Panthers leave Kerry Park out on an island downing the visitors 3-0

It's down to the final two weeks of the regular season in the VIJHL and while there are a few things that have been settled, there are certainly a lot of others that are more than just a little bit up in the air.  And for the past two evenings the Peninsula Panthers were trying to take care of what they can take care of, albeit, they dropped an all important point in the standings when they lost a heartbreaker in overtime in Esquimalt on Thursday night.  It's exciting times in the VIJHL and it's exciting times out on the Peninsula.

"Im not sure we played our best hockey for the past two nights," explained Head Coach and General Manager Brian Passmore.  "I think on Thursday against the Cougars we kind of bought into the hype of the game and instead of playing a solid and physical 60 minutes we got away from our game at times.  I thought we were a little lackluster at home tonight against a hard working Isladers Club but after saying this, I guess we ended up with 3 of 4 points so it's not all bad news."

Passmore's Panthers dropped a 9-8 decision to the Cougars at the Archie Browning Arena on Thursday night after having a three-goal lead and after having the game in control with thirteen minutes left in the third frame.  But the Cougars stormed back to knot the score at 8-8 with four minutes left in regulation and it only took 27 seconds to end it in the overtime. 

"Really disappointed," quipped Passmore being short and to the point.  "I have preached all year long that we have to get pucks out and work the clock when we have the lead late in games.  But for some reason we want to make the perfect play and the puck has been going in our net.  Really, the loss was inexcusable but there is often more of a lesson in a loss than in a win.  Joey Karrer looked a bit shakey tonight, it was his first crack at the Cougars, but he is a good kid and he will bounce back.  He was asking me for video after the game so he can see for himself what he did wrong and correct the mistakes.  He'll come back from this, that is his character."

Alex Milligan lead all scorers popping four goals on the night, extending his lead for goals scored in the VIJHL.  Milligan has been on a tear since joing the Panthers earlier in the month and now has 41 goals in 43 games.  "The kid can flat out score," said Passmore.  "We knew he was good but we didn't know he was this good.  In the 2nd period he was in the slot and ripped it just wide.  It had beat the goaltender but when the rebound came off the end wall it came right back out front and bounced in off a Cougars defenceman.  I thought to myself that that was a goal scorers goal.  The guy that gets two a year, he never seems to get one like that."

On Friday night at the Panorama Recreation Centre there certainly seemed to be a bit less electricity in the air as the Panthers and the Kerry Park Islanders got things under way.  And there would be no disappointment on this night as the local Cats skated to a 3-0 win.  Karrer was once again between the pipes and he did not have to wait long to see his mates get on the board.  Tylor Branzsen scored at the 6:17 mark of the 1st period with help on the play from Milligan and Zack Smith.  Of course Branzsen was the other half of the deal that sent the two Islanders to the Panthers.  And a minute later Cole Glover added to the lead when he was dished the puck from Braeden Pearce.  The only marker in the 2nd frame was on a pretty short handed effort by Jackson Skerratt.  Islanders goaltender Michael Herringer wristed the puck to clear the zone however it was intercepted by Panthers Connor Logan who while just inside the blueline gloved the puck to the ice.  Instead of shooting which is what every one of the 212 fans in attendance expected, he slipped a pass down the wall to Skerratt.  The 20-year-old forward who is looking to get back to his scoring ways as the playoff season nears came out of the corner and from an impossible angle somehow managed to put the puck into the wide open Islanders net.  For the Panthers it was the insurance marker they were looking for. 

Karrer held the fort for the rest of the way and blocked all 17 shots directed towards him on the night to pick up the win and his first ever Junior shutout.  He was selected as the 1st star in the game, a stark contrast to only 24 hours earlier.  Herringer was tagged with the loss as he stopped 24 of 27 pucks on the evening.  Panthers smooth skating defenceman Spencer Loverock and hard hitting Reece Costain were the other stars on the night.

The Panthers are now set for next week and play three huge games that will go a long way in deciding 2nd place overall in the VIJHL.  The Club will travel to Nanaimo on Thursday night to tangle with the Buccaneers who seemed to have rebounded as of late.  They will then be back at the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre on Friday night where the squad will be looking for their 15th consecutive home win against the hard charging Campbell River Storm.  The Storm are only one point behind the Panthers at the end of play on Friday night for 2nd spot in the League however the Storm have played one less game to this point.  And then next Sunday the Panthers will  be back at the Archie Browning looking for a better fate against the Cougars.