The Panthers opened the first round of playoffs against the Westshore Wolves Monday night at Panorama Recreation Centre, losing 4-3.
After a 16-game winning streak at home, the Panthers fell to the Wolves in a close game.
The two teams were going up against each other again Wednesday night at the Q-Centre (formerly Bear Mountain Arena) just before the News Review’s deadline.
Tonight, Friday, Feb. 21 will see the Panthers back at home at 7:30 p.m. for game three of the best of seven series.
“Now the heavy lifting starts in earnest,” said the team’s owner, Pete Zubersky, just prior to Monday night’s game.
“The regular season is a 48-game dress rehearsal for the playoffs and our guys are pretty inspired and excited to be here. We are pretty healthy other than for our MVP Matthew Sheeran, but he is just as important to our success as the guys that are out there on the ice, we’re all in this together.”
Head Coach and General Manager Brian Passmore said he hopes his troops will remain focused during every game.
“We played well against the Wolves at times this season and at other times I thought we were awful,” said Passmore.
“I really feel like our guys are ready to compete, even young kids like Tate Coughlin, Sean Buchanan and Braedan Pearce, but we need our older players to be leaders in this thing. If we play a physical and disciplined style of play I think we will pose a problem for the Wolves. But they have some great scoring on that club and we are not taking these guys lightly.”
For a full schedule of playoff games visit ppanthers.bc.ca.
reporter@peninsulanewsreview.com