It's a done deal, Panthers put a Round peg in a Round hole

Early this morning the Peninsula Panthers pulled the trigger on their first big deal in the 2012/13 VIJHL season when they acquired 18-year-old stopper Josh Round from the Comox Valley Glacier Kings.  To make room for Round - who will be in the Panthers lineup tonight in Nanaimo for a game against the Buccaneers - the Club has released another 18-year-old goaltender in Justin Samra.

The Panthers played two games in Comox on October 13th and once again on November 3rd and both games proved to be goaltender battles between Round and Stephen Heslop who was minding the nets for the Panthers.  Both games went the distance and then some with an additional 5 minutes of overtime and had to be decided in a shootout.  In the first game, both goalies were perfect and going into the shootout the game was still tied at 0-0.  Panthers Zack Smith finally solved Round and Heslop remained perfect as the Panthers squeaked out a 1-0 win in what was easily the best goaltending dual this season in the VIJHL.  And then on November 3rd the two 'tenders locked up in another battle, this time the game was tied at 4-4 after 60 minutes of regulation and 5 minutes of overtime.  Both Heslop and Round were nothing short of outstanding in the shootout with Panthers Will Finlay finally beating Round while Heslop remained perfect once again.  Finlay was the Panthers 7th shooter.  Last Friday the Panthers beat the Glacier Kings on home ice by a narrow 2-0 count, Heslop once again coming out on top while Round took the loss.  But both Goalies were once again white-hot for the 60 minutes.

The Glacier Kings acquired a starter from the KIJHL which made Round expendable and the Panthers decided to make the move, although according to Pete Zubersky it was one of the hardest decisions he has had to make in the ten years with the Club.  "I think Josh will prove to be a great addition to the squad," explained Zubersky.  "He is big and he competes.  He is young and he is a great kid and all those things are what our Organization is about.  Heslop is still our starter and Round has been told just that, but Round has told me he wants to battle and earn his icetime and I have no doubt that this situation will prove to be a healthy and competitive enviroment for both of these great young goalies."

Coach Rob Armstrong was pleased with adding Round to the roster.  "We played against Josh three times this season and all three games we felt that he was their best player, certainly in two of the three games.  Pete has said that he is a great kid, has met with him face-to-face last night and had nothing but great things to say about his character.  Josh will be in the lineup tonight backing up Stephen and then we will figure out what happens next.  This all happened fairly quickly."

The Club has given Samra his outright release and so he is now free to find another Club to stop pucks for.  "This was one of my hardest choices in the 10-years having run this Club," said Zubersky.  "Justin Samra is one of the best kids to ever have gone through our program and that is what made the deal hard to do.  His family are cut from the same cloth, I can't say enough good things about them.  I chose to give Justin his outright release rather than keep him in as a 3rd goaltender while trying to trade his rights.  He deserved the respect of not being jerked around and I wanted to make this as clean as possible.  It was hard on Sammy, he was in a 'Catch 22' situation.  Heslop was lights out almost every time between the pipes and Justin was just not seeing enough shots to stay sharp.  I do feel for him and his family but we have chosen to move on.  The Panthers wish Justin Samra the best of luck as he moves forward from here and we hope that he gets a chance with another club right away."

The Panthers and Josh Round are back at home Friday evening when they play an important South Division tilt against the Westshore Wolves.  The Wolves are currently one point behind the Panthers in South Division standings, both teams having played 24 games.  The puck drops at the Panorama Recreation Centre at 7:30 pm.