Panthers draw first blood with Double-Overtime winner by Crawford

Wednesday, March 1, 2023
George Pearkes Arena
Saanich, British Columbia

In what could be described as a spectacularly entertaining affair, the visiting Peninsula Panthers squeaked out a 3-2 Double-Overtime win to draw first blood in their best-of-7 series against the Saanich Predators.  The two Clubs will take a day off before being right back in the same venue for Game 2 on Friday night set to go at 6:30 pm.

Mason Kelly in goal for the Panthers and his counterpart Dryden Demelo were both a lot more than solid throughout the game and although neither deserved to be on the losing end of the contest, Demelo was tagged for the loss.

There was no scoring in the 1st frame however at the 12:34 mark of the middle stanza, Robson Scott beat Demelo after 16-year-old defenceman Seth Fryer did everything just right.  Fryer pinched down from the right point and deftly slid into the corner to the left of Demelo.  He beat a Predators defender before dishing the puck to Scott who had arrived right at the top of the crease and Scott made no mistake finding the back of the net.  But the score only held for 10 seconds when the Predators took a turn to find the scoring touch and beat Kelly.  Tobin Bergman ripped a shot that managed to go through the Panthers stopper, albeit, it only went an inch or two across the goal line.  But that distance mattered and the two squads found themselves knotted up at 1-1.

The Panthers replied exactly four minutes later when Ryan Grambart, the VIJHL's 2nd leading scorer in the Regular Season, somehow managed to backhand a puck past Demelo off a feed from Tanner Banks.  It only took 62 seconds for the Panthers to receive a reply and the score was tied once again when Sean Pander tallied for the Predators.  The two Clubs went to the 2nd intermission with nothing yet decided and the scoreboard reading 2-2.

Seveal great chances were exchanged in the 3rd and 1st Overtime Periods but both goaltenders were up to the task.  The Predators drew a penalty at the end of the 1st Overtime and the Cats took full advantage of this opportunity when at the 1:05 mark on the 2nd Overtime, former Predators defenceman Andrew Braun found himself between the half wall and the left point.  He slipped a pass to Evan Crawford in the middle and on the blueline and Crawford wasted no time ripping the puck on net.  The shot cleanly beat Demelo but it appeared as though the stopper did not see the shot due to a lot of traffic in front of him.  Crawford skated back in his own end to celebrate with Kelly and they were joined only a couple ticks later by the rest of the Panthers group.

Many hockey pundits believe going into this series that it might just go six or seven games and the opening contest of the best-of-7 certainly held true to form.  Friday night should be interesting with Games 3 and 4 set to go back in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre on Saturday and Monday nights at 7:30 pm.

Panthers tracks...Luka Jansen van Rensburg returned to the Panthers lineup Wednesday night and was on the ice for the overtime winner...Panthers fans significantly helped to populate the George Pearkes Arena for the game and their voices were not lost on the Panthers players...Brad Bates will draw back into the lineup on Friday...Panthers will be at home on Saturday night for Game 3; the first Saturday game this season...

Below is the remaining Round 1 Playoffs Schedule:

Game 1 – Peninsula 3   Saanich 2   (Double-Overtime)
Game 2 – PEN @ SAA Friday, March 3 at 6:30 pm 
Game 3 – SAA @ PEN Saturday, March 4 at 7:30 pm
Game 4 – SAA @ PEN Monday, March 6 at 7:30 pm
Game 5 – PEN @ SAA Wednesday, March 8 at 7:30 pm (if necessary)
Game 6 – SAA @ PEN Friday, March 10 at 7:30 pm (if necessary)
Game 7 – PEN @ Saanich Sunday, March 12 at 6:00 pm  (if necessary)