An overtime goal from Reece Bartel put the Port Moody Panthers on the winning side of an 8-7 decision against the North Vancouver Wolf Pack, capping the 2015-16 season last Friday night.
While the Cats won’t be going on to the playoffs for the fifth season in a row, the club came out firing, racking up 37 shots and three power play goals in the contest.
In the dying minutes of the third period, Port Moody appeared poised to finish off the home team during regulation, however a short-handed marker from Bayley Tsumara forced overtime.
But it only took Bartel 22 seconds to pickup the puck and sneak it past North Vancouver goalie Brock Leach-Moore, who was playing in relief of Trevor Withers, who was pulled midway through the second period. The goal was Bartel’s third of the season and he was given first-star honours for his effort.
Port Moody struggled to maintain the lead throughout three periods.
North Vancouver scored first — a marker from Ram Brar assisted by Caleb Holonko — before the Panthers tied things up with a tally from Cameron Obcena.
But Port Moody came unglued in the second period, allowing the Wolf Pack to score three unanswered goals before Cats’ forward Even Gain slowed down North Van’s offence with a power play marker.
Daniel Obcena managed to score another to bring the Panthers within one going into the third period.
However, the final frame started to look like a repeat of the second, with North Van scoring two more and Gain slowing them down with a power play goal — his second of the night.
That’s when momentum started to swing in favour of the Cats, who followed up Gain’s goal with three more to briefly take the lead before Tsumara tied thing up with three minutes left in the game.
Saturday’s victory for the Panthers avenged helped avenge a bruising 10-1 loss sustained at the hands of the Wolf Pack that occurred last week.
In that contest, North Vancouver blew the doors off of Port Moody, scoring at will for most of the contest, chasing Cats netminder Jack Stradiotti in the process.
The Panthers finish up the season with an 11-28-3 record, one step out of the PJHL basement after Langley finished with a 4-38-0 record.
North Van topped the Tom Shaw Conference standings and will take on fourth-place Delta in the first round, while second place Grandview will take on third place Richmond.
