Panthers pummel Braves 10-2 to extend their home-ice win streak to 12

It was not unlike many a Friday night out on the Saanich Peninsula.  The Peninsula Panthers had just finished their hockey game and fans were filtering out into the parking lot at the Panorama Recreation Centre to the gentle notes found in "Happy Trails."  But those same fans lingered just a little bit longer in groups talking about the game and the Club before sifting towards their vehicles and heading off into the foggy and damp night.  The game they had witnessed had more highlights than a Kim Kardashian trip to her hairdresser and these loyal followers had witnessed every one of them.  They had also witnessed the Panthers run their winning streak to 7 games and their home winning streak to a dirty dozen.  They had witnessed the team mash and bash the Saanich Braves to the tune of 10-2 and they hung around just a little bit longer than usual to disect the 60 minutes.

"I thought we were full value for the win," explained Head Coach and General Manager Brian Passmore.  "To be honest, it looks like the Braves are a team in transition having unloaded a couple of their top players a week ago.  But we want to keep the momentum going and now have just ten games left before the playoffs.  We have a lot of work to do and we need to get better in all areas but I saw some pretty good stuff out there tonight."

Taking control from the first drop of the puck, the Panthers finally cracked the egg of Braves Goaltender Michael Frank when at the 8:35 mark 16-year-old Tate Coughlin hit paydirt with the help of Grayson Vickers and Cole Glover.  It would be a sign of things to come.  The Braves played a trapping game early on, often having five players backing through the neutral zone as the Panthers came out of their end and although at times it did not make for pretty hockey, it seemed effective in keeping the score close.

But in the 2nd frame the levy broke and the water came flowing in.  Coughlin scored again just 1:19 in and newly acquired Alex Milligan made it a 3-0 game only three minutes later while killing a penalty.  Milligan stripped a Saanich defender in the neutral zone and walked in all alone on Frank.  Instead of coming in close the sniper surprised Frank letting a quick and hard shot go from 15 feet out easily finding the back of the net.  But for Frank the onslaught was not yet over.  Just  44 seconds after the Milligan goal Matthew Sheeran found himself all alone with Frank after getting a seeing eye pass from Coughlin and going to the top of the cage, Sheeran made no mistake extending the lead to 4-0.  The 2nd period was only 4:53 old however Braves Head Coach Brad Cooke had seen enough calling a time out.  And when he had finished addressing his Club Frank was put into mothballs and Cole Manns slipped inbetween the pipes for the visitors.

This was the cue for Panthers leading scorer Connor Logan to get into the act.  At the 7:01 mark he burst Manns bubble but the Braves were able to reply less than a minute later when Evan Horvath finally solved Panthers starter Stephen Heslop.  It would prove to be too little too late as Jackson Skerratt added a power play marker and Milligan tallied yet again while killing a penalty to give the local Cats a commanding 7-1 lead after 40 minutes were in the books.

There were a couple tilts in the period.  Braves rough and tumble defenceman Tom Dakers asked Panthers tough guy Grayson Vickers if he would consider having a dance and the two shed their mitts near the penalty box between the two benches.  Both of the combatants are no strangers to this type of fistic activity however Vickers took control of the scrap and in the end landed a right-handed haymaker that dropped Dakers to the ice.  And a couple minutes later two more joined the dance card, the Panthers Iver Oedegaard coming out with his new dancing shoes for the very first time in his career.  The lanky Norweigan was being whistled for roughing as he jostled with Braves Captain Liam Sproule right in front of the benches.  The pushing and shoving became a bit more intense and it was Oedegaard who was first to drop his gloves followed quickly by Sproule.  Oedegaard threw quite a number of rights but in the end Sproule landed the biggest shot of the tilt putting the 6'6" defenceman to the ice.  All four were ejected from the game.

The ice was greased up and one of the fans was pulled from the stands to take a run at a sandwich platter during the Subway "Shoot the Puck" contest during the intermission.  An elderly gentleman threw a couple pucks towards the board and when he came up empty it spelled the only time something went wrong on the evening.  The teams flowed from their dressing to start the 3rd period and the pucks kept flying in.  Des Bast kept the goal scoring parade going on a shot from the right point just 1:35 in.  And Coughlin got the hattrick midway through the period, a shorthanded marker and the 3rd on the night for the Panthers.  And it was Logan once again at the 14:41 mark to give the Panthers a 10-1 lead.  But with just 27 seconds left in the game some sloppy play in the Panthers end saw Affiliated Player Dale McCabe left all alone just to the left of Heslop.  McCabe softly lifted the puck over Heslop to score his first ever Junior goal and it gave the Braves just a little bit to cheer about on an otherwise dreary evening for the visitors.

Coughlin lead all scorers with 5 points while defenceman Matt Sheeran celebrated his birthday collecting a goal and 3 helpers. Milligan had a three-point night with two goals and an assist while Cole Glover and Cody Breitenstein each chipped in with three helpers.  Sheeran, Coughlin and Milligan were named the games three stars.

The Panthers have a busy week ahead of them as they travel to Saanich to take on the Braves on Wednesday night before returning back to the Panorama next Friday where the Westshore Wolves hope to howl as they invade the Panorama.  And the Club will make the trek up Island the following day when the make a visit to the home of the Oceanside Generals.

The pucks drops next Friday against the Wolves at 7:30 pm.