Panthers close in on punching post-season ticket

Sunday, February 4, 2024
North Saanich, British Columbia

In a very uneven 2023/24 Regular Season the Peninsula Panthers appear to be on the verge of punching their ticket to a 1st Round Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League Playoff berth.  Seven teams have now earned an "X" next to their names and the Cats are looking to grab the final playoff spot which could occur as soon as next weekend.

"We have been grinding since late in October, that is obvious," stated Panthers Owner Pete Zubersky. "We came out of the chutes to start the season on fire and were at or near the top of the League for a number of weeks. But injuries bit us hard and it seemed to me that when Reid Fryer went down in a game right at the end of October, our fortunes dramatically changed."

The Club has slid to 5th spot in the South Division however the Club is now healthy and that includes Fryer.  

"Reid came back last Friday night and we promptly knocked off the Port Alberni Bombers," said Zubersky. "We had a big shootout win on Friday at home against the Cougars but were spanked up in Kerry Park last night.  But we are feeling good about where we are right now, albeit, there is a lot of work to do in our final six games of the season."

The Club received outstanding goaltending from Tanner Ferrill on Friday night and with only 1:07 remaining in the game, the Cougars took a slashing penalty to go down a man. The face-off was in the Cougars end however they won the draw and in an unexplainable turn of events, managed to speed out of their zone on a 2-on-1 from their own blueline.  And they did not squander the opportunity, beating Ferrill to knot the game at 3-3.  Overtime did not find a winner but with Ty Barrie, scored in the shootout and when Ferrill stopped all three Victoria shooters, the Panthers still were able to get the 4-3 win and the all important two points.

On Saturday night the Cats ventured up to Mill Bay to take on the Kerry Park Islanders and it was a great game, until it wasn't.  Midway though the 2nd frame, the two Clubs were locked in a titanic battle but it was the Panthers' boat that sprung a leak and going into the 2nd intermission, the Islanders had built a 5-3 lead.  And they added on in the final stanza eventually waltzing away with a lopsided 8-3 win.

"On Friday night we had fantastic goaltending and on Saturday, Silas Currie struggled between the pipes," explained Zubersky.  "He is entitled to have an off-night as he has been one of, if not the top goaltender in the League this entire season. He has such a calm demeanor and I know he will immediately bounce back.  We can afford for this to happen right now and I expect there will be a lot more games with a lot more significance that we will be talking about Silas in a positive light.  I love the kid and I love his season and I would not trade either of our stoppers.  We believe in these two guys and when it's time to deliver the mail, they both have the ability and they will deliver.  We are in a good spot right now."

With the Panthers' weekend split and with the Kraken dropping games up in Campbell River and Oceanside, the script is nearly written in terms of the Regular Season. The Kraken will play their 3rd game in three days Sunday night when they entertain the high-flying Saanich Predators in what is absolutely a must-win situation for Lake Cowichan.  The Panthers lead the Kraken by 12 points and currently have the tie-breaker with the Kraken having only 8 games to do some damage.  The Panthers have six games remaining.  

The Cats will be on the road on Friday night making a trip down to the Archie Browning Arena for a date with the Cougars and will be back at home for a rare Saturday night game with the visiting Saanich Predators.  The game is set for 7:30 pm.

Panthers Tracks...The annual Awards Dinner is set to go on Saturday, February 17th at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney...Players, Volunteers, Family, Friends, Fans and Sponsors are all encouraged to come out for an entertaining evening...Contact Coreen Zubersky for tickets...See the Panthers website for more information...Approximately 125 are expected...The Panthers Spring Identification is set to go on April 26-28 and spots on the roster for the 2024/25 season are up for grabs...there will be commitments at the end of the camp...See Panthers website for more details.