Dec. 5th vs. Saanich Braves - Hockey Ops.

Good Evening Hockey Fans,

Thank you for coming out tonight, our first home game in December.  Christmas is nearing and soon it will be time to turn over the calendar to 2014....Can you believe it??!!  I just read something this morning that made me think for just a minute or two.  The author said, “Think about what you have, and not about what you want.”  The writer went on to talk about how we are never happy with what we have and are always looking to have more, more, more.  It is really something to ponder - especially at this time of year.

In keeping in this Spirit, next Friday will be our annual “Teddy Bear Toss” which will occur after the first Panthers goal is scored.  With the netting up along the sides and ends we have the worst rink to have a Toss however, the thought and your support is what really matters.  The Saanich Peninsula Secret Santa’s group will be here for the game and all the bears will go to their cause.  This group goes out into the community and provides gifts to children on the Peninsula who might not otherwise receive a Christmas toy or gift.  This kind of stuff could not be more important.  I’m sure we all have a stuffed animal that is brand new or perhaps we can dip into the jar and get enough coin to purchase one.  Please wrap them in plastic so they stay dry when they hit the ice after we score.  Hopefully our team gets the job done early in the 1st period next Friday in our game against the Kerry Park Islanders.  PLEASE support this fantastic cause.

Tonight our 20-year-old Assistant Captain, #25 Jackson Skerratt is having his hair cut off during the intermission between the 1st and 2nd periods.  Jackson is attempting to draw attention to a cause which is near and dear to his heart, specifically “Locks of Love.”  I am going to have Jackson say a few words before he gets his hair cut, you will be able to hear about what the cause is all about and why he chose to do something about it.  This will occur in the Lobby between the two rinks, right in the area where Coreen sells tickets every single home game.  Please join us there right after the first 20 minutes is in the books tonight.

Tonight we host the visiting Saanich Braves Hockey Club, their first visit into the Panorama Recreation Centre this season.  We have played in Saanich twice coming out with a 3-3 tie and most recently on November 27th a 5-3 win.  The tie was over sixty minutes of regular time followed by 5 minutes of 4-on-4 and a further five minutes of 3-on-3.  We were down in the game and came back to tie it late but could not get the job completely done and had to settle for a single point.  And in the 5-3 win we looked uninterested for the most part and were down 3-1 after 40 minutes had been played.  But the kids got back to business in the 3rd period scoring four unanswered goals, the final one into an empty net to get the two points.  I have always felt that Braves have the biggest home ice advantage in the VIJHL due to the fact that their sheet of ice is markedly smaller than the rest of the barns in the League.  It seems that as soon as you step over the blueline a player is in scoring position and when you gather the puck in your own end, the forechecking pressure seems immediate.  I am hoping tonight that we have a bit more flow and that our kids come out to play, we will find out shortly.

Tonight we have five of our regulars scratched and they are all very important players to the Club.  Skerratt will be out after getting thumped last Friday.  There is a good chance that he will be back in next Friday when we host the Kerry Park Islanders.  Adam Page has been snake bitten all season long and his trek continues this week.  He suffered a concussion earlier in the year and then had some back issues however, this was all taken care of.  His number was drawn and he went in to have an operation to clear out a sinus issue and is now on the ice at practice with the rest of the boys.  I expected him to be back tonight, but he too may be back next Friday along with Jackson.  Brett Sjerven was hammered when he went awkwardly into the boards in Campbell River last Sunday afternoon.  His neck was of concern and the game was halted and an ambulance was dispatched to the rink.  Brett was taken to the hospital in Campbell River but was released hours later and was very fortunate that everything was OK.  I expect that he will be out a couple weeks but we are all so happy that this issue will not linger.  Spencer Loverock was slashed in a game in Kerry Park on November 23rd and so has been out for two weeks now.  I expect that Spencer will be back after Christmas and we do miss his great wheels flying up and down the ice night in and night out.  And finally you all saw when Matt Sheeran was nicked last Friday night here at the Panorama in a game against the Comox Valley Glacier Kings.  Matt has a ways to go and will probably be out another 5-7 weeks although, in speaking to him he believes he will be back sooner than this.  We have called up three players for tonight against the Braves.  The diminutive and feisty 16-year-old Coby Hale draws back into the lineup and hails from the Peninsula Minor Hockey Association playing on the Midget AA squad.  Josh Gladman - from Saanich Minor Hockey - has been in the lineup several times over the past couple of weeks.  And making his first start for the Panthers as an Affiliate is Tanner Biggan.  Tanner was at our Spring Camp in April and plays for the Juan de Fuca Juvenile squad.  He has played in the VIJHL with the Kerry Park Islanders so has experience at this level and we are hoping that all three will bring something to the table this evening.

If you take a peek on the back page you will see the standings in the VIJHL and as teams near the Christmas break we will all soon be over the 30-game mark, Westshore is already there.  We are in 2nd in the South just two points ahead of the Wolves however, we have three games in hand and a win tonight would put us in a good place going into our game up in Kerry Park on Saturday night.  Kerry Park started the season out slow but have played very well as of late and before all is said and done, I believe they will have a say.  And Saanich may be in 5th in the South however, they too are playing some good hockey as of late just having bounced the Campbell River Storm last Friday night in Saanich.

I must say that I can’t recall the VIJHL having this type of parity ever.  The Victoria Cougars lost two regular season games all last season long a year ago and then we beat them once in the playoffs.  We have dropped them twice already this time around and they have been knocked off by Campbell River and Nanaimo as well.  It looks like the Cougars may be tough to catch for 1st in the South and perhaps 1st overall however, the playoffs come mid-February will be more than a bit interesting.

We currently have 21 players carded and have 4 cards available to use after the December 1 date lapsed.  We have a couple irons in the fire right now as most of all the other teams do and I’m sure we will have some additions in the weeks to come leading up to Christmas, and then the carding deadline of January 10th.  There is so much water to go under the bridge at this point.  With additions that may occur and with players who are banged up coming back into our lineup, I really like our roster this time around.  We will have to work to keep our heads above water until all the reinforcements are back with our group and so every single win at this point is very important to the standings.  This will ultimately have a huge impact on how our Club performs in the second and most important season, the playoffs.

If you have a schedule pull it out and take a peek at it and if you need one just head to the front and Coreen will have plenty at the ticket table.  We play next Friday against the Islanders, December 13th.  The following Friday we will not have a home game, we will be in Saanich on the evening which will be December 20th.  The kids that live outside the Greater Victoria area will then head home for the Christmas break and we will not play again until the following Friday when we will host the Saanich Braves at the Panorama Recreation Centre, December 27th.  The following Wednesday is New Years Day and we will host those same Braves with the game set to go at 4:00 pm.  This is the first time we are trying a New Years Day game and think it will be quite popular.  The World Junior Tournament will take place in Malmo, Sweden so those games will not impact on our game.  We picked 4:00 pm so that any party-goers from the previous night will have had a chance to chew on a couple eggs and some toast and head out to the game.  And for those of you who have something going on during the evening, the game will be over in time to allow for that.  Please join us on New Years Day!

It’s time to get going now, the curtain is just about to raise up on tonight’s action.  I expect we will see a good crowd tonight and will probably see a pretty good game. Thanks to each of you for your support!    Pete Zubersky