Panthers slam Braves 6-2

The evening started off slowly for the Peninsula Panthers in front of a solid Christmas crowd but after the Club shook off some of the tryptofan from copeous quantities of turkey over the past several days, it was nothing but blue skies.  Lead by Connor Logan's two markers early in the 3rd period, the Panthers went on to blast the Saanich Braves 6-2 in convincing fashion at the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre on Friday.

Josh Poland supplied some early fireworks for the visitors when he opened the scoring at 12:05 of the 1st frame.  But Cole Glover knotted the score only 27 seconds later and then sparkplug Cody Allison scored just a minute after Glover to give the Panthers a lead that they simply would not relinquish.  The combatants went to the dressing room with the Panthers clinging to a 2-1 lead as the ice was being greased.

The Panthers seemed to have all the play in the 2nd period and were full value for a two-goal lead when Jackson Skerratt blasted a one-timer past Braves goaltender Jordan Werezak off a beautiful feed from Glover at the 2:29 mark.  The "Cats" would then bang no less than six opportunities off the crossbar and posts however could not solve Werezak.  And with only three seconds left in the period Poland roared past a Panthers defender and drilled a shot to the top of the net off a sharp angle to beat the local starter Joey Karrer.  As the two teams went to the dressing room a happy Braves squad had reason to believe they were right back in the contest.

But that feeling did not last very long.  At 1:29 of the 3rd stanza Matt Sheeran walked in from the point and blasted a puck and it was Logan who was in the right place at the right time to tap in the rebound.  And only 1:40 later Panthers Cody Breitenstein and Sheeran completed a sweet reverse at the Braves blueline and Sheeran walked in once again.  And once again it was Logan who would tap in a rebound to give the Panthers a commanding 5-2 lead and it ended up chasing Werezak to the Braves bench for the evening.  Lanky Matt Rud jumped inbetween the pipes for the Braves and he finished the final 16:51 in a mop up role.

The most spectacular goal was the last one scored in the game by 6'6" Panthers defenceman Iver Oedegaard.  The Norweigan took a pass from defence partner Des Bast and once he got his long legs moving, there was not a player on the Braves roster that could stop him.  Oedegaard romped down the left side through the neutral zone at the 7:35 mark and after beating the last Braves defender he cut hard in towards Rud.  He then roofed a shot past a surprised Rud and the play garnered him the biggest cheer of the night.  The final 12 minutes ticked off the clock and although the visitors would have a protracted two-man advantage Karrer stood solid between the pipes.

The three stars in the contest were Breitenstein, Oedegaard and Glover.  Karrer would block 16 of 18 shots while Werezak and Rud would combine to stop 26 of 32 shots peppered their way.

The two clubs will be right back at it on New Years Day at the Panorama Recreation Centre when the Panthers host an afternoon affair.  The game will start at 4:00 pm.

Panthers Tracks....Tate Coughlin, Kyle Richardson, Reece Costain and Spencer Loverock were all missing from the Panthers lineup....Richardson was under the weather, Costain did not make it back from Edmonton where he went home for Christmas and Loverock is still nursing an injury....Costain and Richardson are expected to be back in the lineup on New Years....Loverock is expected to begin practice with the club on Monday and might be 10-14 days away from being back in the lineup....Coughlin was in Kelowna joining the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL for a five-game stint....He was in their lineup this evening and helped contribute in 7-1 home win against the Kamloops Blazers....Coughlin had an assist, two penalty minutes and was a plus +1 in the game, his first taste of action in the Western Hockey League....He is expected to join the Panthers after next weekend.