Good Evening Hockey Fans,
Welcome back to the Panorama Recreation Centre where tonight we will do battle with the visiting Saanich Braves. I am going to discuss the game tonight in a moment but I wanted to let all of you know about a makeup game which will be played this coming Tuesday, January 22nd at 7:30 against the same Saanich Braves. Yes, this Tuesday evening with the puck set to drop at 7:30 pm. As you recall we were set to play the Braves on a Sunday afternoon in December when there was a malfunction with the Zamboni, which left the ice in a state that the game could not be played. On Tuesday we will make up that game.
The Braves currently have a stranglehold on 2nd place in the South Division of the VIJHL while we are looking up from 4th place and will be trying to erase some of the distance that the Westshore Wolves have created in the battle for 3rd. The Wolves have a 7-point lead however we have played four less games so will have to make up some of the distance in the win column - hopefully starting with a big win tonight. As you recall, we moved 18-year-old forward Cole Golka to the Saanich Braves just prior to the trade deadline last week and it will be his first visit back to the Panorama however, this time he will be making his entrance from the visitors dressing room. I am sure that Cole will be looking forward to the game this evening, albeit, it will probably be a bit strange for him.
Making the start in goal for our Club this evening will be Stephen Heslop. I love both of our goaltenders but do feel that both guys can play better than they have as of late. Heslop did play a solid game last Friday night against the Kerry Park Islanders and a win resulted. Josh Round struggled his past two starts against the Westshore Wolves and the same Islanders team and two losses were the result and I know that he expects more as does our coaching staff. I know that Brian Passmore wants to get him in as soon as possible and does expect to see a much better effort when he does.
There was so much happening with the trade deadline last Friday that I did not have enough room to get in all the news from the week that had gone by. For starters, Stephen Heslop joined the Cowichan Capitals as an affiliate player for four games and mopped up in one of them and was a starter in another. Heslop lost the game he started in Langley however the 4-3 game went into overtime and Stephen was awarded the 2nd star when all the smoke had cleared. And Josh Adkins was recently called up by the Victoria Grizzlies for a two-game stint and I would think that there will be many more for him. Josh played against the Chilliwack Chiefs last weekend and then travelled to Port Alberni on Wednesday - both were tight one-goal games. It was nice to see Adkins get his feet wet at the next level and I truly expect that he will make the jump for good come next September.
Our former Captain Patrick Croome was moved at the deadline to the Comox Valley Glacier Kings and now wearing the “C” is 19-year-old Cody Breitenstein. Cody hails from Hawthorne, California and is the lone American-born player on our team and he has been just a great find for the Club. I had actually tried to move Cody on the deadline and thought that it would happen, but just before midnight on January 10th the deal stalled out. I had been in contact with Cody throughout that evening and, being the awesome kid he is, he told me that if he went or if he stayed he would be happy. Once again, this would have been a hard move for fans to understand, but in the end I think it was much better that Cody stayed put and now leads our club. He held a team meeting an hour before the team hit the ice last Friday and I believe that whatever he had to say did make a real difference to the attitude of the group. I thought we went out and really competed on the evening and although we needed to go to a shootout to finally put the game away, I thought that we could have blown the game out if we had put a few pucks in the net. Watch Cody tonight. He has huge aspirations of playing hockey for an NCAA program down the road and he will have our full support. I am not sure if Cody will be back in Panthersland next season - we all certainly hope so - but if he can find his way to a Junior A program in his last season it would go a long way in helping him with scholarship opportunities. I had several discussions
with the Powell River Kings of the BCHL this past week and as a result Cody was signed by them as an affiliate player. Hopefully he will get a chance to get up there and practice with them for a week and then to play in a game or two and perhaps get some playoff action. Once again, we will support our player every way possible in reaching his goals.
Tonight will see the end of an era for our Club here on the Peninsula. Gail Dixon has been our marketing person for the past 13 years and tonight will end a long string of great years, time and work and effort that has helped us become one of the best Organizations in Junior “B”. It was the early summer of 1999 and Coreen and I had purchased the Peninsula Panthers from Mark Wagstaff, who also owned the Victoria Salsa at the time. We brainstormed and felt that there were two issues that had to be taken care of right away for us to find success off the ice and they were getting the Media onside and getting the best Marketer in the business. I knew Gail and had watched her for several years as a marketer and decided to go out to her home in Sooke and discuss the Panthers with her and her husband Wayne. We sat at the back of their home and although they did not give me an answer that day, the groundwork was in place. Several days later Gail called and said that she was in and we never once looked back. The first couple of years were a building process and I always told Gail that her job was as important as the coach. Without success off the ice, it is impossible to have success on the ice. Without income, a team cannot survive and Gail always made it possible for us to do the things that we wanted to do and for this we are forever thankful. John Wilson purchased the team from us after eight years and he sold it two years later. The team suffered off the ice after that and the VIJHL asked John, Coreen and I if we would be interested in coming back last December as the team was going to fold within days. Of course there were two things that had to be taken care of.....the Media and Gail - and Gail joined us once again.
Her husband Wayne has had some real health issues and I know that Gail has struggled with her health on occasion and this season has been a struggle with all that is going on. Gail is stepping away after many, many great years and the Panthers Organization want to take a moment out tonight to acknowledge her great work over a protracted period of time. We will be holding a short on-ice presentation just prior to the game tonight and so I hope that you all wish Gail the best if you happen to see her in the rink tonight. Wayne will be trying to come out for the game tonight as well and as I write this on Friday morning it looks like he will be able to make it. I will say it on the ice tonight but I also wanted to say it here in print, “Thank you Gail and thank you Wayne for your great efforts over the past 13 years.”
Our final league game is set for Friday, February 15th and then our wrap-up banquet will be the following evening...SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16th at the Glen Meadows Golf and Country Club. I will discuss this more in the coming weeks but if you are interested we would love for you to join us. This is open to the fans and last year quite a number came out and enjoyed a great meal, the awards presentation and the evening. Cost of the banquet will be $40. and the meal is the best buffet that Glen Meadows has to offer. Once again, please join us and see Coreen if you are interested in obtaining tickets for the dinner.
It’s just about time to kick off the evening here tonight against those ever tough Saanich Braves. We want to thank every one of you for coming out this evening and supporting the team, I hope that each night you feel you are getting fair entertainment value. Cheers to all, enjoy!
Pete Zubersky
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