The Peninsula Panthers were downed by the visiting Victoria Cougars by a 4-2 count at the Panorama Recreation Centre last Friday night.
The Cougars held a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes of play as Panthers goalie Will Harvey and Cougars’ goalie Anthony Ciurro seemed to have all the answers to the shots on net.
The final period saw Panthers Jordan Law and Ben Meyerink solve Ciurro, however it was not enough for the young Panthers to garner two points for a win.
For Meyerink, who is one of 14 rookies in the Club, the goal would be his first in the VIJHL.
Harvey blocked 21 of 25 shots and was collared for the loss while Ciurro stopped 27 of 29 Panthers attempts.
“We have a club full of young first-year kids and Friday night they learned just a little bit more about themselves and about what is required at the Junior level,” said Panthers general manager and owner, Pete Zubersky.
“We competed hard and that was awesome to see. I have seen this movie quite a number of times and each time it’s the same. Young kids need a chance to compete and once they figure it out, good things start to happen. Tonight was the start of the development process for each player and for the group.”
The Panthers hope to put up a win this Friday evening when they host the visiting Nanaimo Buccaneers for a 7:30 p.m. start at Panorama. The game will be the first of two visits for the Northern Division Buccaneers.