Panthers turning the corner winning their 4th in 5 games at home, this time dumping the Kerry Park Islanders 4-3 in a dramatic double-overtime win

Next Friday night the Peninsula Panthers will host the Oceanside Generals in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre and the Club will be going after their 5th win in 6 home games.  After a terrible start to the 2014/15 season, the Panthers appear to be turning the corner and were full value for a 4-3 double-overtime win against the visiting Kerry Park Islanders on Friday night.

The home team looked sharp in warmup and it translated into the game several minutes later when the puck dropped for real.  As of late, the Team has looked like they can compete against anyone in the VIJHL however, warmup has 20 pucks and most of the home faithful were interested to see how they looked when the game started and there was only one puck.

Although they outshot the Islanders in convincing fashion in the first 20 minutes (18-7), it was Islanders' Braedan Cross who picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone while killing a penalty.  He raced around a Panthers defenceman and found himself in all alone against Alex Olson tending the nets for the home squad.  Cross sped from post to post and then buried a shot on the forehand past a fallen Olson. 

In the 2nd frame 17-year-old Trevor Owens scored on an unassisted marker when at the 11:52 mark he tried to walk from the half-wall to the front of the net.  Owens was tripped on the play and although it was undetected, he sprang to his feet, regained possession and maneuvered himself in front of Islanders' netminder Leighton Williams.  Owens made a cute move and made no mistake in knotting the game at 1-1.  Although the Panthers outshot the Islanders 17-11 in the period, neither Olson or Williams would give an inch and the score remained the same going into the 2nd intermission.

Of note in the period was when the Islanders were on a powerplay and the puck was moved back to the point.  An Islanders' defenceman blasted a shot that Hale blocked with his hand.  Although he thought his finger was broken when he returned to the bench, he removed the glove and realized that the finger was mangled and he would have to leave for repairs.  Hale will most likely be out for 6-8 weeks however, will see a plastic surgeon early next week.

The 3rd period was once again dominated by the Panthers, this time outshooting the Islanders by a 21-4 count.  But it was the Islanders Ryan Paisley who was first on the scoresheet on the Powerplay when he beat Olson from in close at the 1:31 mark.  The Panthers replied on a powerplay of their own when the slick and offensively-gifted Grayden Hohl picked up a rebound to the side of Williams and made no mistake lofting a shot to the top of the yawning cage.  It looked like the match was headed for overtime however, the Panthers were once again on the powerplay and had tested Williams late in the 3rd stanza.  The puck was on the left wall and it somehow got tied up in the ref's feet.  The Islanders were quick to move the puck out of their zone to the left side where Zack Smith was speeding towards Olson.  Smith beat the lone defenceman and ripped a shot past Olson that found nothing but net.  Olson was pulled with 1:33 left in the period and for the next 1:18 the Panthers applied big pressure on the Islanders' Williams.  And it finally paid off when Mitchell Newman hit paydirt with only 15 seconds left in regulation to tie it up once again.  Nathan Looysen and Hohl were in on the goal.

The first overtime solved nothing however, at the 0:34 mark of the 2nd overtime stanza Looysen found himself all alone in front of Williams.  He made a sweet move before feeding the puck to Reece Costain and the big and rugged made no mistake winning it in dramatic fashion.  The Panthers spilled over the boards in celebration and then sauluted the 300 fans who were all standing in an ovation.

"We did a lot of work to prepare for the game," explained Coach Rob Mortin.  "We had a great practice on Wednesday and then put it to work in the game tonight.  I am already looking forward to next weekend when we play three games.  The kids left it all on the ice tonight, I am very proud of their efforts and they got the result that they deserved.  We will be looking for our 5th win in 6 games at home next Friday night.  Our fans have been loyal and they deserve it."

The Panthers travel to the Archie Browning Arena next Thursday night to take on the Victoria Cougars and will then be back at the Panorama on Friday when they host the Islanders.  They will finish off the weekend back against the Cougars on Sunday for an afternoon affair.