The Courtenay Whalers women's hockey team headed to Port Alberni on Feb. 5 to play the JAL Panthers and came out on the wrong end of a 5-0 decision.
The Panthers, being a very young and fast team, had the Whalers working hard. Both teams came out strong, playing a very high intensity game. Thirty seconds in, the Panthers received a cross-checking penalty which the Whalers could not capitalize on.
Whalers' goalie Nancy Sheilds was very busy at the other end of the rink and shut the door to keep the game scoreless at the end of the first. Things stayed that way until halfway through the second period when the Panthers got a flukey bounce off a Whalers' player in front of the net.
The floodgates opened after that, with the Panthers pouring in three more goals in the second period. Even the strong play of Sheilds and her defensive corps couldn’t keep the Panthers’ forwards off the score sheet.
The Whalers survived the storm in the third with only one goal against. Even though the Whalers' forwards had plenty of chances they just could not put the puck past the Panthers' goaltender.
The Whalers thank their sponsors, Ecofish Research Ltd., Brian McLean, Canadian Western Bank, Flip Flop Shops, Vancouver Island Insurance Centres and Avril Homes.
– Courtenay Whalers