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Panthers Beat Bolts in Rookie Tournament Finale, Finish Undefeated
- Updated: September 20, 2016
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – The Florida Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Tuesday afternoon at the Panthers IceDen, capping off a perfect rookie tournament showing in which they outscored their opponents by a combined score of 14-8.
The battle between the two intrastate rivals was by far the toughest test that the Panthers’ rookies faced at the 2016 South Florida Tournament, but the team still managed to pass with flying colors.
“As I told you guys the last two times, the compete level was off the charts,” Springfield Thunderbirds head coach Geordie Kinnear said. “They were tired today, but they still found a way to dig in and get the job done. I was proud of those guys.”
The Lightning, who also entered the matchup with a untarnished 2-0 record in the tournament, were the first to strike in the game, when defenseman Libor Hajek took a pass from Taylor Raddysh and fired a shot past goaltender Samuel Montembeault to make it 1-0 at 14:50 of the first period.
In the second, Kyle Rau finally broke the ice for the Panthers, scoring off a nice feed from center Tyson Baillie to make it 1-1 at 13:52 of the period.
Rau, who skated in nine games with the Panthers after making his NHL debut last season, was a model of consistency on Florida’s top line throughout tournament, finishing with two goals and an assist in three games.
“His …
