Panthers split on weekend, All-Stars named

"We could not complete one pass all night long," lamented Panthers' Head Coach Brian Passmore after his Club was bounced 4-0 by the visiting Saanich Braves on Friday night at the Panorama Recreation Centre.  The team had had a week off for the Christmas break and the first time they hit the ice was for the warmup before the game - and it showed.  The Braves held period leads of 2-0, 3-0 and finally 4-0 in a game that the Panthers could not do anything right.  This came on the heels of a 5-3 win last Friday in Saanich against the same Braves team and it was quite obvious that both teams were not in the same frame of mind going into this contest.

"No doubt about it," said Passmore when asked if the Braves played with a bit more urgency.  "We beat them last Friday and played hard as a group but tonight our guys were blowing snow all over the ice instead of finishing their checks.  We had some guys that sat tonight because they did not play hard, they did not play the way I want them to play and this is a message that they will all continue to get.  I don't care who the player is, if he does not play the way we want, he will sit and watch."

And with that the Panthers headed up to Kerry Park to face a last-place Islanders squad but one that has recently made a lot of changes including the addition of former New York Ranger Brad Purinton behind the bench.  Perhaps the turkey had worn off or perhaps Passmore's message got through, but there was a different attitude on the ice on Saturday evening and it showed at 7:54 of the first frame when Nathan Looysen hit paydirt on the power play.  And then with just under three minutes having been played in the 2nd period, the Panthers power play struck again when Zack Smith whipped a snap shot past Islanders netminder Jordan Hospes to add to the lead.  Daniel Welch added his own marker only four minutes later and when the Islanders took a couple more penalties, it looked like the Panthers had an opportunity to blow the game wide open before it had reached the halfway point.  But two defensive miscues on the same power play resulted in two Alex Milligan short-handed tallies for the Islanders and it was "Game on" once again.  But Cole Golka tucked one upstairs from in close after a nifty pass from behind the net by Looysen at the 11:47 mark.  The Islanders would just not go away and only one minute later Ryan Paisley beat Panthers netminder Josh Round to narrow the lead to 4-3.  The power play clicked again....and again at 16:56 and 18:48 when Welch and Jackson Skerratt scored for the Panthers.  On the Welch goal, Skerratt made a wonderful feed from behind the Islanders cage before adding a goal of his own, but more on Skerratt later.  Connor Logan scored the lone Panthers goal at 11:24 of the 3rd period to close out the scoring while Round was credited with the win blocking 34 of 37 shots thrown at him.  Defenceman Cody Breitenstein added three helpers.

With the win the Panthers moved back into a 3rd place tie with the Westshore Wolves in the South Division of the VIJHL and as they ready to host the Islanders next Friday in an important game.  "We are in a real battle with the Wolves for playoff position," explained Hockey Operations boss Pete Zubersky.  "The Victoria Cougars look like they have 1st place wrapped up and the Braves seem to have a lock on 2nd.  Kerry Park is too far back now to catch up to the rest of the South so the only thing that has to be decided in these last 14 games is who will finish in 3rd and 4th place.  We play Westshore two more times so every single game from here on in will be a dogfight and we need every single point we can get.  Our focus almost has to have a playoff mentality to it, we have to look at one game at a time, get points and then look on.  The Islanders game next Friday at home is a big one."

Perhaps the nicest surprise of the weekend was the play of Peninsula Minor Hockey product "Action" Jackson Skerratt.  Skerratt did not play last season and this season was toiling in the beer leagues when he decided to approach the coaching staff of the Panthers for a look-see.  He had been practicing with the Club for the past several weeks and was signed on December 24th which turned out to be a nice Christmas present for the 19-year-old forward.  Skerratt, like the entire Panthers roster, did not look good on Friday night however on Saturday he seemed to shake of some of the rust and turkey and nerves and managed to score a goal and add a couple helpers.  "We were not sure where Jackson will end up," explained Zubersky, but we did feel that he can help us.  After Saturday I think he could play a real important part in the end of the season and the playoffs.  He made an awesome play on the Welch goal and then scored his first and I think he probably has a lot more in him.  Skerratt will get better and better as we move along from here and I am looking for some good things from him.  I think he has already shown us that he probably is not a 4th line player and we will see how things develop from here.  I love that he is a Peninsula kid.  When we owned the team in 1999, Jackson was a 6-year-old kid and over the years there were not very many games that he missed.  It is great to have him and his family back at the rink on Friday nights."

In other happenings around the team, the VIJHL announced the All-Star Game and Prospects Game selections and several Panthers hit the mark.  17-year-old Josh Adkins and 18-year-old Cole Golka were named to the All-Star team as forwards and they will be joined by 19-year-old defenceman Cody Breitenstein.  Named to the Prospects Team were 16-year-old Nathan Looysen up front, 17-year-old defenceman Spencer Loverock and 17-year-old goalie Stephen Heslop.  The games will be hosted by the Oceanside Generals on January 13th. 

Panthers tracks...Reece Costain and Austin Singhera have now each served two of their three-game suspensions and will sit out next Friday night when the Panthers host the Islanders at 7:30 pm...Brett Sjerven played both games on the weekend and his return back from an injury sustained a while back in Saanich was earlier than the coaching staff had expected...a battle seems to be developing between the pipes for the Club as both goaltenders clearly have the ability to start...Adkins continues to lead Panthers scoring as he added two assists on Saturday...Skerratt has a big smile...