{"id":35857,"date":"2025-02-20T13:43:55","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T18:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=35857"},"modified":"2025-02-24T12:56:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T17:56:21","slug":"junior-panthers-3-2-ot-win-over-durham-west-lightning-extends-winning-streak-to-eight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/junior-panthers-3-2-ot-win-over-durham-west-lightning-extends-winning-streak-to-eight\/","title":{"rendered":"Junior Panthers\u2019 3-2 OT win over Durham West Lightning extends winning streak to eight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kiera Johnson\u2019s dramatic overtime goal with 1.8 seconds left on the clock lifted the red-hot Central York Junior Panthers to a 3-2 victory over Durham West Lightning at SARC on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson described her timely tally and its set-up by long-time teammate Alessia Stoikos: \u201cIt was nerve-wracking. We were forechecking and Alessia knew there were only six seconds left when she went to the endboards to get the puck.  She delivered a beautiful pass to me and I one-timed it.  The celebration was really electric.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The veteran Panther forward explained the importance of Central York\u2019s win over the fourth-ranked team in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs [Head Coach] Steve [Dempsey] said in the dressing room after the game, we were the first Junior Panther team in franchise history to sweep West Durham in the regular season. It\u2019s great, we\u2019re proud of ourselves after putting in so much work all season long, and it\u2019s a nice legacy to leave the next generation of Panthers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson described the keys to handing the Lightning only their sixth loss in regulation this season:  \u201cWe talked about our energy on and off the ice.  We had to check better, especially in the high slot or in \u2018the house\u2019 as we call it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Johnson was asked if her overtime game-winning goal was the most important in her Central York career, she concurred: \u201c100%.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes\u2014without a doubt \u2013  it\u2019s my biggest Panther goal. It feels unreal. I was so happy for the team. I was really happy for Alessia.  We\u2019ve played together off and on since we were 12.  We know each other really well on the ice and she knew where I was going to be with two seconds left.  That\u2019s why she was able to find me with such a great pass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The red-clad Panthers closed the game as they opened the game\u2014with their trademark tenacious forechecking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Central York was foiled in the goalmouth by Lightning goaltender Madison Campbell during successive rushes, Annabella Van Berkel opened the scoring when she capitalized on a breakout gaffe by the West Durham defense corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Berkel\u2019s lightning-fast release from between the circles beat Campbell low glove side to stake Central York to a 1-0 lead at 14:05.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Durham West took advantage of a Panther parade to the sin bin to start the second period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Central York defender Clara Liu clobbered a Lightning forward into the goalpost at 17:38, it proved costly.  Fifteen seconds into the Durham West power play, Taylor Leemrijse\u2019s shot from the slot ricocheted off two players. Panthers\u2019 netminder Samantha Whittle blocked most of Leemrijse\u2019s laser, but the third ricochet hit the back of her left leg and tumbled past the goal line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whittle\u2019s work was otherwise spectacular over the first two periods as she turned aside 20 of the 21 shots she faced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was clear by the third period that part of West Durham\u2019s game plan was to target high-scoring Cheyenne Degeer with as many body checks as they could get away with. The tactic backfired at 14:35 when Lightning defender Ella Klinkhammer drew a four-minute minor for head contact against Degeer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an ensuing moment of poetic justice, Degeer lit up the Lightning as payback for their game-long antics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gritty Panthers\u2019 captain took a pass from Mackenzie Cotey and\u2014with saint-like patience\u2014skated with the puck from behind the net, created slot space, and snapped a puck high stick side that beat Campbell cleanly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Degeer\u2019s go-ahead goal at 13:16 was her 31st<\/sup> of the season\u2014most in the U22 Division of the OWHL.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lightning tied the game 2-2 with exactly eleven minutes to go in the third period when Soren Biderman\u2019s low, bouncing shot from the right circle was misplayed by Whittle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a moment of offensive zone puck luck for the Lightning and Biderman\u2019s marker lifted her teammates\u2019 spirits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whittle made a sensational game-saving stop with 11.2 seconds left in regulation\u2014repelling a clear-cut breakaway by the hard-charging Lightning \u2013 to set up Johnson\u2019s overtime heroics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday night, the Panthers defeated the Toronto Aeros 4-1 at Vaughan Sports Village to extend their heater to seven games. Central York dominated the Aeros in the opening period, outshooting their hosts 18-3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Panthers\u2019 veteran defender Zoe Li\u2014whose dramatic goal sunk Team China in overtime on January 26 at the ACC– opened the scoring at 2:06 of the opening frame with fellow defender Clara Liu earning an assist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Degeer continued her torrid scoring streak on Friday night in Vaughan. She fired a pair of goals twenty-nine seconds apart midway through the middle period to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.  Clara Williams assisted on Degeer\u2019s 29th<\/sup> and 30th<\/sup> goals of the season that moved the Panthers\u2019 captain into second place in the OWHL scoring race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Erica Buckley\u2019s 16th<\/sup> goal of the season with 7:02 left in the middle frame\u2014assisted by Elizabeth Janovski and Liu\u2014gave the Panthers a four-goal cushion heading into the third period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 14:43 of the final frame, Aeros forward Breanne Hurley broke Izzy Whynot\u2019s bid for her fourth shutout, but the veteran Panthers\u2019 goaltender lowered her GAA to 1.55 and raised her SAV% to .936 with the road win. Central York outshot the Aeros 42-14. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Junior Panthers embark on a five-game road trip that will take them to Windsor, Bluewater, Burlington, Waterloo, and Cambridge before returning home to host the Oakville Hornets for their last regular season home game on Sunday, March 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Puck drop will be 1:25 at SARC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jim Stewart<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kiera Johnson\u2019s dramatic overtime goal with 1.8 seconds left on the clock lifted the red-hot Central York Junior Panthers to a 3-2 victory over Durham West Lightning at SARC on Sunday afternoon. Johnson described her timely tally and its set-up by long-time teammate Alessia Stoikos: \u201cIt was nerve-wracking. We were forechecking and Alessia knew there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[24,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-sports","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-9kl","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-02 21:04:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35858,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35857\/revisions\/35858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}