Generals push series to Game 6 with comeback 7-4 win in Parksville.

March 30, 2022
Parksville, British Columbia

The VIJHL Championship Series is proving to be what every hockey pundant on the Island had anticipated...and much more.  The Peninsula Panthers bounced the Oceanside Generals three straight times to open the series, however the Generals have responded with wins in Game 4 and 5 to put the series at 3-2.  And on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in their own barn, the Panthers will look at their 3rd opportunity to close out the Oceanside Generals and to gain a berth in the Cyclone Taylor Cup Provincial Championship.

The Panthers opened up a 1st Period 2-0 lead going into Intermission, but it would be the Generals who responded in the 2nd stanza with four goals of their own.  And when the Panthers could only respond with a single 2nd period marker, it would be the Generals who would hold a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes were in the books.  A Hunter Jensen blast midway through the 3rd period and while on the power play, knotted the game for the Cats 4-4.  And they seemed to have most of the momentum until a miscue in their own end resulted in the Generals taking a 5-4 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the game.  It would be the Generals who would strike once again on a shot from the half wall that Panthers' netminder Ashton Lukan would most likely want a re-do.  And in the final several minutes of the game, it would be the Generals who would once again strike for the insurance marker ending the hopes of a Panthers victory and moving the series back to the Panorama on Friday.



Panthers' G.M. Pete Zubersky shared his thoughts about the game only minutes after the buzzer sounded:

"I thought that we played hard for the most part, especially coming off what I thought was a lackluster performance on Monday night in Game 4.  But we uncharacteristically made too many mistakes and we probably beat ourselves as much as we were beat by the Generals."

It was a quiet bus ride home for the Club from the Saanich Peninsula but a determined group is expected to show up Friday night at 7:30 p.m.  The Panthers' Management is asking that you arrive early, as a large crowd is expected.