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Panthers pounce on Comox

Peninsula Panthers fail in final minutes against rival Victoria Cougars
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Peninsula Minor Hockey Player of the Week Spencer Harman stands beside Panthers starting goaltender Zach Wear during the singing of the national anthem Saturday.

The Peninsula Panthers entertained the Comox Valley Glacier Kings on Friday laying out a well-deserved 4-1 shellacking of the visitors.

Then in rare back-to-back home games, they played host on the following evening and bowed to arch nemesis Victoria Cougars 7-4, although the game was in doubt until the final minutes of the contest when the local club seemed to lose discipline, ultimately costing two points in the standings.

On Friday, Panthers dynamo Tyler Porteous opened the scoring before most of the fans had a chance to settle in and Kyle Peterson added two markers before the second period expired, giving the Cats a commanding 3-0 lead. Glacier Kings’ Ryan Ball tallied early in the third to make it a game, but when Panthers captain Jake Bryan intercepted a pass inside the visitors’ blueline and wired a blast by Cameron Large, the bewildered Comox netminder, it was time to turn out the lights. Kylar Stern had an outstanding game between the pipes for the locals, blocking all but one of the 37 shots directed his way, picking up the game’s first star. Bryan and young 17-year-old Iver Oedegaard were the other two stars.

Saturday evening did not see the Panthers treated as well. The game was tied 4-4 several minutes into the third period, but penalties finally caught up to the Panthers which resulted in the Cougars scoring three unanswered tallies to hand the home squad the loss. Dane Gibson scored twice with singles going to Cole Peterson and Porteous.

“Against Comox the kids played hard and for each other and were justly rewarded,” said new co-owner Pete Zubersky. “I thought we lost our discipline against the Cougars and we gifted them the win – and I hate that. But this is our first look at the team and I think we have some bodies that can do a job out there. With the support on the Peninsula that I know we will get, we will bring this franchise back to where it was several years ago.”

Friday at 7:30 p.m. the Panthers host the Oceanside Generals for the annual Teddy Bear Toss game. Bears will be provided at the door and the Kiwanis Club of Sidney and Peninsula are asking for donations to assist their drive to provide toys at Christmas for families in need.

sports@peninsulanewsreview.com