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Peninsula Panthers sink Kerry Park Islanders

General manager, owner Pete Zubersky points to several areas of improvements
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Ryan Grambart celebrates his 14th goal of the season Friday night against the Kerry Park Islanders as the Peninsula Panthers won 4-3. (Christian J. Stewart Photography/Submitted)

The Peninsula Panthers continue to find ways to win tight contests in Vancouver Island Hockey League (VIJHL) action.

Case in point was Friday’s 4-3 victory against the Kerry Park Islanders at North Saanich’s Panorama Recreation Centre, where fans saw a back-and-forth contest, which did not find a conclusion until 18:05 of the third period when the Panthers’ Tanner Banks broke a 3-3 deadlock.

Friday’s victory means the Panthers rounded out October in the win column despite injuries and sickness. “We had two defencemen out with injuries while another three players were home with the flu,” said Pete Zubersky, owner and general manager. “Flu played a part in the guys that were in the lineup as well as, at least five of our players had little or no energy and gutted it out over 60 minutes.”

Friday’s game saw five goals in seven minutes during the second half of the second period. After falling behind late in the first period, the Panthers scored twice within 31 seconds to grab the lead, only to concede twice within 76 seconds to trail once more. Ryan Grambart’s 14th goal of the season then squared the score again late in the second period before Tanner’s winning goal nearly a full period later.

Friday’s frantic game also revealed several areas of improvement. “Our top line put up a couple goals but they need to be way more defensively responsible as we move into a tough part of our schedule,” said Zubersky. “Without close attention to both ends of the ice we will drop games, I have no doubt about that.”

RELATED: Peninsula Panthers lose in regulation for the first time this season

The Panthers also continue to struggle on the powerplay. They have generated the fewest power-play opportunities (43) and scored the second-fewest power-play goals with seven with every other team except Nanaimo in double-digits. “We must get traffic to the net,” he said. “For the past 10 games that part of our game has been missing and it shows with our offensive game coming up light each game. Our powerplay has been virtually non-existent over the last 10 games as well and … it is because we do not get the puck to the net and when we do there are no bodies causing the goaltender to work.”

Zubersky sees the current weaknesses as obstacles to future wins. “We continue to make it way too easy and again, our schedule is going to get more difficult and it will be costly if we don’t make these crucial adjustments,” he said. “That being said, we have garnered 26 of a possible 30 points and those numbers are real positives. I suspect we will have more grit in Nanaimo on Thursday against the Bucs and then back home Friday when we host a great offensive hockey club in the Comox Valley Glacier Kings.”

The puck drops for that game at 7:30 p.m. at Panorama Recreation Centre.


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wolfgang.depner@peninsulanewsreview.com