The Peninsula Panthers sealed second place in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League’s South Division with a convincing victory over an upcoming playoff opponent.
At the same time, Panthers’ ace Riley Braun continues to set new records.
Four goals in the third period helped the Panthers defeat the Westshore Wolves 6-0 Friday night (Feb. 11) at Panorama Recreation Centre, clinching home ice advantage against the Wolves for the upcoming opening round of the VIJHL playoffs.
Continuing his dominance, Braun led the Panthers with four points to become the league’s all-time scoring leader in the modern area (dating back to 1998).
He added two more points in Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the Kerry Park Islanders to bring his season total to 114 – four points short of the modern era record of 118, set by current Victoria Cougars Coach Brody Coulter.
After the weekend Braun’s career totals sat at 206 points on 74 goals and 132 assists, in 106 games played over two full regular seasons and a COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 campaign). That put him ahead of former Panthers’ player and Peninsula resident Scott Hawthorne, who played in the early 2000s.
“(Riley) continues to amaze in his final year in junior and is easily the most prolific scorer in Panthers’ franchise history,” said Pete Zubersky. “I told Riley right after he broke the record on Friday night that he would not truly appreciate everything that he has accomplished until several months after the season has come to a close.”
RELATED: Peninsula Panthers look to grab home-ice advantage against Westshore Wolves
Heading into the final week of regular season play, the Panthers and Wolves will deepen their familiarity with a Wednesday game (Feb. 16) at The Q Centre in Colwood.
The Panthers, who rested eight regulars against Kerry Park on Saturday, host the Mill Bay team this Friday at Panorama (puck drops at 7:30 p.m.), then finish off by hosting the Saanich Predators in a Family Day afternoon game Monday at 2 p.m.
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