Story and Photos by Christian J. Stewart
October 19, 2025
North Saanich, BC – The Peninsula Panthers kept up their winning ways this past weekend, as they came away with a 4-2 win over the Campbell River Storm on Friday and a 5-3 win over the Victoria Cougars on Saturday.
Combined with back-to-back shut-out wins over Saanich (4-0) and Port Alberni (6-0) and a 4-3 OT loss to the Westshore Wolves the week before, the Panthers have secured 9 out of a possible 10 points in their last five games.
That keeps them on pace with those same Westshore Wolves (12-2-1-0), who are just two points ahead of the Panthers (11-1-1-0) for first place in the VIJHL South Division, however the Panthers have two games in hand and have the highest winning percentage in the league.
The Panthers have enjoyed their early season success thanks in part to a defence that has allowed only 23 goals against in their 13 games, by far the best in the league next to Lake Cowichan who have allowed 35 in 11 games. The Panthers also lead the league in shut-outs with four already, two by Matus Volovar and one each for Cayden Lentz and Colton Pyle.
Offensively, while the Panthers 70 goals ranks just third in the league, they usually dominate teams in shots, outshooting their opponents on average 47 to 21 per game. On Friday, the Panthers peppered 51 shots at the Campbell River net, marking the fifth time this season the team has topped the 50-shot mark.
In addition, their goal differential is a whopping +47, almost double that of the next closest Wolves (+26) and for reference, a whopping 99 ahead of the 0-13 Kerry Park Islanders who sit at -52.
The Panthers have seven players in the top 20 scorers in the VIJHL, led by speedy winger Carson Harris with 15 goals and five assists, followed by Oskar Aitken-Salmons with 10 goals and five assists. Jacob Caron follows close behind with 17 assists.
The Panthers will look to make it two in a row against the third place Cougars (9-4-1-0) when they host them on Friday night at Panorama Recreation Centre.
Game time for that 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 Jacob Caron (13) looks for a way past Campbell River defenceman Emmanuel Grenier (8) last Friday night at Panorama Recreation Centre in North Saanich. Caron would have an assist in the Panthers 4-2 win (Photo: Christian J. Stewart).
