Call it a case of the seven-game-itch.
The Peninsula Panthers dropped a three-goal lead against the Victoria Cougars to lose their first game of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) season in seven tries.
Head Coach Brad Tippett called FridayB次元官网网址檚 4-3 loss against the Cougars on home ice a B次元官网网址渟wift kick in the egoB次元官网网址� that also left him fuming over what the team called B次元官网网址渟ome discipline and effort issuesB次元官网网址� Friday night as the club was perhaps paying too much attention to recent press clippings.
RELATED:
The Panthers had won their first six games when they hosted the Cougars, and a short-handed goal by Riley Braun about halfway through the second period gave them a three-goal lead after first period goals from Skyler Diamond-Burchuk and Luc Pelletier.
But if the Panthers appeared on the path towards their seventh straight win, the Cougars did not demur, rallying with four straight goals, including the winner with less than two minutes left.
The Panthers had to lick their wounds on the road with a date against the Comox Valley Glacier Kings, who exploited the PanthersB次元官网网址� lack of discipline for an early lead. But the visitors recovered with seven straight goals with two goals each from Pelletier and Matthew Sparrow. Braun, Jonah Ragsdale and Alex Benger added singles.
Tippett said the weekend was a B次元官网网址渓ittle reality checkB次元官网网址� for the team. B次元官网网址淲hen you donB次元官网网址檛 work you donB次元官网网址檛 usually win,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e had plenty of energy on Saturday simply because we didnB次元官网网址檛 burn too much on Friday. It was important to see how we responded to a good swift kick in the ego. Good teams can be defeated on the scoreboard but only really lose if they didnB次元官网网址檛 learn.B次元官网网址�
He added it was important for the team to show a positive response Saturday. B次元官网网址淓ven with a split on the weekend the coaches felt we were a better team on Sunday than we were on Thursday,B次元官网网址� he said.
The Panthers return to action Friday with a home against the Westshore Wolves at Panorama Recreation Centre. Face-off is 7:30 p.m.
Like us on and follow us on
