Panthers hang on to second place with two weeks remaining

The Embrun Panthers travelled to the Char-Lan Recreation Centre in Williamstown on Sat., Feb. 1 to take on the Rebels in the CCHL2. The Panthers’ captain, Tristan Taillefer (16) scored their second goal of the game in the second period, not knowing it would turn out to be the game winner. The Panthers slipped past the Rebels 2-1 to remain in sole possession of second place in the Martin Division with just three weeks away from the playoffs. Moore photo

WILLIAMSTOWN—The Embrun Panthers played a single game this past weekend as they travelled to Williamstown on Saturday night to take on the Char-Lan Rebels.

Panthers 2 Rebels 1

The Embrun Panthers travelled to the Char-Lan Recreation Centre in Williamstown on Sat., Feb. 1, to take on the Rebels in the CCHL2. The Panthers went into the game in a two-way tie for second place in the Martin Division with the Ottawa Jr. Canadians, and seven points behind the Ottawa West Golden Knights in first. 

The Panthers opened the scoring at 16:10 of the first period as Eric Skyba lit the lamp for his 14th goal of the season from Cayden Martin and John Mahoney taking a 1-0 lead. The Panthers outshot the Rebels 12-9 in the opening period but took a slim 1-0 lead into the first intermission. 

The Rebels owned the second period in shots on goal, outshooting the Panthers 10-4 but the Panthers made a shot count as Tristan Taillefer scored his 27th of the season from Robert Beaudoin with just 58 seconds remaining. The Panthers took a 2-0 lead into the second intermission. 

The Rebels cut the deficit in half at 12:28 of the third period on the power play. With 1:12 remaining in regulation, the Rebels yanked their goalie in favour of an extra attacker but the Panthers’ goalie, William Nguyen and their defence was able to kill the clock taking the game 2-1. 

With the win, the Panthers moved back into sole possession of second place. The Rebels outshot the Panthers 28-27. Picking up the win in the Panthers’ goal was Nguyen making 27 saves.

Up next

The Embrun Panthers welcome the Richmond Royals to the Palais des Sports on Fri., Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. and welcome the Arnprior Packers on Sun., Feb. 9 at 1:30 p.m.