Dec. 27th vs. Saanich Braves - Hockey Ops.

Good Evening Hockey Fans,
Thank you for coming out tonight, it’s always nice to get out of the house after several days of eating too much and sitting around with your feet on the coffee table.  Here we go this evening taking on the Saanich Braves.  And we will be right back here on New Year’s Day at 4:00 pm when we will bring in the 2014 hosting the Braves in that one.  That’s right, New Year’s Day there will be hockey at the Panorama Recreation Center so please come out and join us for that one!

You can see a Christmas photo that Gordon Lee shot for us just before December 25th and I thought you might enjoy it.  We did not play at home last Friday night so I did not get to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  With that in mind I thought I would take just a moment to roll back the clocks a couple days, to December 24th.....

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the arena,
Not a player was stirring, not even Coreena.
The equipment was hung in the locker with care,
Coach Passy relaxing, is he losing his hair??

The players all hustled with helmets on head,
Now resting at Christmas, put hockey to bed.
It’s time for our families, don’t forget Dad...what a man,
But his shot pales in comparison to Matty Sheeran.

But even though it’s Christmas and we look for Saint Nick,
We can’t forget Smitty who knows trick after trick.
For that matter we laugh as we think of our teammates,
I’m sure that ol’ Larry will be sharpening our skates.

Our combination of goalers, that’s Karrer and Heslop,
Have stopped about everything, they have not been a flop.
Connor Logan stirs ‘em up and pops goal after goal,
Allison and Law they check hard, as they know their role.

Tate Coughlin’s a rookie but often plays like a vet,
Meek and Story are gone but we do not forget.
And poor Iver Oedegaard’s feet extend way past his bed,
When he comes in the door he often does bump his head.

We love Sean Buchanan, he has wrists like a bull,
When he shoots the round biscuit, the nets are quite full.
And of course Des Bast, he surely knows when to pinch,
When it comes to the rough stuff, he never does flinch.

Number 9 is a local, Glover happens to be his last name,
When he chipped his front chiclet, it truly was a shame.
And big Reece Costain, in the League he’s the toughest,
When the puck is dropped, he’s undoubtedly the roughest.
 
The reindeer are ready, they fly so fast through the air,
Skerratt’s head is quite cold, he’s lost all his hair.
Charlish and Fletcher, these guys keep score in the box,
But they're clearly two homers, Panthers score they do rock!
       
Assistants’ Mortin and Brandvold and let’s not forget King,
They know how to dress, game day brings out the bling.
Leighton Marshall & Ashley Parker try to keep the boys healthy,
So that way down the road they might just end up wealthy.
         
Injuries no doubt have played a big part this year,
I’m sure Spencer Loverock’s return is quite near.
And poor Adam Page, has had injury abound,
But he’s finally back in and you’ll see him around.

Grayson Vickers is a big kid, they don’t get much bigger,
And when he plays up at forward, often he pulls the trigger.
Brett Sjerven’s the Captain, vs. the Storm he hurt his neck.
He’s now back after Christmas, opponents best clear the deck!

Kyle Richardson’s been an enigma, what are you going to get??
In the last 10 games he’s played this season, he now looks like a vet.
Pearcy bangs and crashes, like a 200 pound wrecking ball,
He had one heck of a scrap, like a Panther he mauled.

Cody B is so skilled, his talent plain for all to see,
When he rushes the puck, our fans are filled with glee.
And of course there’s big Nick Kean, on the verge of busting out,
And it will happen after Christmas, for that I have no doubt.

We all enjoyed Christmas but are now back after the break,
With a focus on 1st place and then give us some steak.
We will eat all the turkey and potatoes with kin,
But we will be thinking of playoffs, where we want the big win.

We will enjoy all the presents and laugh, we will sing,
And will enjoy all our families and most everything.
But now as we return, the League better not frown,
It’s all about winning and wearing the Crown!

Well that was a lot of fun but it’s time to spend a moment or two on what is happening tonight.  Saanich has been playing much better as of late after getting blasted in the early going this season.  They shut down the Victoria Cougars a couple weeks ago 2-0 and when we played them in Saanich last Friday night just before the Christmas break we edged them 3-2 after trailing 2-0 midway through the 2nd period.  Grayson Vickers scored the winner with well under one minute remaining in the game and it gave us two all important points in VIJHL standing.

We sit in 2nd place in the South Division and are 4 points up on the Westshore Wolves however, we have played three less games than the Wolves squad.  We will be making up those three games tonight, on New Year’s Day at home at 4:00 pm and then next Friday when we host the Oceanside Generals.  So we have quite an important stretch coming up.  We are hoping to put a few wins up on the board to put some distance between 2nd and 3rd spot and so tonight’s contest is an important one in our minds.
Some of our walking wounded will be back tonight or are very close to getting back.  Brett Sjerven was racked up a month ago up in Campbell River and I expect that he will be a game-time decision.  Matt Sheeran wants to go tonight and is also very close so you might just see him suit up.  Reece Costain is coming off a two-game suspension and draws back in.  Spencer Loverock is still nursing a hand injury and has been out for a protracted period of time and he still needs time to get healthy.  But for the most part, we are probably more healthy than we have been for a couple months.  I would imagine that some of the fellows coming back in will be somewhat rusty, but we have seven weeks to go before we hit the playoffs and it is nice to see some of these bodies back on the sheet for the Club. 

Tate Coughlin is out tonight, he signed a Western League contract with the Kelowna Rockets and is playing some games over Christmas with the big Club.  Tate will be back however, this is just a taste of the WHL for the 16-year-old and he should come back to the Panthers with full knowledge of what it takes to get to the next level.  I’m sure he will have big eyes while he is up with the Rockets but I expect that when he returns he will be even better for our Club.  I’m really pulling for Tate and believe that he has an opportunity to be a professional hockey player.

After tonight we will have played 33 games and will have 15 games remaining in the regular season.  You will see that Head Coach Brian Passmore is not on the bench tonight.  He is away for the break to be with his family in Ontario and it is a well-deserved break.  Passy is a hard-working coach and really cares about the kids and the program.  He expects a ton out of the kids and he expects a ton out of himself and so I know he will be checking on the boxscore through the night.

In the final games and moving into the playoffs our guys will have to refine their roles, understand them, believe in them and play the team game.  Kids like Cole Glover and Zack Smith will become important pieces and will be counted on to score goals and yet not get scored on.  Kids like Cody Allison and Jordan Law will be counted on to block shots, penalty kill, check the opponents until they are black and blue.  Kids like Reece Costain, Grayson Vickers, Braeden Pearce and Nick Kean will have to pound the opponents and chip in with points as well.  Joey Karrer and Stephen Heslop will have to be better and better and steal games between the pipes for us.  Our defence has to be stingy, they have to take pride in not allowing goals against.  Yes, it is the most joyous time of the year!  Cheers to all, Happy 2014!
Pete Zubersky