Panther lose to Braves in shootout, host Braves TUESDAY EVENING!!

The great Yogi Berra who played many splendid years for the New York Yankees in years gone by once quipped, "It's never over 'till it's over," a line that has been repeated millions of times in countries all over the world.  And on Friday evening at the Panorama Recreation Centre it would be safe to say that it was repeated by many of the faithful fans as it seemed like the heart-stopping evening as the Peninsula Panthers hosted the visiting Saanich Braves might never find a winner.  But in the end, after each team had rolled out five shooters, the Braves managed to come out on top however every single fan who departed had clearly received every single cent worth in entertainment value.

The evening started on the right paw for the Panthers when 17-year-old and Panthers leading point-getter Josh Adkins opened the scoring with just over two minutes having been played.  Kyle Richardson blasted a shot from the right point that Adkins managed to tip and it managed to elude Braves starting netminder Bowman Rutledge giving the home squad a 1-0 lead.  But Braves' Josh Gray knotted the game at the 13:11 mark beating Panthers netminder Stephen Heslop.  The contest seemed to have a bit of a nasty edge to it in the first frame and it appeared as though the Braves had a game plan to jam the Panthers net on every whistle with much extra curricular activities directed at Heslop during the stoppages.  And on this night, the boys in the stripes were allowing it to happen.  Only seconds after Gray's marker, Heslop coralled another puck and once again the Braves brought the house and a melee ensued as would be expected.  Panthers' Daniel Welch dropped the gloves with Braves' Nolan Kinney and both were sent to the showers for the evening for their efforts.  Panthers' Brett Sjerven and Braves' Seamus Maguire were whistled for 10-minute misconducts on the same play.  Once play resumed in the spirited affair, it was Josh Adkins who once again would hit paydirt - this time on an unassisted marker when he blasted one past Rutledge with just over two minutes remaining in the period to give the Panthers a slim 2-1 lead heading to the dressing room.

After regrouping between periods the Braves looked like a different squad and they ended up beating Heslop four times on 20 shots in the 2nd frame on goals by Sam McMullen, Max Mois and Captain Ty Jones with a pair.  Panthers' Will Finlay was the only Panthers marksman as the Panthers trailed 5-3 after 40 minutes.  The coaching staff of the Panthers had reached their boiling point and after the period had ended, a discussion with the "Stripes" did not go well.  Surely they said something and it probably was not to invite them out for natchos as the Club was whistled with a bench minor.

Heslop was yanked in favour of Josh Round and it was the backup on the night that seemed to bring some stability to the net for the Panthers.  He stopped all eight shots he faced in the 3rd period while Panthers' Reece Costain and Nathan Looysen - on what might have been the prettiest move of the night - tied the game up with just over eleven minutes remaining.  The teams went back and forth with the Panthers clearly having the best opportunities to end the game in regulation. 

It was a different story in the five-minute overtime as Panthers' Sjerven was called for a hooking penalty with only 35 seconds expired.  The Panthers managed to kill off the penalty however, the Braves continued with the pressure for most of the overtime but could not beat Round.

Ty Jones was the first shooter for the Braves in the shootout and he made no mistake beating Round with a snapshot to the blocker side.  Shooters for both sides were denied and it was left up to Jackson Skerratt as the final shooter for the Panthers to beat Rutledge and prolong the shootout.  Skerratt moved to his left and then cut in towards Rutledge and as the Braves goaltender opened the wickets, Skerratt deftly slipped the puck between his legs to send it to extra shooters.  Shawn McBride for the Braves and Reece Costain for the Panthers were each stymied and then the diminutive Braves defenceman Garett Kemmler beat Round once again.  Kemmler moved down the ice slowly and, when in tight to Round, slipped one that set off a mini-celebration on the Braves bench.  Connor Logan was the Panthers last hope on the evening and when he was denied on a deke, the Braves were the one to have the last laugh getting the 6-5  win in exciting fashion. 

"I am sure that Stephen would have liked to have a couple of the goals back," explained Pete Zubersky.  "When you play the Braves or the Cougars there is really no room for mistakes and perhaps there were a couple tonight and we end up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.  I loved once again how our guys competed, especially in the 3rd period.  I am looking forward to Tuesday night already."

Yes, Yogi Berra was a ball player and probably never has seen a hockey game in his life, but if he did he might have quipped after this one, "Wow, it's never over 'til it's over but when it's over, you are emotionally drained when you're drained."

The Panthers travel up to Kerry Park to take on the Islanders on Saturday evening and then are back at the Panorama Recreation Centre on Tuesday night when they host the same Braves squad with the puck set to drop at 7:30 pm.  It will be the final time the two teams will meet in the VIJHL regular season.  The contest is a makeup game for an affair that had to be cancelled on December 9th due to a Zamboni malfunction.