Panthers take exciting shootout victory to burst back into the Win column

It must have been a difficult task to pick the three stars in Comox Saturday evening after watching an exciting and highly entertaining affair that had almost everything any hockey fan could hope for.  The Peninsula Panthers ventured into the unfriendly confines of the Comox Valley Sports Centre on a 4-game losing streak to take on the North Division leading Comox Valley Glacier Kings and after 60 minutes of regulation and an additional 5 minutes of overtime could not decide anything and with the game still tied at 4 each, it was Panthers 17-year-old Will Finlay who finally put a rocket over the catching glove of Glacier Kings Josh Round to send the Panthers home a winner.  Finlay was the 6th shooter coming after affiliate Nathan Looysen hit the post, Cody Breitenstein was poke-checked, Zack Smith lost an edge and tumbled into Glacier Kings goaltender Josh Round, Dane Gibson was denied and Josh Adkins was stopped.  At the other end, Panthers starter Stephen Heslop was simply outstanding stopping all six Comox would-be goal scorers to pick up the win.

The game had more storylines and twists than a Stephen King thriller and it started before the Panthers boarded their bus to head to Comox earlier in the day.  Out of the lineup with injuries or suspensions or family commitments were no less than six regulars including Brett Clarke, Logan Gibson, Ben Meek, Austin Singhera, Cole Golka and Daniel Welch.  Nathan Looysen, who will not turn 16 until November 24th, was called up from the Peninsula Midget "AA" for the trip North after playing the night before at home against the Victoria Cougars.  And 16-year-old callup Josh Poland from the Racquet Club Midget "AAA" squad was also brought in to play up front for the depleted "Cats."  But there was another twist when Head Coach Rob Armstrong was a last minute scratch from the trip having to deal with a family matter. 

The puck dropped at the usual 7:30 start but that was the only thing that was normal on the evening.  The Panthers carried the play for most of the early going however it was Glacier Kings Wade Bartlett who was the first marksman of the contest when he whistled a powerplay marker past Heslop at the 11:20 mark of the 1st period.   But the Panthers had an answer with exactly one minute left in the period and it was the youngest player in the VIJHL and local boy Looysen who scored on the powerplay from another 16-year-old, Connor Logan and 17-year-old Josh Adkins.  It was looking like it might be a night for the youngsters to shine - it was Looysen's first career Junior goal. 

18-year-old Cole Glover opened the scoring at 3:38 on the powerplay from Adkins and Looysen and then the game went downhill fast.  A rash of penalties and some timely plays by the Glacier Kings forwards opened the floodgates with Steven Garcia, Jack Kennelly and Sasha Hahn all beating Heslop before 40 minutes were in the books and the game took on the appearance of one that might have slipped away.

But although this squad is young, it is building character and it would be 18-year-old power forward Dane Gibson who pulled a rabbit out of the hat at the 3:52 mark of the 3rd period on helpers from 17-year-old Reece Costain and Adkins once again, to pull the Panthers within one at 4-3.  The scoring did not end here as midway through the 3rd frame Breitenstein knocked a clearing puck down just inside the Glacier Kings blueline, walked in and wired a seeing eye shot that bounced off the post past Round to knot the game at 4 apiece.  Gibson and Adkins, with his 4th point of the night, added assists.  Both teams exchanged chances in the final ten minutes of the game but nothing could be decided and 60 minutes of regulation ended with the teams tied at 4.

The stripes seemed to put the whistle away for the 5-minute extra frame and although both teams had chances, once again neither team could beat Heslop or Round.  The Panthers had the best chance with only 20 seconds left in the Overtime but Round pulled a puck right off the goalline to send the game to a shootout.  Heslop blocked 30 of 34 shots in picking up the win while Round stopped 26 of 31.

The Panthers had travelled to Comox on October 13th and on that evening the same two goaltenders squared off as they did on this evening.  Both were perfect through 65 minutes of play not allowing a goal in an exciting game and Heslop remained perfect in the shootout while Panthers 17-year-old Zack Smith beat Round to give the Panthers the win.  And once again Heslop remained perfect and had to be through the six shooters who zigged and zagged and eventually hung their heads and the 17-year-old goaltender prevailed once again. 

Oh, and for the person picking the stars and that task being the toughest on the night, Adkins was very fittingly named the 1st Star and Finlay the 3rd Star for a workmanlike effort all night long and for scoring the eventual game winner.

The Panthers have one remaining game left with the Glacier Kings which will take place in two weeks at the Panorama Recreation Centre.  This will conclude a 4-game set and to date the Panthers have won all three by scores of 4-2, 1-0 in a shootout and tonights 5-4 shootout victory.

With the win the Panthers moved 3 points up on the 4th place Westshore Wolves in the battle for 3rd place and continued their chase of the Saanich Braves who hold down 2nd.  The win also sets up a big game this coming Wednesday at the Bear Mountain Arena.  The Panthers will then return home next Friday night when they play host to the Campbell River Storm for a 7:30 start.

Panthers Tracks...Looysen looks like he might be the real deal and had an impact on the game....Poland played solid minutes in his first game....Cole Glover scored a huge goal and broke a mini scoring slump....his performance is just what the Doctor ordered and should get him going offensively as was the case earlier in the year....Adkins had his best performance in terms of points so far in his young Junior Career....he might not want to play anybody but the Glacier Kings now having notched 7 points in the past two games against them....Dane Gibson continued on the roll he has been on as of late notching a goal and an assist in the win....Heslop has stopped 15 of 16 shootout attempts in the 4 shootouts the Club has been involved in....Josh Gray from the Saanich Braves is the only shooter to have beaten him and it resulted in a Saanich win....the Ben King/Brian Passmore duo lead the Panthers behind the bench in Comox....