A short win streak of three games came to an end Sunday afternoon in Esquimalt for the Peninsula Panthers.
After defeating Kerry Park in overtime at home on Nov. 14, the Panthers visited the Victoria Cougars at Archie Browning Arena in Esquimalt Nov. 20 and beat the south division-leading Cougars, 4-1.
The Panthers returned home the following night and downed the Oceanside Generals, 5-1.
Hoping the keep the streak alive, the Panthers were back in Esquimalt Sunday for an afternoon tilt against Victoria.
Both teams came out fast and Victoria got on the board first as forward Wade Johnson put in the first of his two goals on the day on the power play.
Peninsula goalie Alex Olson turned aside 15 Victoria shots in the opening period while his counterpart at the other end of the ice, Anthony Ciurro, stopped all 10 he faced.
Nathan Looysen of the Panthers evened things up 6:20 into the second period, unassisted. Olson kept out Victoria’s 12 shots — and had some help from his crossbar.
Victoria would strike again, 57 seconds into the third period. The Cougars’ Johnson netted his second after receiving a pass in front of Olson. No defenders were there to pick him up and Victoria went up 2-1.
Six-and-a-half minutes into the final period, Victoria’s Ryan Buse threw a soft shot over the right shoulder of Olson. This time, the crossbar played the foil and the puck careened into the net, putting the home team up 3-1.
That’s how it stood at full time, ending the Panthers’ win streak and leaving them with a record so far this season of 6-20-0. Victoria remains second in the league standings at 20-3-1, one point behind Campbell River (20-2-1).
Olson stopped 40 of 43 shots and earned the game’s third star.
The Panthers visit the Westshore Wolves Thursday and return home Friday night at 7:30 p.m. to host Comox Valley.
