The Peninsula Panthers handed the Kerry Park Islanders their first loss of the season on Friday night. In a rematch of the penalty-filled game on September 20, the Panthers had a large home crowd of 650 people at the Panorama Recreation Centre to cheer them to the 4-1 victory. The win pulled the Panthers (7-2-0-2) within two points of the league leading Islanders (9-1-0-0).

The Islanders controlled the game throughout most of the first period. Finally, at the 16:50 mark, Panthers’ Jacques Du Toit broke the scoreless tie by netting his fifth goal of the season, assisted by Gregory Simpson and David Courtney.

The Panthers carried the momentum from the first goal and made it 2-0 just 38 seconds later when Ian Ellenberger and Stewart Hepburn set up Nick Chalecki’s goal. The lead stood up throughout an even second period although Chalecki received a game misconduct penalty for a checking from behind penalty.

Halfway through the third period, forward Maxwell McCloy drew the Islanders within one and spoiled Panthers’ goalie Eric Brabander’s bid for a shutout. Courtney restored the Panthers’ two-goal lead with 4:17 left to play in the third. The assists on that goal went to Blake Huppert and Du Toit. Forward Christopher Demedeiros added an empty netter in the closing minutes to kill the Islanders’ eight-game winning streak, much to the delight of the home crowd.

“We are trying hard this year to make our games more of an event rather than just a hockey game,” General Manager, Gord Bridges, explained. “So far by the size of our crowd turn outs, I would have to say it is going over pretty good.”

The team has many more events planned for the rest of the season. They’ll continue to offer the fans some special activities between periods to add extra interest. Friday night’s game hosted the Panther Tykes hockey game, and a turkey-bowling contest that had the fans getting involved.

A new website is on the way and should be online soon. The new site will be more fan-friendly and include new features, including a upgraded photo page, a fans news section and live updates. Look online, at www.ppanthers.bc.ca for more information.

The Panthers’ second game of the weekend, against the Saanich Braves, was equally successful. They posted an 8-3 victory on Sunday night. The Kerry Park Islanders won their game, 5-3, over Campbell River on Saturday, and the Victoria Cougars won both of their games, leaving the league standings unchanged.

sports@peninsulanewsreview.com