Peninsula Panthers feast on Braves once again

The Peninsula Panthers started 2014 off on the right foot on Wednesday afternoon at the Panorama Recreation Centre when they dismantled the visiting Saanich Braves by a 9-1 count.  And they were full value for the win in all aspects of the game, a contest which every single member of the squad contributed.

The New Years Day celebration started off in the 1st period when at the 15:07 mark Connor Logan scored on the powerplay with helpers from Zack Smith and Matt Sheeran.  And the Club would strike again on the powerplay and only 1:04 later when Sheeran scored with assists going to Braeden Pearce and Smith.  It was silky smooth Cody Breitenstein who lengthened the lead to 3-0 only 14 seconds after Sheeran's marker and it looked like the game might have already been decided.  But the Braves had a bit of fight left in them and when Wade Bartlett pulled the Braves within a couple goals in the last minute of the period with a powerplay marker of his own, it looked like this one had a long way to go.

The ice was cleaned and the fans in attendance swirled back the customary between period coffee and then they collectively settled into their seats as the two Clubs skated out onto a freshly greased sheet.  The Panthers ran into penalty problems in the early going however after the sin bin was left vacant for a stretch of time the home Club once again took control of the afternoon affair.  Smith scored midway through the 2nd frame with the lone assist going to Logan and then at the 15:08 mark Sheeran scored again with a helper going to his defensive partner, Breitenstein.  And when Kyle Richardson gave the Panthers a 6-1 lead only 41 ticks after the Sheeran tally it was clear, the levy had broken and the flood waters were pouring in and there was nothing that the Braves could do to plug the hole.  Power forward Reece Costain and 20-year-old sniper Jackson Skerratt joined the January 1st celebration when they were given assists on the play.  But the scoring in the middle frame was not yet over. The diminutive but very effective Cody Allison scored on the powerplay with just over a minute left to go and his tally left the Panthers with a comanding 7-1 lead after 40 minutes were in the books.  Richardson was given a helper on the play.  The period was marred with a steady stream of players going to the penalty box, a total of 78 minutes were dished out by referee Jarret Taylor.

The two squads seemed to get back to business in the 3rd period and although there were times where there was some testiness out on the sheet, for the most part it was all hockey.  And the trend continued to be all Panthers as it had been for the previous two periods.  Smith hit the scoresheet once again at 14:37 on assists from Logan and Sheeran.  And a mere eight seconds later Logan completed the prettiest play of the night when he clicked with Skerratt and Smith on a tic-tac-toe passing play that would have made the Harlem Globetrotters blush.   And that is all she would write, the clock on the end wall at the end of 60 minutes of play displaying all that needed to be said, Panthers 9 Braves 1.

Matthew Rud and Jordan Werezak shared the goaltending duties for the visitors and they combined to stop 23 of 32 shots directed their way.  Rudd was tagged with the loss.  And 200 feet away Panthers target Joey Karrer was once again as solid and steady as a rock, albeit, he did not face a steady attack like his counterparts.  Karrer picked up the win and was almost perfect managing to get in front of 21 of 22 shots the Braves Club sent his way.

The Panthers don't have to wait very long to get back at it at home once again as they host the visiting Oceanside Generals this Friday at 7:30 pm at the Panorama Recreation Centre.  The Club looks like it might be on the verge of going on a little roll and they now find themselves 8 points up on the Westshore Wolves for 2nd place in the South Division and have played one less game.  The Wolves have 13 games left in their regular season schedule while the Panthers will have the same amount of games remaining once Friday's contest is in the books.

Panthers tracks....Sheeran, Smith and Logan were named the game's three stars....Tate Coughlin is still away with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL but is expected back at practice at the end of this coming weekend....Smooth skating Spencer Loverock is on the verge of returning to the lineup after being absent for a protracted period of time due to a broken finger....The Panthers have 10 days to go to the carding/trading deadline and according to Head Coach & GM Brian Passmore they would like to add a top 6 forward if any way possible....The team is as healthy right now as they have been since the first three games of the regular season way back in early September....Iver Oedegaard continues to develop his game to the North American style of play and laid out two of the biggest hits of the contest....The Panthers are deep on the back end with three defencemen playing up at the forward position....With Loverock set to draw back in the lineup over the next 7-10 days Passmore expects that there will be a healthy competition for playing time....The game on Wednesday afternoon is the 1st time ever that the Panthers have been involved in a New Years Day game.