North Saanich, British Columbia
Story by Kate Duke
Goodbye Regulation Season, Hello Playoff Hockey!
The curtain has closed on the 2013/2014 VIJHL regulation season, but the show has barely begun for the Panthers community. Crowds of fans joined in on Friday night's Valentine's Day P.M.H.A. excitement in the Den, which saw the Peninsula Panthers mark the end of a successful preplayoff season winning a fierce 5-1 game over the Kerry Park Islanders, extending their league best home game winning streak. Three nights later, same time, same place, the Panthers took to the ice, hosting the Westshore Wolves the first of seven possible games in the first round of the 2014 playoffs.
The Westshore franchise, who are hoping to beat out the Peninsula Panthers to move on to the second round for the first time in Wolves' history, hit Panthers ice Monday night laying their cards on the table in a 4-3 win over the Peninsula Jr. B home team. The Wolves played a fast and offensive game, often with four players in deep in their attacking zone, and had three forwards putting up three or more points a piece. Westshore centre, Kyle Richter, who was making his return from an injury, put up a goal and two assists, while Brett Lorvold and Corey Peterson, who are ranked 5th and 10th in the leagues stat leaders, put up a combined 3 goals and 4 assists. The reunited line, claiming all but two points for their team, proved to be the biggest of Westshore's weapons. Whilst this did not stop our Panthers top shooters, which include 2nd and 3rd place point leaders, Connor Logan and Alex Milligan (respectively), from getting the puck at net, the Wolves goaltender, Matt Chester, played a just as fierce battle, stopping 46 of our 49 total shots.
Despite the game one loss, head coach Brian Passmore and his team are a force to be reckoned with going into the playoffs, finishing the regulation season second in the South Division, and tied in points for second overall. After a late season roster revamp, Peninsula newcomers have slipped with ease into their roles on the team, and have consistently been strong offensive playmakers and key scorers in their first few weeks in Panther jerseys; proving to be huge contributions to the team that has brought the Peninsula 31 game wins. The Panthers, who have 5 players in the top 20 league leaders, also boast the league's top forward rookie, Tate Coughlin and top defencemen rookie Sean Buchanan (who put up a goal and an assist in Monday's matchup). "We take pride in playing for each other and holding each other accountable," Passmore explained of his team. " [going into game two] we need to support the puck better and make better passes," the Panther head coach continued. "We lost as a team. We will need to regroup and take advantage of our opportunities. We need to all be on the same page and play with confidence."
The Wolves, who finished the regulation season third in their division and 5th overall, will host game two this Wednesday night at Bear Mountain arena, with the puck set to drop at 700pm. The two teams will return to Panther ice Friday evening, 730pm; the same place you will find the loudest, craziest and most loyal fans in the league every Friday night of the season, gathering for another 60 minutes of epic playoff hockey.
.jpg)
Email
Print
