Hard working Panthers fall short losing 4-2 against the visiting Victoria Cougars Friday night

The youthful Peninsula Panthers are still finding their way but if the past week is any indication, this is a hard-working group that should start to make some noise in the VIJHL soon.  After getting clocked 8-2 in their season opener last Friday night against the Westshore Wolves, several adjustments were made in the week of practice that followed.  And this evening in front a mid-sized crowd at the Panorama Recreation Centre the Club dropped their second game of the season, this time being stopped by the visiting Victoria Cougars by a 4-2 count.

The Cougars were put on the powerplay early and often in the game and with the Panthers short two men and facing a 5-on-3 situation the Club could not hold back the visitors.  At the 8:08 mark Michael Fretz hit paydirt beating Panthers' netminder Will Harvey.  The goal would prove to be the only marker of the evenly-played 1st period as the Cougars managed to have a 9-8 advantage in shots.

The 2nd frame featured no scoring however, it would be the Panthers who carried most of the play outshooting the visitors by an 11-5 margin.  Both Harvey and Cougars stopper Anthony Ciurro were solid all night and not a shooter for either team could find an answer in the middle stanza.

But a veteran Cougar Club came to play early in the 3rd stanza and it would be Wade Johnson who would give the Cougars a two-goal lead at the 1:31 mark.  But the determined Panthers showed what might be a glimpse of what they are made of and it was veteran Jordan Law who pounded in a rebound from in close and on the powerplay to get the locals on the scoreboard.  Fretz responded on a questionable goal that most of the Panthers players and fans felt was offside.  But the stripes saw the call differently and the tally was allowed to stand giving the Cougars a 3-1 lead.  Ben Meyerink tallied his first marker in Junior Hockey near the midway mark of the period.  Grayden Hohl gathered in the puck and powered around a Cougar defencemen before shovelling the disk to the front of the net where Meyerink would take over and finish bringing the Panthers to within a goal at 3-2.  The two Clubs went back and forth and after a strong forecheck Fretz once again would show his value stealing the puck deep behind the Panthers goal before coming out and lifting it high past Harvey with only a couple minutes left to go.  The Panthers would take a late penalty and that put the final nail in the coffin.

Fretz, Law and Spence Loverock were named the three stars.  Ciurro blocked 27 of 29 attempts directed his way while Harvey between the pipes was good on 21 of 25 shots.

"The Club was a little down after the game," explained Assistant Coach Rob Mortin.  "I thought we competed for the first time this year and a bounce here or there could have made the difference and the result could have gone our way.  We worked a lot on special teams this week and had an extra long practice on Wednesday night but we needed it.  We have a lot of work to do.  I thought our Defence coughed up a couple pucks but for the most part played really hard.  It's coming."

The Panthers hit the road as they travel to Mill Bay Saturday evening to take on the Kerry Park Islanders in their home opener.  The Panthers will be in Westshore to play the Wolves next Wednesday night before they return home to host the Nanaimo Buccaneers in their first of two visits to the Panorama Recreation Centre.  The Puck is set to drop at 7:30 pm.