Oct 23, 2015 | dhouse | 339 views
Express Train Back on Track After Defeating Norwich
Express Defense Solid in Win over Norwich
Thursday night the Norwich Knighthawks rolled into the Madhouse on Mutual for a highly anticipated match up between the two teams. From the opening face off the game demonstrated a high paced tempo that was to the liking of both squads. An Express penalty mid-way through the first period put the Knighthawks at the man advantage and gave them an opportunity to open the scoring. A strong defensive penalty kill led by Ingersoll allowed Joel Verspeeten (assisted Braden Wright) to pull back a loose puck and bury it top shelf past the Knighthawk goaltender giving the Express the early 1-0 lead.
A few minutes later an unsuccessful opportunity at centre ice for the Express to clear the puck deep into the Norwich zone allowed the Knighthawks to capatalize as they scored a breakaway goal past Ingersoll net minder Carter Spence.
In the second frame the Express began to settle in continuing to play a strong defensive game that started to open the game up for the home side. Following an Ingersoll penalty a strong passing sequence from Seth Hedges and Tye House allowed Max Branderhorst to break free all alone and bury a strong shot past the Knighthawk goalie to give the Express a 2-1 lead.
With four minutes to go in the second period the tandem of Owen Longlade and Tye House managed to win a strong battle along the wall to feed Seth Hedges at the point who made no mistake as he wired the puck home to give the Express a 3-1 cushion going into the third period.
The third period saw the Express speed and strong defensive play a strong impact in the final fifteen minutes as they outshot the Knighthawks 12-3 and Carter Spence smothered any momentum that Norwich attempted to mount. A strong night at the office for the Express backend with Ethan Capern, Benham Martin, Braden Wright, Kaleb Kloepfer and Seth Hedges who did a fantastic job containing a strong Norwich offensive attack.
A strong defensive impact on tonights game was the trio of forwards of Aden Brown, Brodee Nurse and Cohen Belore who's relentless forecheck / backcheck and shot blocking ability changed the momentum of the game.
With the 3-1 victory the Express now shift gears to their weekend tournament in Tillsonburg when they open at 10:00am vs. South Huron and then again at 3:45pm vs the host team Tillsonburg.