Octobert 7, 2022
North Saanich, British Columbia
After a perfect September which saw the Peninsula Panthers open the season with eight straight victories, the first game in October ended a fantastic string of games. The Victoria Cougars cruised into the Panorama Recreation Centre fresh off a 6-4 win over the Comox Valley Glacier Kings Thursday evening at Archie Browning and it was clear they were looking for more. After holding a two-goal lead of 2-0 at the first intermission and 4-2 midway through the final stanza, the Panthers woke up and notched a couple markers to send the game into an extra frame. But with under a minute played of 3-3 hockey, it abruptly ended on a 2-on-1 Cougars scoring opportunity and subsequent goal that sent a large partisan crowd disappointed as they headed out into a warm fall evening just before 10:00 pm.
Head Coach Chris Driebergen has had an amazing start to his Junior Hockey Coaching Career and although somewhat disappointed by the result, was also looking at how his team had to be better moving into Sunday's afternoon game in Colwood against the suddenly hot Westshore Wolves.
"We have a few players who have not been able to adjust to the quicker pace over the last few weeks," explained the Bench Boss. "It's important for these players to keep things simple and work hard, effort has not been where it needs to be for a few. I thought that Matt Seale had his strongest game of the season. He was very active offensively and was a steady force out there in both ends of the ice all night long. There were some real bright spots in the overtime loss. I was happy with our start in the first period but I saw that we became frustrated with lack of production and began cheating on the offensive side of the puck. It's very important to stick with our game plan and be patient and if we do that, the offense will take care of itself. The Victoria Cougars are a very opportunistic group and we knew that going in. A few costly turnovers put us behind the 8-ball right away. But good teams persist and we were able to get it to Overtime and salvage a point on the evening. No doubt about it, we will need a full 60 minutes from the group Sunday against the Wolves. I think they have won something like four in a row and we will get their best. We have to give the same to get back into the win column."
Cat has nine lives meaning: "Cats are lucky and often survive dangerous incidents. Origin of a Cat has Nine Lives is most likely related to the fact that falling cats can twist in midair and land on their feet. This leads people to say that cats have multiple lives because they can survive falling from great heights."
Wyatt Hickok, Isaac Phillips, Riley Birmingham, Kieran Strange and Jackson Estey with the winner in the extra frame were the marksmen for the Cougars while Ryan Grambart, Matt Seale, Tanner Banks and Tristan Rosenblood scored for the Panthers. Fraser Wyatt blocked 27 of 31 Panthers shots to pick up the win, while Brady Kelly who had the start between the pipes for the Panthers was collared for his first loss of the season stopping 22 of 27 Cougars shots in the process. Estey and Panthers Luka Jansen van Rensburg were named as the contest's Players of the Game for their respective sides.
"I have been a bit uneasy going into the last several games," explained Panthers GM Pete Zubersky. "There are a lot of ways to win a game and we had been finding all of those ways. But there is also a lot of ways to lose and tonight we found that out the hard way. I thought tonight there were pockets of this game where we really took it to them, but those times were just not frequent enough nor long enough. I was happy that we got a point and really cannot emphasis enough how important the points that are collected right now will matter a lot come February when the final standings are posted. We were going for our 9th win against the Cougars and like a Cat has Nine Lives, we had to find a way to survive tonight. We couldn't and didn't do that. We have to regroup quickly and get back on our horse for Sunday against the Wolves. Payton Braun will be back in the lineup after travelling down to Kentucky for a University Entrance Interview and that will help out a lot. Sunday is an important game for our group."
The Panthers will host the Kerry Park Islanders next Friday night in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre and will head to Port Alberni to face the Bombers on Saturday. And with some good play and some good luck, perhaps these Cats can get back to 8 wins in a row and then push that number to 9 to prove once and for all that a Cat does have nine lives.
.jpg)
Email
Print
