Good Evening Hockey Fans,
Welcome back to the Panorama Recreation Centre for our contest tonight against the Campbell River Storm. The Storm started the year out very solidly winning their first several games, however since then they have fallen on tough times and are searching for a win tonight. The Storm have a good squad and in our last two games against them, only a goal separated the two Clubs. Teams that have not won for a while are the most dangerous and I am a bit nervous tonight. They have several very strong players and have picked up Jon Brumwell in the past while to add to their group of forwards. Tonight will not be easy, the Storm always play hard and I expect nothing different tonight. Justin Samra will get the start between the pipes.
Last Friday evening we lost 3-0 to the Victoria Cougars in a game that we let slip away in the first ten minutes of the contest. Our kids stood back on their heels once again and after we went down 2-0 midway through the 1st period, we decided that we would put in an effort. Quite frankly, this isn’t cutting it anymore. I believe we have a lot more to give and I want to see it start happening very soon. We have a talented group that are not playing as hard as they can as of late and if we have to make some changes to wake the group up, then we will just have to do that.
In Comox last Saturday the kids played hard and came out on top in a 5-4 shootout win. We went down to start the game but managed to tie it up late in the 1st period. The 2nd frame was not good to the Club and we went down 4-2 going into the 3rd. The kids played hard and tied the game and when regulation could not decide the contest, it went to a shootout. Stephen Heslop was outstanding for us in goal and stopped 6 of 6 attempts while Will Finlay finally beat Comox tender Josh Round on our 6th attempt to win it. We went into Westshore on Wednesday night and dropped a 5-1 decision at the hands of the Wolves. The game was painful to watch, the effort was not there. I watched kids turning off checks instead of taking the man. Their goaltender out goaltended our goaltender and our kids were patting him on the pads instead of bearing down and beating him. Yes, these are young kids but things have to change, things are going to change. The effort is just not what it has to be.
So I thought I would take a look at carding players and how the system works so that you all understand what management is thinking and what the rules are in Junior Hockey. Every team receives 40 cards to start the season off and each card can be used to sign one player. Many teams go through all 40 cards in a season and most teams go through 30-35 cards. The 1st carding deadline comes on December 1st each season when Junior Teams have to get down to the magic number of 25 which can come in any combination of signed players plus cards, I will explain a bit more about that in a second. The next deadline is January 10th when teams must be down to the number 23 which can come in any combination of players + cards. For all intents and purposes, this is the end of carding for the year. If teams have cards left and there are players out there, teams may sign until February 1st however almost all teams are finished their carding at midnight on January 10th.
The Peninsula Panthers signed 23 players at the start of the year and we have not made one roster move to date. We have the exact same 23 that we started the season with, have not added or subtracted anyone. I have had several calls and emails from other Organizations wishing to make trades or to move players our way but we have chosen to run with this group. On December 1 if things stay exactly as they are now, we will have 23 rostered players and two (2) cards. This would allow our Club to add two players after the December 1 deadline up to the January 10 deadline should we decide to do that.
Almost all of these kids are coming from Minor Hockey and once a player is selected to a Minor Hockey team he is there for the year. There is more pressure in Junior, there is more urgency to produce. Fans are paying to watch these players play. Most are hoping to move to the next level and then to the next level and so the climb tends to get much harder each step of the way. Sometimes a little shakeup is what is needed and I will be giving this message to the team in the next several days and see where this takes us.
It has not been all bad. Stephen Heslop was not good against Westshore on Wednesday night but for almost every single game he has played for us this season, he has been stellar. Stephen had a lot of work to do in all aspects of his game and for a 17-year-old kid in his first full season in Junior, we could not have asked for more. I have mentioned it before and I will again, he is right at the top of our League in goaltending and he continues to be one of our best players. Dane Gibson started the year slowly and has really picked his game up in the past three or four weeks. Dane scored in Comox, he scored against Westshore and he is working harder than I have seen him work for as long as I have known him. He has recently played three games in Junior A with the Cowichan Capitals and I look for him to be brought up for more action with them. Reece Costain is a 17-year-old who took a long time to feel comfortable on the Peninsula. He is a big kid that has some talent but has a bit of a nasty streak in him as well. I see him getting better each time out and I think he could have a big break out game at any time. There are a lot of others that work hard and give everything they can give, Josh Adkins, Spencer Loverock, Cody Breitenstein, Patrick Croome, there are many more. We just have to find a way to get some of the kids that tend to take shifts off to put their level of effort up with the kids that lay it on the line every single game.
I wanted to let the fans know about our wrap-up Awards Banquet at the Glen Meadows Golf and Country Club on Sat. Feb. 16. Our last Regular Season game is on Friday night at the Panorama on Feb.15 and we will hold our dinner the following evening. All of you are invited to the buffet-style dinner, cost per ticket is $40. which will include tax and a gratuity. If you are interested in joining the Panthers for the Awards Dinner, see Coreen in the ticket booth to get your name on the list.
We are just about set to go on the game before Remembrance Day. We have much to be grateful for and many have given their lives so that we may enjoy the freedom that we so often take for granted. Take a moment to consider those who have sacrificed their lives for us. Thank you for coming out tonight and enjoy the game.
Pete Zubersky
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