Panthers shake off Christmas rust with split against Lake Cowichan
Story and Photos by Christian J. Stewart
January 6, 2025
North Saanich, BC – Canadian songwriter Neil Young once penned a song called “Rust Never Sleeps” and that saying was very applicable to the Peninsula Panthers, who came out of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) Christmas break a little bit rusty, splitting a home-and-home series with the Lake Cowichan Kraken over the weekend.
Last Friday, at Panorama Recreation Centre in North Saanich, the Panthers ran into a hot goaltender in former Panther Tanner Ferrill, who stopped 45 of 47 shots to backstop the Kraken to a 5-2 win over the Panthers.
That loss was the first in regulation time at home for Peninsula and their first at home since an overtime loss to the Victoria Cougars in just the second game of the year back in September.
The Panthers would have a chance for retribution on Sunday however, with a rematch up in Lake Cowichan, and some of that rust finally shook off, as Peninsula would score three third-period goals to come away with a 6-4 victory.
Leading the charge Sunday was forward Alex Sajan with a pair of goals and an assist, while Brendan Williams added a goal and assist in the winning effort. Also scoring were Carson Harris, Lukas Preweda and Ethan Lingard, while recent Panther addition Oskar Aiken-Salmons, playing just his second game with the team, added an assist, to go along with his first VIJHL goal scored in Friday’s loss.
Jacob Walsh got the start in net and ran his record to a perfect 12-0, stopping 20 of 24 shots for the win. He also now leads the league with a 2.30 goals against average and a .915 save percentage.
The split with the Kraken moves the Panthers record to 27-3-2-0 and they remain in first overall in the VIJHL with 56 points, eight points ahead of first place Campbell River in the North and seven points ahead of Westshore and Kerry Park who are tied for second in the South.
The Panthers will now get ready for a busy stretch that will see them play four games over a six-day period. On Thursday they travel to Nanaimo to face the Buccaneers, before heading home Friday the 10th to host the Westshore Wolves. They will then head up island to face the Campbell River Storm on Sunday and cap off the four game stretch with a game at Kerry Park on Tuesday the 14th.
Game time on Friday, January 10th against Westshore – Billet Appreciation Night – is 7:30pm and and admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors (ages 60+), $9 for youth (ages 13-18), and $2 for kids 12 and under. Also, for every kid’s ticket sold in the regular season, the Murphy Family Foundation will donate $1.00US to the Peninsula Minor Hockey Association.
Peninsula Panther forward Malcolm Fletcher (15) fires a shot on goal against the Lake Cowichan Kraken during their VIJHL game Friday night at Panorama Recreation Centre. The Kraken would win Friday 5-2, but the Panthers would respond with a 6-4 win Sunday evening in Lake Cowichan to earn a split of the weekend series (Photo: Christian J. Stewart).