Panthers head into the eye of the Storm and come out all smiles in a 3-2 win on the strength of a last-minute goal by Payton Braun

September 10, 2022
Campbell River, B.C.

A smoke-filled sky, due to forest fires in the state of Washington, greeted residents of Greater Victoria on Saturday making it a perfect situation for the Panthers' first roadtrip in the early going of the VIJHL 2022/23 season.  The 'Iron Lung' rolled in front of Pearkes Arena - a central location for all the players to meet - and a flurry of activity followed.  Panthers Director of Hockey Operations Patrick St-Denis loaded up a somewhat cumbersome skate sharpener and other equipment while players wandered from their respective vehicles with hockey bags and hockey sticks in hand.  And shortly after 2:30 pm, the bus pulled out with a lot of chatter that ranged anywhere from the win over Westshore the previous night to social media posts from some of their friends.  There was one further stop at the Goldstream Shell to pick up some players from that part of town and then all systems were go for points North.  Red Barn Market sandwiches and drinks were quickly inhaled by the group, a Panthers tradition every time the Team travels.  There was a constant din on the bus until about 30 minutes out of Campbell River when things seemed to quiet as players locked in for the task that lay dead ahead.  The Iron Lung rolled into the back of the Rod Brind'amour Arena and the equipment was quickly unloaded by all hands on deck.  

The two Clubs came out at 7:00 pm for the 15-minute warm-up and it was then back to the room for any equipment adjustments and a final word from Bench Boss, Chris Driebergen.  Both teams came out at 7:30 pm, the Storm to a huge ovation.  There was no question that the Panthers were in hostile territory and after the Storm lost a 2-1 nail-biter on Friday to the Comox Valley Glacier Kings in their Home Opener, it was pretty obvious that they were going to be loaded for bear coming into this one. But veteran Payton Braun, who was absent for the opener as he was returning from the United States on two University entrance interviews, hushed the crowd at the 14:39 mark in the first stanza when he beat Storm goaltender Brayden Melnyk on a breakaway with assists going to Evan Crawford and Reid Fryer.  Mason Kelly made the start between the pipes for the Cats and although at times looked a bit nervous, played a stellar opening twenty minutes in his VIJHL debut.

But it was all Storm for most of the middle frame and at the 9:16 mark, Jack Yamniuk beat Kelly to knot the score at 1-1.  But the Storm were not finished and three minutes later, sniper Dylan Franklin gave the Storm the 2-1 lead for the first time in the game.  The home side capitalized on the goal and seemed to have all the momentum as the minutes and seconds ticked off towards the 2nd intermission.  But Tanner Banks, who was recently named the Alternate Captain for the Panthers, put the team on his back at the 17:34 mark when he undressed a Storm defenceman in the neutral zone and then unbelievably beat two defenders before a highlight reel goal to beat Melnyk.

The teams went back and forth in the final period, but the Panthers continued their steady flow to the sin bin with their undisciplined play.  With 2:17 remaining in the game and the score still tied at 2-2, the Storm were whistled for a penalty deep in the Panthers' end.  Driebergen called a time-out to give his troops a needed rest and then sent them out for the most crucial powerplay of the season to date.  And at the 19:21 mark and right near the end of the two minute powerplay, Banks shovelled the puck to Braun in the high slot and he made no mistake to put the Panthers ahead 3-2.  The Club played defensively in the final 19 ticks and celebrated around Kelly as he captured his first VIJHL win.

Panthers tracks...Kelly blocked 38 of 40 shots and as well as picking up the win, was named Player of the Game ...Melnyk was far less fortunate and was tagged for the loss after stopping 25 of 28 Panthers' attempts...Ethan Lingard left the game early in the 1st period due to an upper body injury.