Despite defeat, team shows more promising resilience
When the 2021 NHL season started, no one really knew what to expect from the Panthers.
Playing in a newly created division with a bunch of new faces in the lineup, the hope was the team would compete for one of the four playoff spots in this temporary Central Division.
Here we are, 20 games into this 56-game sprint, and the Panthers are not only contending for a spot in the playoffs, but could win the division outright.
Although the Panthers lost 4-3 to visiting Carolina on Saturday night in a five-round shootout, Florida remains tied with the defending Stanley
Cup champion Tampa
Bay Lightning. Both teams sit atop the Central with 29 points apiece.
Had the Panthers pulled out the shootout win, they would have 30 points, which not only would put them alone in first, but would match the 1996-97 team for the best start through 20 games in franchise history.
Can the Panthers keep this up, continue hanging with the likes of the mighty Lightning and the dangerous Hurricanes?
Florida has already taken two of three from Tampa Bay and has split two with the Hurricanes.
The Panthers get another crack at Carolina at 7 p.m. Monday.
“We know we have a good team, and it starts with our goaltenders out to the defense and the forwards,” said Patric Hornqvist, the first player new GM Bill Zito acquired after taking over for Dale Tallon.
“We have a really great coach who knows the game really well and knows how to win. I believe in this group and we have a lot of fun together. We have to enjoy ourselves and be hard on ourselves as well. I like what we got, for sure.”
The past two games have shown the resiliency Florida has displayed since the season started.
No team in the league has played in more onegoal games than the Panthers, and they have had success in close games, winning eight of the 12 with at least a point in all but one.
Thursday, the Panthers rallied from a 2-0 thirdperiod deficit to stun Dallas 3-2; Saturday, they did it again against Carolina only to end up losing the bonus point in the shootout.
The Panthers say they believe they can come back regardless of the score or the situation. Perhaps it is time to believe them.
“We get that second goal and the enthusiasm is like, ‘OK, let’s get excited about this. Let’s go.’ Lot of positives,” coach Joel Quenneville said Saturday night.
“We have come back a lot this year and playing from behind, I don’t think we change how we have to play to be successful. The nice thing about coming back is we are scoring some hard goals and that is where the rewards are.”
Saturday night, Vincent Trocheck started the scoring for Carolina in his first game at BB&T Center since the Panthers traded him last February.
Carolina made it 2-0 early in the third off its second power-play goal of the night and that’s when the Panthers started to cash in on some chances.
Jonathan Huberdeau and Hornqvist led a brigade of Panthers jabbing at a loose puck former Florida goalie James Reimer couldn’t find with
Huberdeau putting it through to make it 2-1.
The game was tied after Frank Vatrano scored, but with just under six minutes left, Carolina took the lead back. The Panthers did not panic.
With Sergei Bobrovsky on the bench, Florida sent in an extra attacker and MacKenzie Weegar threw up a shot toward the net. Hornqvist was there to knock it through and tie the score with his teamleading ninth goal of the season.
Florida ended up losing in the fifth round of the shootout as Trocheck, touched by the tribute video the team honored him with earlier, scored there as well as Carolina ended a three-game losing streak and moved into third, two points back of Tampa Bay and Florida.
All three of those losses last week came at home to the Lightning.
“Obviously good teams don’t lose back-to-backs and we lost three in a row,” Trocheck said.
“So coming in tonight against a good team we needed to get that win. In this shortened season, every game matters, every point matters. To get the two points against a good team is important.”
Rebuilding years don’t happen for Miami High and this season was proof, even as the Stingarees fell short of a second girls’ basketball state championship in a row Saturday night.
Miami High — after losing six seniors from its 2020 team — made it all the way back to Lakeland for the Class 7A championship for the fourthconsecutive year before falling short against
Tampa Plant, 52-40, at the RP Funding Center.
“What they’ve done is amazing,” coach Sam Baumgarten said. “A lot of the underclassmen — they want to hear it. They know we’ll be special next year again. It’s hard to swallow for the seniors, but that’s just the way it goes. I’m so proud of this team. In my eyes, we’re champions.”
The Stingarees (15-9) spent all year proving Baumgarten wrong. They lost their top three players from their championshipwinning team, including Colleen Bucknor, who’s now playing for the UCF Knights. They transformed from an atypical zone team into a familiarlooking, Miami High defensive juggernaut. The Stingarees even lost eight games in the regular season. Baumgarten didn’t consider a return to the final four to be a guarantee.
On Friday, they shut down Palm Beach Lakes to spring an upset in the 7A semifinals. On Saturday, they were once again within striking distance in the second against a top-100 team in the country, according to MaxPreps’ rankings, before Plant (26-3) closed on a 12-2 run.
As good a defensive team as Miami High became throughout the season, the Stingarees didn’t have the personnel to slow down Nyla Jean and Kendal Cheesman for a full four quarters. In the second half, the two stars led the Panthers on two scoring runs to avenge their 2020 title loss to Miami High.
“I don’t think we were able to put pressure on them like we did last year. Having to slow it up a little bit, play more of a halfcourt was conducive to them,” Baumgarten said. “They’re tough. They’re both D-I players.”
The Stingarees made the first half into a defensive struggle and took a 22-20 lead into the third quarter. Plant finally turned it into a shootout midway through the third.
Cheesman, who signed a national letter of intent
with the Vanderbilt Commodores last year, started the run with a three-pointer from the left wing and guard Kiara
Cruz answered with a stepback baseline jumper, sending Panthers guard Tanner Strickland stumbling backward and putting Miami High ahead 26-25.
Cheesman answered with a long jumper and then Cruz, who scored a team-high 14 points, banged a corner three off the back of the backboard. Plant’s elite shot-making ability took over and the the Panthers scored on seven straight possessions to build a 38-31 lead.
“We have this chemistry
between us and we know what this team needs,” Cheesman said of her one-two punch with Jean. “This team believes in what we need and so we work together.”
Miami High fought back one more time. Guard Janay Quinn made a wild and-one floater, slammed her fist toward the ground and then smiled as she watched the replay on the big screen. She knocked in the free throw to cut Plant’s lead to 38-36 and then dished to forward Danajah Peterson on the next possession for an easy layup to tie the game at 38-38 with 6:09 left.
The Stingarees only scored two more points the rest of the way and the Panthers began one more run. Plant scored on its final six possessions to pull away from Miami High and win its first state title, behind 24 points from Cheesman and 14 from Jean, who signed with the Georgia State Panthers last year.
While Plant donned its gold medals and hoisted its trophy, Quinn stood away from her teammates on the baseline. She wanted to make sure she had a good angle to watch Plant celebrate. Her nine points and four assists helped carry Miami High in the second half. It’ll be on her to carry the Stingarees to a fifth straight title game next year.
“That fuels her fire,” Baumgarten said. “She’s just putting gas in the tank for next year.”
COLUMBUS BOYS ADVANCE
Led by Reggie Luis’ 32 points and 14 rebounds, the Columbus Explorers boys’ basketball team defeated the host Coral Gables Cavaliers 67-55 on Saturday.
The Explorers, trailing all but a minute of the first half, carried a seven-point deficit into the third quarter. The score see-sawed back and forth until halfway through the third quarter when Columbus went on a 10-2 run and opened the fourth quarter with an eight-point lead.
The Explorers lost all three of their previous outings against Coral Gables this year.
Columbus: Reggie “RJ” Luis, 32, Garyn Bess, 15, Rebounds: RJ Luis 14, Assists: Hubertus Pivorius 9. CG: Romer, 19, Delgado 18. Halftime: Coral Gables 29, Columbus 22.
WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN BOYS REACH TITLE GAME
Jack Butler opened the scoring in the first minute of the game, sliding a goal past the keeper off a beautiful through ball from Caue Goncalves as Westminster Christian defeated the Trinity Prep boys’ soccer team 2-0 on Saturday to advance to the state title game next week.
The Warriors defense was stout throughout the game, with center backs Sean Maresma and Munir Reyes leading the way. They withstood a relentless onslaught from Trinity Prep, and sealed the game after Lucas Ruiz scored on a counter late in the second half.
Goalie Johnny Gleason made some terrific saves late, preserving the shutout against a prolific scoring team.
How quickly things change. Nine months ago, most Miami offices remained shuttered. The luxury condo market was stalled, reeling from the double-whammy of a pre-pandemic glut and a collective case of mid-pandemic high-rise cabin fever. Even the region’s famously resilient tourism economy was swamped by the lowest occupancy rates since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Russian-born developer Vladislav Doronin had reason for concern — at least in the eyes of local real estate watchers.
The most ambitious office building in recent memory was under construction at 830 Brickell, a 57-story tower by renowned architects Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, designers of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. Sales at 249-unit Missoni Baia in Edgewater and 135-unit Una Residences near the Rickenbacker Causeway were, by most accounts, at a standstill. Doronin’s Miami-based company, OKO, was mired in the vigorous Miami Beach historic-and-design review processes for a hotelcondo project with the Aman brand — one of the most-luxurious names in hospitality and owned by Doronin.
With three more major projects then underway, in June 2020 Doronin’s OKO Group spent $62.6 million for 6.7 acres in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Now, in 2021, Doronin and Cain International CEO Jonathan Goldstein, OKO’s partner in three of these projects, look downright prescient.
Sales are soaring at the two downtown Miami condo projects being co-developed by OKO and Cain. In January alone, says Doronin, OKO booked almost $60 million in sales in Una, where units start at $2 million. At the 57-story bayfront Missoni Baia in Edgewater, the Italian fashion house’s first branded residential tower with units from $600,000, OKO’s sales team booked about $18 million.
“January is usually an OK month,” Doronin said. “Now, we’re on fire.” Since the influx began this year, he’s raised prices by about 5%, he said.
Cain and OKO also are partners in 830 Brickell, where the asking price for the best spaces is above $70 per square foot — well over the average Brickell Class A market rate of about $58 per square foot, according to the JLL fourth quarter commercial report.
In addition, OKO has received key approvals for its Aman Miami hotel and residences, co-owned by British billionaire Len Blavatnik.
Goldstein also has another Miami project in the works. Eldridge, a Connecticut-based company, recently purchased the storied Delano hotel; Cain will reposition it. Goldstein estimated Cain’s Miami projects at around
$2 billion.
Doronin has had a home on Star Island for several years. Goldstein lives in England but has visited Florida frequently.
The Miami Herald spoke separately with Doronin and Goldstein about their Miami real estate investments and the county’s future.
Miami Herald: What is driving the sudden hunger for Miami’s residential real estate?
Doronin: First of all, it’s a tax situation. It’s important for people with these incomes.
Now also people are coming because Miami has a nice style of living, not only because of the weather, but you can live a normal life here. Many people are sick and tired from what has happened [with the pandemic]. Everyone wants to enjoy life, to
go to restaurants, walk on the street, go on the beach.
Third, to do business here is much easier than in New York. The government here is pro business. They’re not against you, so you can have a dialogue.
Goldstein: When Zika came in and then we had a season of hurricanes, people asked ‘What are you doing? Why are you there?’
Our medium-term view of Miami has put us in the right place at a good time . ... Look at the migration of people all over the world into Miami.
When [co-founder] Todd Boehly and I set up Cain, we had a very simple philosophy. We like to invest in gateway cities. If you look at vast majority of our investments, they are in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Madrid,
London and Miami.
I obviously have a lot of respect for Vlad and admiration for what he has done.
Miami has been undervalued in terms of the rest of the world.
And it has a taxation environment that most people would find desirable.
When I came down with Vlad to look at the locations we now have under development — you can’t not fall in love with them. It’s not possible to replicate the type of views and locations we’re developing.
MH: We keep hearing about migration from New York, Chicago and California. Does that jive with what you’re seeing?
Doronin: Before [the pandemic], it was mainly South Americans and Europeans. Now I have lots from New York, California, Chicago. And from the Midwest, from Michigan. Canadians are also very active. And we still have Mexicans.
MH: Your office building, 830 Brickell, is on track for delivery in 2022, which will bring 640,000 square feet of Class A office space to Brickell. Right now, many companies are still operating remotely, and some experts predict that when firms do return to offices, firms will take less space and stagger in-office hours. Yet you’re charging premium rates. Is anyone interested?
Doronin: We have a lot of clients who are closing deals.
People arrive, they buy houses and apartments, and then they want to invest in Miami because they see positive growth.
(An OKO spokesman said WeWork has signed for about 100,000 square feet. 830 has received formal letters of interest for an additional 300,000 square feet in the building.)
I believe in camaraderie and energy. Office space is about energy. In Zoom, I can get 50% of the business closed; in person it’s 90% . ... I want a handshake. I want to close the deal.
If you want prestige, you have to have your office in Brickell. It’s the financial center of Miami, with lots of shops and lots of restaurants . ... If someone wants to take a boat out in the morning and then go to the office, it’s an easy life, a healthy life.
Goldstein: I think you’re going to find, two years from now, that while more people will be given more flexibility and trust, office space will be as important and more important than before.
Blackstone and Microsoft are looking for space in the area ... one of the mistakes tech companies made is that they were not located in areas where great talent wishes to live. Now they are seeing that great talent wants to be in Miami.
I don’t believe you build great companies in your front room. I don’t think you develop as a human being through Zoom . ... I don’t think you have great ideas over Zoom. I believe the great ideas develop at the coffee point or over cocktails.
MH: Some locals who have seen migration waves in the past are concerned that the newcomers will stay a few years and then move on. What’s your view?
Goldstein: We believe the trend will continue when we emerge from COVID. Who isn’t going to want outdoor space in a warm place?
Miami has every box ticked: the quality of residential real estate, entertainment, sports, business. The only thing historically it didn’t have the best of air connectivity to Asia. There’s no direct service. And the airport could do with a bit of a makeover, though that is underway.
I would bet that the change that is currently happening ultimately will show itself to be permanent. Ultimately you have to succeed at the expense of New York or L.A.; there’s enough capacity in the system.
Miami will grow to a position that will absolutely begin to rival those other cities. It won’t be seen as a second position, it will be one of the premier cities in America.
Doronin: The migration is just beginning. Those who are very clever are coming right now . ... These people who see the future are moving aggressively. The second and third waves are coming and coming.
The price in Miami is still lower than in New York, other states in the Northeast and California. At Missonia Baia, you get five pools, a gym and even a spa for pets. There’s a tennis court. You can’t get that in New York.
I don’t see they are going to lower taxes in California and New York. This is only going to attract more people.
MH: You just received key approvals from the Miami
Beach Historic Preservation Board to renovate the Versailles Hotel as part of your Aman condo-hotel project. What kind of demand do you anticipate?
Doronin: We have a list already of people who want to buy. Some are what I call Aman junkies. Then there are other friends who have called me. Some are people who are already here and want to move. They are calling and saying ‘we want to reserve.’ One of them wanted a penthouse. I never had a response like this . ... I don’t even have marketing materials yet.”
MH: Climate change is a major issue for Miami. Your buildings are on the water. Are rising seas an obstacle for potential buyers?
Goldstein: You can’t ignore climate change. [Efforts] have to be led by the government. Ultimately we have to treat the world we live in with care. I think its something we should all treat seriously.
Doronin: We’ve been talking about climate change for 20 years already and it’s a valid concern . ... When it comes to buying property, in reality people don’t care. Everybody wants to be as close as possible to the water.
MH: So what are Miami’s major challenges now?
Doronin: One thing is they need to build more [high quality] schools. They have some good schools, but Miami needs more [preparatory] schools. I am thinking about building an Aman school, not for money but to help the community.