The song All I Do Is Win, by DJ Khaled, is fast becoming a familiar refrain in the rafters of the Panorama Recreation Centre following every Peninsula Panthers Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) home game.
On Friday night (Nov. 22), the Panthers rolled to their 19th win of the season – their 11th at home and 10th in a row – defeating the Nanaimo Buccaneers 6-3. Combined with Thursday's 4-2 road win over the Victoria Cougars, the Panthers upped their season record to 19-1-2-0, good enough for 40 points and a first-place position in both the South Division and the VIJHL overall, three points ahead of the Westshore Wolves.
Speaking of the Wolves, they are the team that handed the Panthers their only regulation loss of the season, a 3-0 shutout at Westshore on Oct. 13, the last time the Panthers lost before their current streak. That sets the stage for a big game this coming Wednesday, a classic "four-pointer," as the Panthers travel to The Q Centre to face the Wolves for the first time since that loss.
On Thursday night in Esquimalt, the Panthers win streak looked in jeopardy, as the Cougars scored two first-period goals and held that 2-0 lead through two periods. The Panthers offence would wake up in the third, scoring four goals, including an empty netter, to come away with a gritty 4-2 win.
Jacob Caron, Paco Hodgson, Carson Harris and Brendan Williams, with the empty netter, were the goal scorers for the Panthers, while Merik Grinaker stopped 17 of just 19 shots, to earn his 10th win of the season.
On Friday at Panorama, things also seemed in doubt for some time, as the much improved Buccaneers (third place in the North) battled the Panthers to a scoreless first period and then trailed the Panthers 2-1 in the second, with a chance to tie late in the period, as the Panthers Risto Ringma was tagged with a four-minute double minor penalty for high sticking.
Just a minute into that penalty kill, however, Panther captain Ethan Linguard picked up a loose puck at centre ice and deftly found his way around two Nanaimo defenders, scoring a highlight-reel, shorthanded goal that took the wind out of the Buccaneers' sails.
The Panthers would kill off the remainder of that penalty at the start of the third and then take things over, outshooting Nanaimo 16-10 the rest of the way, scoring three more times to cruise to a 6-3 win.
Harris would lead the Panthers' offence with a pair of goals, his ninth and 10th in his last 10 games, while Lucas Ananais added a goal and three assists. Caron would also have a goal and two assists, with Linguard and defenceman Clayton Collier (his first as a Panther) adding single markers.
Jacob Walsh got the start in net and stopped 22 of 25 shots to run his record to a perfect 8-0 on the season.
Following Wednesday's big game at Westshore, the Panthers return home on Friday (Nov. 29) to host the Kerry Park Islanders on "Backpack Buddies" night presented by Portofino Bakery. Fans can bring single-serve donations of juice boxes, Minute Rice cups or Nature's Path oatmeal to contribute to the Backpack Buddies program and all fans attending the game will receive a free Portofino Bakery product.
Game time Friday is 7:30 p.m. and admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors (ages 60+), $9 for youth (ages 13-18) and $2 for kids 12 and under. Also, for every kid’s ticket sold in the regular season, the Murphy Family Foundation will donate $1 US to the Peninsula Minor Hockey Association.
