PANTHERS OPEN ROUND 2 WITH COMEBACK WIN

AMHERSTVIEW, ON – The Panthers kicked off Round 2 of playoffs Tuesday night when they travelled to Amherstview to take on the second place Jets, who received a bye through the first round.

Panthers came out slow in the first period and found themselves trailing by 2 after 20 minutes. Brayden Robinson opened the scoring for the Jets at 9:55 on a pass from Josh Kudo from behind the net. Five minutes later, it was Wyatt Gregory who extended the lead to 2 when the found his own rebound at the side of the net to put it past Friedrich.

Panthers received a bounce in the second to get them going when AP Emmett Clarke fired the puck from behind his own net in an attempt to catch Connor MacGregor with a stretch pass. Jets goalie came out to play the puck before MacGregor could reach it and it slid underneath his arm and into the back of the net at 8:19. Panthers continued to press and tied the game up 4 minutes later thanks to Brandon Rose who put a shot past Jets goaltender just as their penalty expired. Tie game.

Panthers started the third period short-handed due to a Kyle Ramsperger penalty, he was called for cross-checking at the buzzer of the second. Jets took advantage of the power-play and the lead when Noah Prudhomme fired a shot from the point that bounced off the leg of a Port Hope defender and deflected in at the 1-minute mark, but that would be all for the Jets.

Dailen Fousek tied the game just under three minutes later on a one timer from the high slot. Clarke scored his second of the game on a shot from the point to give Port Hope their first lead of the game. Nate Burelle provided a bit of breathing room on a beautiful cross-crease behind the back pass from Captain Isaac Langdon to make it 5-3 and Carter Chadwick secured the win on an empty net goal at 17:30 of the period.

Brayden Friedrich earned the win for Port Hope in net stopping 36 of the 39 shots he faced.

Panthers take a 1-0 lead in the best of 7 series. Game two goes Saturday night in Port Hope. Puck drop is 7:30 PM