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Peninsula Panthers get ‘spanked’ by Victoria Cougars in 5-1 loss

Defending VIJHL champions sandwich loss against Victoria Cougars between two wins
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Panthers Captain Matthew Seale tries to weave his way through opposing Victoria Cougars. The Panthers dropped Friday’s game 5-1 against their arch-rival. (Courtesy Christian J. Stewart Photography)

The Peninsula Panthers won twice last week in Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) action, but their one loss will likely sting for a while.

The Panthers won 6-3 Thursday against the Nanaimo Buccaneers and 5-4 Sunday against the Lake Cowichan Kraken. But these victories sandwiched a 5-1 home loss against the Victoria Cougars. Panthers owner and general manager Pete Zubersky did not mince words in telling Black Press Media the Cougars “spanked” his team. “Our effort was sub-optimal on Friday and their goaltender was better than ours that night,” he said.

Ryan Grambart’s 19th goal of the season pulled the Panthers within two goals heading into the third period, after the Cougars jumped out to a three-goal lead halfway through the game, but the visitors completed the rout of the hosts with two goals in the third period, including a short-handed goal.

Sunday’s victory was a back-and-forth affair with Payton Braun’s 12th goal of the season breaking a 3-3 deadlock late in the second period to give the Panthers the lead for good. Tristan Rosenblood added an insurance marker for the Panthers early in the third period. The hosts pulled within one two minutes later, but the Panthers managed to secure both points.

RELATED: The Peninsula Panthers look to regain their form when they host Victoria Cougars Friday night

The Panthers now find themselves at the halfway point of the season and one point behind the Cougars for first place in the South Division, having played one less game than they have. “And we also find ourselves three points ahead of the Saanich Predators but have played two less games than they have,” said Zubersky. “The parity in the league this year is stunning,” he said. “There are six teams who could win a championship and I put our group right there with the other five.”

VIJHL’s North Division appears especially strong this year. Five points separate the first-place Oceanside Generals (42 points) from the third-placed Comox Valley Glacier Kings (37 points) with the Campbell River Storm (39 points) between them. As for the South Division, the Cougars have 38 points, the Panthers 37 and the Predators 34. But the standings also suggest the VIJHL is a two-class society. Consider the North Division. The third-placed Glacier Kings (39 points) have almost twice as many points as the fourth-placed Kraken (17 points). A comparable disparity exists in the South Division, where the Predators have twice as many points as the Westshore Wolves.

The Panthers will meet the fifth-placed Kerry Park Islanders when they open the second half of the season Friday night at Panorama Recreation Centre. But Zuberksy is not taking anything for granted. (Every) single point at this stage is important to the playoff picture,” he said. “There is no time to take a night off and our group knows that all too well and I expect that we will have some big efforts from here to the Christmas break.”


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wolfgang.depner@peninsulanewsreview.com