Good Evening Hockey Fans,
Welcome back to the Panorama Recreation Centre where tonight we will look to cool the red hot Victoria Cougars. The playoffs are for all intents and purposes now set and we will play the Cougars in the 1st Round best-of-7. Last night we were at the Archie Browning for an evening contest against these same Cougars and after 60 minutes we ended up on the wrong side of a 4-2 count. I watched the game and although we could have ended up with a win if a shot or two had gone in, the score actually flattered us and the Cougars were full value for the victory. Josh Round played between the pipes for us and was stellar throughout the contest. Reece Costain had both of our goals with Connor Logan picking up a couple of helpers and both these kids looked good. But I enjoyed watching Josh Adkins every single time he hit the ice. Adkins played a hard, in your face type of game and each time I watch him I believe that this will be his last season in Junior “B” playing for the Panthers. Josh has played quite a number of games for the Grizzlies and I plan on speaking with them about any plans they have for Josh and hopefully he can get some kind of commitment for next season. If it does not look like he is in their plans, I will be getting on the blower at the end of the season to make sure he lands in the BCHL come September. Pay special note to Josh tonight and for the rest of the regular season and playoffs - he is a good one.
I watched our boys closely last night and must say that we turned the puck over far too many times to win in the playoffs. We miss Cody Breitenstein on the back-end and he should be back soon - if not tonight - but I did not see our defencemen as a group step up last night. I think that the guys that are supposed to play physical didn’t do that, and our guys that are suppose to be skilled gave the puck away as much as everyone else. Hopefully tonight we will see a much better effort from the group against what is a great hockey Club.
After tonight we will practice several times and will then be back in Victoria on Thursday to play the Cougars once again. I love playing them as each and every time I get to see which of our kids want to compete. Last night I watched many of our forwards turn off checks rather than going through the player. Brody Coulter is the VIJHL leading scorer and numerous times I watched our kids have an opportunity to nail him with a clean hit and instead chose to do a skate by without contact. That is just not good enough, that is just not acceptable and there is no way that we can find success now or in the playoffs with that attitude. Hopefully tonight we will see more of a physical game, that is what we expect and anything less than a physical but clean game will not be good enough.
Stephen Heslop will get the start tonight for the Club. Last Sunday in Kerry Park we held a mini “State of the Union” discussion with both Round and Heslop as we have all felt that they have more to give. In fact, we started 16-year-old Leighton Williams in Kerry Park just to give both a chance to sit back, observe and think about what they need to do better. On Tuesday night both looked strong in practice and I thought that Heslop had the best practice he has had since he joined the team late in the regular season and then in the Playoffs as an affiliate player. I am looking forward to seeing him compete tonight. Clearly, tonight and in the playoffs our goaltender has to be our best player for us to compete with the Cougars and Round gave us a chance to win last night and I fully expect that Heslop will be “lights out” tonight. I have not spoken with Brian Passmore about how he intends to handle the playoffs in goal but I am sure he has a plan already and we will probably have that chat a week or two down the road.
I expect that Cody Breitenstein and Ben Meek will be on the sidelines tonight and have a call into “Passy” to confirm this and find out if he is bringing in any AP’s. I am fine with using Ap’s - several of them have done quite a good job. Braeden Pearce played a couple good games for us last weekend and Hunter Atchison is looking more comfortable each time out. Last Friday Peninsula Midget AA 15-year-old Coby Hale played his first Junior Game and did not disappoint at all. Hale is small in stature but very, very big in heart and I enjoyed seeing him out there working hard. I have watched Coby around the rink since he was a little boy so seeing him now in a Panthers jersey was a lot of fun. And then last night, Kai Turner had his first opportunity to play for the squad, his first Junior game against the Cougars. I think that at this point Kai is a bit ahead of Coby but is also a year older. I have also watched Kai around the rink for years and years and once again it is awesome to see these kids who have been fans forever finally get a chance to play rather than watch.
OK then, Passy just called and it looks like Singhera and Jackson Skerratt may be out for this evening as well. We will be calling up Hunter Frampton from the Peninsula Midget AA squad as well as Braeden Pearce from the Saanich Midget team. Both of these kids have played in the lineup this year so should be able to handle the game tonight, albeit, it will be a step or two quicker than they are used to. Both of these kids quite like the heavy-going so look for both of them to bring some physical play this evening.
I mentioned last week that we were holding our Awards Dinner on Saturday, February 16th at the Glen Meadows Golf and Country Club. Twelve Awards will be presented including my favourite, the Steve Simpson Memorial Trophy - Heart, Courage & Character. Some of the winners have been nailed down but there are several where we have not quite figured out a winner. The dinner will start at 5:30 pm and we are inviting the fans to join the players, families, billets and friends for the evening. The cost of the ticket is $40. but this just covers the cost of the meal, gratuity and tax. It is the deluxe buffet, the same as we had last year so the meal will be excellent. If you are interested in attending, please see Coreen in the ticket booth, she will help you out with all your needs. If you have any questions ask Coreen, but if you are thinking about coming out for the night please grab a ticket or two so we can nail down numbers.
We only have two regular season home games left after tonight, next Friday against the Oceanside Generals and our final regular season game against the Kerry Park Islanders on February 15th. We have a few things on tap for the evening of the 15th, including the kids going out to the lobby between the 1st and 2nd periods to sign autographs. We will be passing out free programs for young fans who want to get the signatures of the players - it’s always a fun time so please plan on joining us for that one.
It is about time for the curtain to raise up, for the puck to be dropped to start our 22nd home game of the season. We have had great support once again this season, the fans and atmosphere are back in the barn. I hope you enjoy the game tonight, thanks for the support.
Pete Zubersky
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