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Florida Panthers prospects post 4-1 win over Lightning

Cats close Prospect Showcase today against Nashville

The Florida Panthers rookie camp roster skated to a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of the Invisalign Prospect Showcase in North Carolina.

After a scoreless first period, the Kiddie Cats fell behind when Jack Finley beat starter Kolby Hay to give the Bolts the lead.

Florida responded when invite Ethan Burroughs of he Owen Sound Attack converted Santtu Kinnunen’s nifty pass from the slot to tie the score. Liam Arnsby picked the secondary assist.

Shortly after Jari Kykkanen replaced Hay in net, Charlotte’s Dennis Cesana took a pass from Justin Sourdif, who did some nice work along the wall, and snapped a shot from long range by Lightning keeper Jack LaFontaine.

Patrick Giles would put the Panthers up by two when he took a cross from Josh Davies and beat LaFontaine from the right circle. Not 100% sure, but I think Ethan Keppen got the second assist on the goal. Giles, another Checker, also scored in Friday’s win over Carolina.

2022 fifth round pick Sandis Vilmanis notched his second of the Showcase into an empty net with the assist going to an unselfish Giles to complete scoring.

That’s another strong performances from the prospects, who have outscored their opponents 10-2  in back-to-back wins.

Solid start from Hay, including a breakaway save on Grant Mishmash before departing, and props to Kykkanen, who made a few tough saves right after coming in with the game still up for grabs.

After the game, the teams played a shootout which ended in a 2-2 tie. Sourdif (round 3) and Vilmanis (round 4) scored for the Panthers.

Florida will finish up with a game against the Nashville Predators this morning at 10 a.m. The Predators beat Tampa Bay 5-3 on Friday before dropping a 5-4 overtime decision to the Hurricanes yesterday.

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