Panthers shoot down Bombers 5-2 on the road in Port Alberni

Saturday, September 23, 2023
Alberni Valley Multiplex
Port Alberni, British Columbia

The Peninsula Panthers came into the weekend somewhat reeling after facing some early season adversity in the past seven days.  After opening the 2023/24 campaign with three straight wins, the Club was knocked off in Campbell River last Saturday and then again in Kerry Park on Tuesday night.  But they jumped right back on the horse with a 3-1 win Friday evening against the Comox Valley Glacier Kings in front of a partisan home crowd in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre and followed it up with another win in Port Alberni against the Bombers Saturday night, this time by a 5-2 count.

After months of no moisture, the Panthers might have enjoyed the trip up Island as a gentle sprinkle dotted the big Iron Lung as it ambled along Hwy. #1 Northbound over the Malahat Drive.  Rookie Ben Swan once again took care of pizza orders for the squad communicating with every coach, player and staff to get it just right.  The boys devoured the world famous Red Barn Market "Tall as the Barn" sandwiches, sipped on their drinks and engaged in conversation around them over the three hour trip. Coaches brought players up to the front of the bus and went over video and game assignments as the trip afforded the time for much of the pre-game preparation and work.

The Lung rolled into the Parking lot at the Alberni Valley Multiplex and the Club went through the routine that occurs on every single trip.  Bags and sticks were unloaded as were the jerseys, water bottles, food and other game equipment which would be utilized over the next number of hours.

Both squads skated out to a clean sheet at 6:30 pm for the 15-minute warm-up and then it was back to their respective dressing rooms for last minute instructions from the Coaching Staff.

The two Clubs emerged once again at 7:00 pm and after the National Anthem rang out, the puck was dropped and it was finally time to go.  The Cats were coming off a string of six straight games to open the season where their 1st period performance has been somewhat lacking in energy, an issue that needed to be addressed. That issue would not surface against the Bombers.  By the time Head Coach & General Manager Tyler Stanton was addressing his troops back in the dressing room after 20 minutes were in the books, the Cats were holding a convincing 3-0 lead. 

Lukas Preweda opened the scoring early in the affair at the 2:55 mark when Ethan Lingard raced down the right side and then fed a goalmouth pass right onto the tape of Preweda.  And he made no mistake popping the twine behind a shocked Damien Knackstedt who made the start between the pipes for the Bombers.  It was then 17-year-old Jason Sekulich's turn to score his first ever Junior marker.  Just prior to the midway mark, the hard-nosed forward banged in a puck just from the top of the blue paint with helpers coming off the sticks of Charlie Williams and Brad Bates.  Not being one to miss a party, Malcolm "Sticky" Fletcher joined in at the 15:10 mark when he too hit paydirt from only two feet out to give his squad the 3-0 lead, assists coming from Tristan Rosenblood and Lingard.

The two teams exchanged markers in the 2nd stanza.  It would be Luka Jansen van Rensburg who beat Knackstedt five minutes in.  Gifted forward Ryan Grambart blasted down the left side on a 2-on-1 and similar to the Preweda tally, he fed a pass to Jansen van Rensburg at the top of the crease leaving the Alberni netminder with little opportunity to make a save.  The Bombers finally responded when at the 7:19 mark, Landon Turgeon finally solved the goaltending of Panthers starter Silas Currie.

Midway through the final frame, Bombers Owen Ditzel gave his Club a flicker of hope when he beat Currie to narrow the margin in the game to 4-2 but Fletcher quickly extinguished any flame just 58 seconds later beating Knackstedt once again from in tight, this time on the power play.  Lingard and Panthers Captain Evan Crawford chipped in with assists.  There were not a lot of quality chances in the last ten minutes and when the final horn sounded, the Panthers celebrated with Currie and then skated to the dressing room with a 5-2 win in the bank.

Stanton headed out to the parking lot after addressing his squad and shared his thoughts fresh and only minutes after the final horn:

"Anytime we're on the road the goal is not only to get 2 points, but to make sure we show up at the start. We found a way to get three goals right off the hop and only kept going from there. Rosey (Rosenblood) and Sticky (Fletcher) led the offensive touch, and killed some massive penalties.  Currie kept his tricks rolling and was very strong in the cage. We have not started a game hot yet and so that was very nice to see. This is the expectation moving forward.  We need to push the pace as we head into an important pair of games next weekend."

The bus was loaded and while pizza was being delivered to the Iron Lung, the Wilson's Bus Driver and Panthers former Coach Bill Geddie slowly pulled out of the parking lot at the Alberni Valley Multiplex.  Two loud blasts on the horn signified to anyone who cared to listen that the visitors were leaving town with a win, a sound that was being replayed in many Junior towns and cities across the Country and a sound that has been going on in the game for decades. 

Once the pizza had warmed the stomachs of every person on the bus, it was time for Panthers Annual ritual, "Rookie Idol."  The rookies on the Club each took turns belting out a song to the roars and claps of everyone on the bus.  At one point, Stanton suggested that he play paper/rock/scissors with Alternate Captain Julien Phillips and agreed that if he lost, he would also sing.  Phillips asked what would happen if he lost and Stanton felt it would be fair if Phillips wore the Percy Mascot Suit this Friday night when the Nanaimo Buccaneers came to town.  The windows shook with laughter. Some of the singers were bad!  Some were terrible.  A few were OK but none of them should consider a career belting out tunes.  But it was Ahron Calalay who stole the show.  His singing was not great but there was some real enthusiasm in his delivery and midway through his song, he had the entire team joining in and singing with him and he was named the winner of this year's contest.

The Petro-Can at Nanoose Bay saw the bus stop and unload.  All the occupants went inside the convenience store to greet the oldtimer who works nightshift there.  He was the same face that has been there for ten years and his smile was large when seeing the boys walk through the door.  Everyone got a treat which is customary after a road win and then it was back onto the bus for more giggles.  

Around 12:25 am the bus was unloaded back in Greater Victoria and the Club departed to their vehicles after bidding adieu.  It was an evening of Junior Hockey the way the game is meant to be.  It was a night that makes each and every person associated with the Club excited to see each other on Monday.

The Panthers host the Buccaneers Friday night and then hit the road on Saturday to face off against the Oceanside Generals.  And hopefully they can put up a win on Friday and then after the game on Saturday, have plans to visit the oldtimer in Nanoose Bay once again.