Story and Photos by Christian J. Stewart
November 16, 2025
North Saanich, BC – Carson Harris notched his second hat-trick of the season and Ethan Lingard added a pair of goals to lead the Peninsula Panthers to a dominating 9-2 win over the Port Alberni Bombers in Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) action last Friday night at Panorama Recreation Centre in North Saanich.
The Panthers dominated from start to finish, outshooting the Bombers 51-29 overall and building leads of 3-0 and 6-2 after the first and second periods respectfully.
Rookie Luke Christensen opened the scoring, with other first period markers from Markus Nichols (his third) and Lingard (his 11th).
Joe Marranzino and Harris (with two) added the second period goals, while Lingard, Harris and Oskar Aitken-Salmons (with a beauty on a breakaway) put the game away in the third.
Caden Lentz started in net and moved his record on the season to a perfect 8-0, stoping 27 of the 29 shots that he saw.
With the win and the Westshore Wolves 5-4 loss to Victoria on Saturday, the Panthers (18-1-1-0) stay atop the VIJHL and the South division with 37 points, percentage points ahead of the Wolves with two games in hand.
The Panthers are next in action this Friday, November 21st as they host the red-hot Victoria Cougars at Panorama Recreation Centre. The Cougars have won five games in a row and sit in third place, just seven points back of the Panthers.
Game time is 7:30 pm and regular adult admission is $12, $9 for youth (ages 13-18), and $2 for kids 12 and under. Also, for every kid’s ticket sold, the Murphy Family Foundation will donate $1.00US to the Peninsula Minor Hockey Association.
Panthers forward Oskar Aitken-Salmons (22) skates in alone on a third-period breakaway against the Port Alberni Bombers last Friday night. Aitken-Salmons would score to cement the Panthers 9-2 win. (Photo: Christian J. Stewart).
