Panthers hope to continue with winning ways with two games on tap

November 3, 2022
North Saanich, B.C.

The Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League has never been more crowded at the top than it currently is in both the South and North Divisions.  Oceanside Generals sit atop the standings in the North with 29 points while both the Campbell River Storm and Comox Valley Glacier Kings slot in tied for 2nd with 26 points each respectively.  And in the South, the Panthers hold top spot with 26 points while the Saanich Predators and Victoria Cougars are nipping at their heels with 24 points.

The Cats will board the Iron Lung this afternoon and head to Nanaimo where they will face the Buccaneers with a 7:15 pm start and will be right back at home Friday evening in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre when they host the visiting Comox Valley Glacier Kings at 7:30 pm.

"I have never seen the standings this tight," commented Panthers General Manager Pete Zubersky from his office at the Panorama as he prepared to head North this afternoon.  "We have six teams all within five points of each other.  It's great for the players and fans alike. The League is in a good place when every single night anyone can win and I think that is why we are seeing great crowds in all the rinks right now."

Zubersky quipped that his team was somewhat beat up and have been hit hard by the flu bug but was not making any excuses.  "Every single team gets their turn with lady luck, good or bad.  For the past six weeks we have faced a lot of injuries and just when we were coming out of that hole, we have been nailed hard with the flu bug. We only had 12 regular skaters out to practice this week so we will have to manage the lineup for both games to make sure we have guys who have something in the tank for Friday night. But that is part of running a Club and Head Coach Chris Driebergen is doing a good job doing just that. We will have our hands full this weekend."

The Buccaneers have been putting points up in the standings as of late and the Glacier Kings have scored the most goals in the entire League at this point in the schedule.  This is not lost on Zubersky.  "Comox has piled up 90 goals, they know how to put the puck in the net.  I looked at tape last Friday against the Islanders and a couple of the goals against saw our coverage on the backcheck completely evaporate. Coach will clean this up and we should be fine but that is an area we have to address. It was some of our top guys who were dropping the ball and so that will be a point of emphasis I am sure."

Panthers Tracks...Mason and Brady Kelly's Grandparents will be in from Saskatchewan for the pair of games this weekend...Reid Fryer remains out after having his appendix removed and is not expected back in the lineup for another 3-4 weeks...Andrew Braun suffered a knee injury in his first game with the Cats a number of weeks ago and will most likely not be back in the lineup until the New Year...The Panthers currently have the best winning percentage in Junior B in Western Canada...crowds continue to flow into the Panorama for Panthers games and the atmosphere has been electric during games for the most part...the Club continues to find ways to come out on top through their lineup issues...they have played in more one-goal games than any team in the Province.