Panthers get a bit of breathing room with 8-4 win over Westshore Wolves

There was a sense of urgency at the Panorama Recreation Centre on Friday evening as the Peninsula Panthers took the ice for warmups prior to their meet with the Westshore Wolves - it was easy to see.  From a casual observer, not much seemed different.  Fifteen minutes were put up on the clock, and both teams went through their routines as the music spilled into the stands and over the big white sheet in front of them.  But for the home squad, there was a sense of excitement and energy and urgency as they went about their business and from the trained observer, this too was easy to see.

There was one glaring difference and that was the big netminder between the pipes in the recently acquired Josh Round.  Round had been obtained from the Comox Valley Glacier Kings only two days earlier and he steered shots to both his left and right as he shook off the rust from not having seen the ice for a full week and to help him rid the butterflies that certainly were filling him in his first game with the Panthers.  

The warmup ended, the teams filtered off the ice and into their respective dressing rooms, the zamboni readied the ice surface, the fans filtered in, the teams returned, the National Anthem was blasted out and the first puck was dropped.  And that is when both the trained and untrained eye could see that the Panthers were ready to play.

Cole Golka, who has been the hottest of the Panthers as of late, quickly opened the scoring at 3:35 of the 1st period when he buried one past Wolves young netminder Alec Dillon.  And it would not be the last time the talented sniper would hit the sheet.  But four minutes later the Wolves Braedon Behan would get one of his own to knot the score at one.  The rest of the period was all Panthers though as Daniel Welch, Josh Adkins and Zack Smith all put pucks behind Dillon to give the Panthers a commanding 4-1 lead at the buzzer.  The goals were all pretty and the result of hard work, but perhaps the most exciting came off the stick of Welch.  The puck squirted by two Wolves would-be defenders in the neutral zone and  slipped down the ice towards Dillon with Welch in hot pursuit.  The lanky goalie decided that he could beat Welch to the puck and he quickly blasted from his crease up-ice - the footrace was on.  Welch beat Dillon to the puck at the top of the circles in the Wolves end, Dillon arrived at almost the same moment.  Welch deftly moved the puck to Dillon's left but Dillon crashed into the burly forward and sent him airborn.  Welch remained composed and managed to keep his stick on the puck even though he was flying through the air in a lateral position and had the composure to slide it right to the middle of the yawning cage to put the Panthers up 2-1.  And a boisterous and large crowd all came to their feet to show their appreciation for the skillful move.

The 2nd period started out much how the last period ended with the Panthers controlling the play and adding to the lead.  It was Smith with his second tally on the power-play at the 9:10 mark and this marker would spell the end of Dillon's night who was replaced by veteran stopper Matt Chester.  Golka would welcome Chester into the game with his second of the night just two minutes later and this appeared to give the Panthers an insurmountable lead at 6-1, although there was still a lot of hockey to be played.  Kyle Richter replied for the Wolves but Welch, with his 2nd of the game, quickly restored the Panthers 5-goal lead.  But for fans who love to see goal-scoring, there was still some action left and with just over a minute left Wolves Clay Carson beat Round to make it a 7-3 game.  It would remain this way until both teams went to their respective dressing rooms after 40 minutes were in the books.

The Wolves looked like they still had something in the tank when at the 2:07 mark of the 3rd frame Spencer Preece closed the gap to three goals and it remained that way until Smith scored his 3rd goal of the night on the power-play to put an exclamation mark on the evening.  Round was awarded with his first win in Panthersland blocking 25 of 29 shots directed his way while Dillon and Chester combined to stop 33 of 41 shots put on the Westshore net.

Gritty defenceman Brett Sjerven managed to hit the scoresheet as he engaged in some pugalistic activities dropping the gloves midway through the 2nd frame with gritty Wolves defenceman Tyler Smith.  The two exchanged blow after blow in a long and drawn out affair and the two left the ice listening to a raucious crowd.  For Sjerven, it was his first tilt of his Junior Career and it was one that he won't easily forget.  "I had complete tunnel vision as I left the ice, I was so focused" explained the rearguard who was signed in the summer even though he had a medical issue with his lung and was hospitalized with an operation to repair a hole that had developed.  "I didn't hear anything and I could only see the gate and I knew I had to go through it.  I love playing for the Panthers, I loved the game tonight.  We were all ready to play."  Yes they were!

Up next for the Panthers is the Saanich Braves who will make their first visit to the Panorama on THURSDAY evening at the Panorma Recreation Centre for a 7:30 pm start.  Yes, the game will be on THURSDAY night and not the regular Friday start for this coming week only.

Panthers Tracks....Smith, Welch and Adkins were named the three stars although Golka could easily have been added as he had a 4-point night....Adkins added 4 points of his own with a goal and 3 helpers....Welch, who has been one of the best Panthers of late and is playing his best hockey of the season, had 2 assists to go with his 2 goals....Patrick Croome had his grandparents in from Alberta for the weekend while Cody Breitenstein's Mom, Dad and brother Roland made the trip up from Las Angelos....the Panthers have collected 11 of 14 points in the last 7 games....the two power-play goals were a sight for sore eyes as the Club has stuggled in the aspect of special team play....the coaching staff made several small adjustments and it seemed to pay dividends....Josh Round is breathing a bit easier after collecting his first win in the den....social media is alive and well as a large group of young fans arrived at the game just prior to the 2nd period after hearing via facebook and twitter that the Panthers were having a great game....Austin Singhera is getting back in the swing of things after missing several games to injury adding two assists in the win....next up is the Saanich Braves on THURSDAY night, a squad that just knocked off the Victoria Cougars and took them into a shootout on Friday.