The Peninsula Panthers lost twice in overtime against the Comox Valley Glacier Kings, first at home, then on the road, by the same score of 4-3, in Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) action.
The Panthers came back in both games to push the game into overtime, only to see their opponents score the winning goal in the extra frame.
Owner and general manager Pete Zubersky tried to put the results in perspective. “We played our best overall game of the season on Friday night outshooting the Comox Valley Glacier Kings 51-18 and out-chancing them by many,” he said. “Our guys outworked and outhustled the Glacier Kings and really deserved two points,” he added later.
In end, Zubersky pointed to a blown assignment on the defensive end. “Midway through the overtime, a blown assignment in front of our net cost us the game, one that if replayed 100 times we would win 99 of them,” he said.
Saturday’s return match followed a comparable pattern. Like Friday, the Panthers found themselves down early in the third period. On Friday, Luka Jansen van Rensburg tied the game, on Saturday, Ryan Grambart pushed the game into the extra frame.
“Once again the game went into overtime and once again the Glacier Kings scored the winner when it mattered most,” said Zubersky. “I thought that on all four goals we gave up on the night each and everyone could have been prevented. We left guys to bang away in the crease and it cost us a goal. A lacklustre effort on the backcheck cost us a goal and a miscue in overtime cost us a goal and the game.”
The two losses in overtime left the Panthers with two points from the weekend, but also a better sense of themselves. “(We) saw some really good things out of our group,” said Zubersky.
The Panthers will play their next home game Friday at 7:30 p.m. at North Saanich’s Panorama Recreation Centre.
Zubersky described Friday’s game as the Panthers’ biggest game of the season with first place in the South Division on the line. “I expect it to have a playoff-like atmosphere,” he said. “We will be ready.”
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