Story and Photos by Christian J. Stewart
October 4, 2025
North Saanich, BC – Carson Harris had a pair of goals, including his league-leading 11th, to lead the Peninsula Panthers to a 7-1 win over the Westshore Wolves in Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) action Friday night at Panorama Recreation Centre in North Saanich.
The win got the Panthers back in the win column after they suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Comox Valley Glacier Kings last week, and halted the red-hot Wolves win streak at six.
The game, the annual Pink in the Rink charity fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society, was never in doubt for the Panthers, who outshot the Wolves 49-14 overall (21-4 in the first period alone) and who led 3-0 after one and 5-0 after two periods of play.
Also scoring for Peninsula were Leo Therien, with his first of the season, Lucas Ananias, Brendan Williams, Liam Byrne and Ethan Lingard. Goalie Caden Lentz, recently announced as a VIJHL Rookie of the Month for September, allowed the one Westshore goal late in the game on the power play to move his record to a perfect 3-0, with a 1.33 goals against average and .925 save percentage.
Alejandro Snead scored the lone Westshore goal, and James Hall stopped 42 pucks for the Wolves, who suffered just their second regulation loss of the year, both at the hands of the Panthers.
Despite the loss, the Wolves hang on to first in the South, with a one-point lead over Peninsula, although the Panthers have two games in hand.
The Panthers now hit the road for three games to play Saanich, Port Alberni and Westshore, before returning to Panorama on Friday, October 17th when they host the Campbell River Storm.
Game time for that, Slider Penguin’s Birthday, 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.
Peninsula Panther forward Logan Barnes (28) navigates through a sea of Westshore Wolves during the Panther’s Pink in the Rink night last Friday night at Panorama Recreation Centre in North Saanich. The Panthers would come away with a 7-1 win over the Wolves (Photo: Christian J. Stewart).
