A combination of a Panthers’ win and a Kraken loss last weekend leaves the Peninsula junior hockey club solidly in the final playoff spot.
The club held serve on home court last Friday (Jan. 26) night in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre when they dropped the visiting Port Alberni Bombers by a 4-2 count. They also received a large measure of help from the Victoria Cougars who bounced the Lake Cowichan Kraken.
The Kraken have 10 games remaining in their regular season and trail the Panthers by 10 points.
“Our club is not in the barn and toweled off quite yet,” owner Pete Zubersky quipped. “But Friday night was a huge body shot for the Kraken organization. They need at least six wins in their final 10 games and would need us to lose all eight of our remaining games to qualify. They have a really tough schedule ahead of them. We both have a game against the Nanaimo Buccaneers and if we both end up with the same result against the Bucs, it would leave them with only nine games left to make some hay. I feel pretty good about where we are right now and the next two weeks might just be telling.”
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In Friday night’s contest, Ethan Lingard, the three-year veteran, willed the Panthers to the finish line by putting two markers past visiting goaltender Damien Knackstedt. Malcolm Fletcher, who has been out of the lineup for the past two months with a bad shoulder, immediately made his presence felt when he ripped in a second period goal. With the locals up 3-2 and Knackstedt on the bench for the extra attacker, the recently-acquired Gaetz Barrie romped in on the left side and ripped the disk to the back of the Bombers cage from a sharp angle to put the game on ice.
Lingard was named Panthers player of the game for his yeoman-like effort.
“I really believe we will be in the post-season dance and once you get there, anything can happen. We are definitely playing better right now and although we want to lock up the playoff spot, I believe it is equally important that we put up some wins and get some momentum in our final eight remaining games. I would like to see that start this Friday night,” Zubersky said.
The Panthers A playoff spot and momentum are two items the Cats are on the prowl for when they face the Victoria Cougars on Friday (Feb. 2). The drops at 7:30 p.m. at Panorama Rec.
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