As the final buzzer sounded at Sungod Arena, the gloves and sticks flew into the air and the stands exploded as the North Delta Panthers peewee team celebrated defeating the South Delta Storm 5-2 to take home the Delta Cup on Jan. 29.

“I just had like an adrenaline rush,” said goalie Mathias Reid about seeing his teammates skating towards him to celebrate their victory.

Reid, who helped his team win by stopping a couple of key Storm shots, said he plans to keep his medal on him at all times for the next two weeks.

“They play for each other, they play like a team and they left it all out on the ice tonight,” said coach Robert Reid, who coached the Panthers to a Delta Cup win last year as well.

Anwar Chohan celebrates a goal by the Panthers on the way to their 5-2 victory over the South Delta Storm to take home the Delta Cup on Jan. 29. Photo credit: Bryan McGovern

He said their team play mentality helped lift them over their opponents, despite the Storm players being especially fast skaters.

“We played as a unit.”

Panther Tyler Uppal opened scoring with a tally in the first five minutes. The Storm came back with a goal of their own, but the home team pulled ahead just before the end of the first thanks to a goal from Sam Centanni.

A loud “Let’s go Panthers!” broke out from the crowd at numerous times during the game as North Delta established their dominance.

A scoreless second period gave way to a barrage of goals from the Panthers in the third, one of them on a Storm empty net.

Coach Reid said the win means a lot not just to him but especially to his players.

“It’s a really big deal for us.”