The exhibition season is over and now it is time to start playing for keeps.
The Port Moody Panthers will begin their quest for the Pacific Junior Hockey League's Cyclone Taylor Cup tomorrow, when the club hosts the Ridge Meadows Flames in the season home-opener at the Port Moody Arena. And while the Cats' may be a young squad, general manager Frank Iantorno told The Tri-City News that he is optimistic about his team's chances this year.
"I have been very impressed with this team," he said. "This is a team that we are going to see improve week after week."
This year's edition of the Panthers is a speedy group with a strong work ethic, said Iantorno, who added that he was surprised at how quickly the newcomers and the vets bonded.
The club will still rely on old faces like newly minted captain Daniel Delbianco and assistant captains Daniel Obscena and James Jerczynski. Sammy Zeinab, another returning forward, is also expected to play a prominent role for the club along with Reece Bartel, who will add some depth on the back end.
But there will be some new faces in the lineup that Iantorno expects will have a big impact on the team this year, although he said he was hesitant to single out any specific names.
"We have a lot of big players coming from a hockey academy that is run by the Burnaby Winter Club and Burnaby Central school," he said. "Those young men have come ready to play and this will be a terrific way for them to enter the program."
Iantorno added that while the roster is fairly firmed up, he expects some changes will be made in the early parts of the season.
As junior 'A' clubs start to make more cuts, there will be more players looking for teams, which the general manager believes could bolster the lineup.
"We hope they stay up there," he said. "That is our purpose to develop. But there are only so many spots at those higher levels so we are waiting with open arms to see how it goes."
The Port Moody Panthers had a fairly up-and-down exhibition portion of their season. They blew the doors off of the Delta Ice Hawks with an 8-1 win in the opening game, but lost to the Grandview Steelers 5-1 in another home exhibition outing.
The Cats rounded out the pre-season schedule with another 3-1 win over Delta at the Sungod Arena, before tying Mission last Saturday in the second road game of the season.
Port Moody has also made some changes off the ice over the last year. The club dropped the Black Panthers name in favour of the Panthers and has revamped its website and marketing strategy.
Brian Wiebe, the team's director of media and communications, said some of the changes are starting to pay off in the stands.
While he was quick to note that the club is a development team and that making a profit was not a priority, more fans and local businesses have started to take notice.
"We have really started to notice it," he said. "We have had a really good reaction from the community and businesses around the Ioco Road area. We want to expand that even more."
Wiebe said the team is hoping to pack the Port Moody Arena for Saturday's home opener against the rival Ridge Meadows Flames. The puck will drop at 7:45 p.m. For more information go to www.portmoodypanthers.com.
