Panthers chewing on pair of Overtime losses as they ready for three-game weekend

Tuesday November 22, 2022
North Saanich, British Columbia

Heading into a home-and-home series against an offensive-minded Comox Valley Glacier Kings squad last weekend, it would be easy to suggest that the Peninsula Panthers would have been satisfied with a split in the two games. The Club did get two points however both came in Overtime losses, both contests resulting in the identical 4-3 outcome.

On Friday evening in front of a sparse crowd in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre, the Cats played what was perhaps their best performance of the season and still found themselves on the outside looking in when Glacier Kings forward Nolan Bowsher beat Panthers netminder Brady Kelly 1:51 into the five-minute extra frame for the win.  It was not the way the evening should have ended as the Panthers outshot the visitors 51-19 and had enough chances to end the affair in regulation time.  But Glacier Kings Steven Regnato was outstanding throughout the game and was also lucky on a couple occasions and that combination was simply too much for the Cats to overcome. Luka Jansen van Rensburg led the scoring parade for the Panthers by putting two pucks past Regnato while Tanner Banks chipped in with a single marker.  And Nick Esposito, Tynan Klein-Beekman and Parker Jorginson each tallied a single marker for the visitors.

The two Clubs met again up in Comox and although the game seemed to lack the energy it did the night before, the result was exactly the same.  Kelly and Regnato once again went head-to-head between the pipes and once again it would be Regnato who would come out on top. Kelly stopped 22 of the 26 shots sent in his direction while Regnato was good on 20 of 23 Panthers scoring attempts.  Panthers goals came off the sticks of Bradley Bates, Payton Braun and Ryan Grambart while the Glacier Kings replied on goals by Max Gorzelnik, Jake Gusavitch, Matthew Teasdale and the overtime winner from Klein-Beekman.

The Panthers practiced Monday night and had some of the walking wounded out doing some drills.  Defencemen Reid Fryer and Theo St-Denis look to be probable for the weekend while Andrew Braun was on skates for the first time since injuring his knee in his first game with the Cats after being acquired six weeks ago. Braun will most likely not draw back into the lineup until January.

The Panthers head into the weekend a point back of the Victoria Cougars who sit in 1st place in the South Division, albeit, the locals have played two less games.  On Thursday, the Team heads to Nanaimo to face a Buccaneers squad who is charging hard for a playoff spot and who are coming fresh off a 3-1 win over the Kerry Park Islanders Monday night. And then Friday, the arch-rival Cougars will be in at the Panorama for what is shaping up as the biggest game of the season as it hits the halfway point.  But the Panthers will have some more work to do when they head up to Lake Cowichan for a Sunday evening clash against the Kraken.

In news off-ice, the Panthers have released 18-year-old forwards Zack Warren and Ethan Warnes as the December 1st cutdown date approaches.  Both hail from Kelowna and are attending post-secondary education at the University of Victoria and Camosun College. The Peninsula Panthers wish to thank both players for the time they spent with the Organization and wish them luck in the future.

"Thursday is a very important game for our group," explained Panthers GM Pete Zubersky. "They are playing everyone tough right now and have their eyes on a playoff push. The last time we were up in Nanaimo against the Bucs I think our guys took the game lightly and were flat all night. And it cost us as we dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime.  Friday is a massive game for us when the Cougars come into our barn. But it means far less if we do not perform well on Thursday. We have three games and can only play one at a time and we have to focus only on the game we are playing. It's really like the playoffs, one game at a time. I think we will look back at the weekend at the end of the season and see that it was a significant part of our season."

The puck drops Friday at 7:30 pm and a large crowd is expected.