonderful World', hockey pundits around the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League began to scramble for the Peninsula Panthers All-time Records and not surprisingly, Braun's name was everywhere. Friday's contest put him tied with former Panthers defenceman Thomas Spink in All-time games played at 185 and when the Captain steps out onto the ice in Lake Cowichan on Sunday, he will move all alone on the top rung in that category.  Linemate Logan Speirs is also set to climb the ladder as he currently sits in 5th place in All-time Games Played with 177, just eight games behind Braun. Speirs will move into 2nd place in the history books in early January, also a tremendous accomplishment. Braun shattered the Panthers all-time mark for Assists for the franchise earlier this season and now sits at 153, a full 10 points up on Daniel Bell who toiled for the Club two decades ago. The gritty and two-way Captain is midway through his 7-year seconday education journey on his way to becoming a Dentist and has scored 91 goals and trails only Bell in that All-time department who sits at 103. With 21 games remaining in the Panthers Regular Season, Braun is the odds-on-favourite to crush this record as well. His All-time 244 points has him sitting on the 2nd rung and just two points shy of Bell's 246. He is currently the VIJHL's scoring leader with 70 points and 2.41 points per game making yet another storyline available for VIJHL watchers.

On Thursday night, the Panthers opened a two-goal lead on tallies by Speirs and Tristan Rosenblood however, midway through the middle frame, the Victoria Cougars took momentum and control of the game and did not relinquish it until the final buzzer sounded. The two Clubs were knotted at 2-2 after 40 minutes however, the home side beat Panthers starter Brady Kelly three times in the final stanza while the only Panthers player to reply was defenceman Reid Fryer on a shot from the left point.

Friday was a tight affair from the drop of the puck shortly after 7:30 pm. Both squads played well enough to not lose over the 60 minutes of regulation time however, they also did not play well enough to win and after the buzzer sounded at the end of the 3rd period, the score was knotted at 4-4. Scoring for the Panthers were Evan Crawford, Riley Braun, Reid Fryer and Grant Gilbertson while replying for the visitors were Jack Westhaver with a pair, Ethan Mittelsteadt and Kobe Knowles. The five-minute 3-on-3 period did not produce a winner and the two Teams went to the shootout in which Panthers' stopper Ashton Lukan was one shot better than his counterpart Andrew Palm who was between the pipes for the Wolves. Tanner Banks for the Cats and Isaac Leik for the Wolves each tallied as the 2nd shooter for their respective sides and then it was the goaltenders' turn to share the spotlight. Although a myriad of would-be scorers took opportunities to do just that on each target, it was the netminders who would prevail. The sixth shooter for the Panthers skated out to centre ice in the form of Aleko Sdrakas and he made no mistake beating Palm low to the blocker side. Knowles had a chance to respond and deked to Lukan's left. Lukan shot out his left pad and when the pucked bounced harmlessly away from the cage, Lukan leaped to the ice and pumped his fist before being joined in celebration from his 19 mates who had immediately poured over the boards from the home bench. It was the first time this season out of five attempts that the Cats had come out on top in the shootout category,

Sdrakas and Westhaver were named Player of the Game for each side. Both goaltenders stopped 28 of 32 shots in 60 minutes of Regulation and an extra five minutes of Overtime. Lukan collected the win while Palm was tagged with the loss on his record.

​All eyes will be directed to Lake Cowichan on Sunday afternoon when the puck is set to drop at 5:30 pm.  Riley Braun will break the Panthers All-time games mark as soon as the puck drops and the game is official and could conceivably break the All-time points mark with a trio of points in the game with yet another record for All-time goals looks well within reach.  With the All-time assists record already in his back pocket and with the other records dead ahead, based on the numbers he will be the most durable and greatest Panthers player in the history of the Club as he approaches the end of his hockey journey at the end of the current season in this, his final year of Junior Hockey.

The durable leader was contacted at his residence Saturday afternoon for his thoughts on his career with the Panthers and offered up some interesting comments.

"I'm thankful to have had the health to be able to suit up so many times for my hometown team.  I am thankful to the entire Panthers Organization, especially to Brad (Head Coach Brad Tippett) and Pete (Owner Pete Zubersky) for believing in me."

The Panthers are back home at the Panorama Recreation Centre next Friday night at 7:30 pm when they play host to the Victoria Cougars.  And Braun will not be looking to break the glass ceiling, he is on a quest to shatter it.