Panthers slam Islander 5-1

It was an unusual ending to an entertaining affair at the Panorama Recreation Centre on Friday evening.  The Peninsula Panthers had just trounced the Kerry Park Islanders 5-1 in VIJHL action and after a salute to the hometown faithful in the stands, the Panthers skated off as a happy group.  17-year-old Torin O'Brien, who had spent most of the season on the back end for the Panthers, was announced as the contest's 1st star after scoring his first two goals of his Junior Hockey career after being inserted on an energy line up front.  And the slick skating Spencer Loverock skated out before the appreciative crowd after being announced as the game's 2nd star.  Most in the stands could only guess who the 3rd star would be.  17-year-old's Mitchell Newman and Trevor Owens as well as 18-year-old Grayden Hohl had played a terrific game as a line and most expected that one of the three would be next in line.  But in the biggest surprise of the night, all three were introduced as the 3rd star and as the trio skated out with grins from ear to ear, laughter broke out for the fans left in the building.  It was a perfect end to a perfect game.

O'Brien was the lone marksman in the 1st frame when he lifted a shot past Islanders Ty Rennie at the 12:19 mark.  Koby Hale and Spencer Loverock were awarded assists on the goal.  The period ended with the Panthers holding a 14-10 margin in shots.  Alex Olson, who was making yet another start between the pipes, was perfect through 20 minutes.

Owens extended the lead at the 7:52 mark of the 2nd stanza with helpers from Newman and the recently acquired Garnett Roberts but Nick Kean tallied for the Islanders only two minutes later to pull the visitors back within one.  But the play was all in the Islanders end of the ice and at the 11:14 mark, Hohl with helpers from Loverock and Newman gave the Panthers a two-goal buldge once again.  And it would be O'Brien with his second marker of the evening with just under four minutes left in the period to give the Club a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes were in the books.

The ice was greased up and when the two Clubs returned from the intermission, it did not take long for the Panthers to strike again.  Loverock and Kai Turner set up Josh Poland who sent a rocket past Rennie and his goal would prove to be the final score of the evening.  The Panthers continued to dominate however, both Rennie and Olson made some solid stops to keep the scoreboard at 5-1.

Rennie was good on 50 of 55 shots and was truly under seige for most of the 60 minutes.  Olson was not nearly as busy but only made one mistake blocking 18 of 19 shots in collecting the win.

"I really enjoyed the game and our kids had a lot of fun on the evening," explained Owner Pete Zubersky.  "We really had a great effort all night long and we were able to divide up the minutes so that every one of the guys played a big part in the win.  I do believe we are starting to see our young kids start to mature and understand how to compete and when I see this kind of development it really is quite satisfying.  I love watching young kids figure it out.  It takes patience to stay the course but in the end it will almost always pay off."

The Panthers have now won 3 of their last 4 games and will now spend a week of practice getting ready for the Westshore Wolves who will pay a visit to the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre next Friday evening.  The puck is set to drop at 7:30 pm.