In
a much anticipated contest between the top two bantam rep teams in Southern
Counties,
the Ingersoll Express boys prevailed, grinding out a 3-2 victory over their bitter rivals, the Twin Centres Stars. In the opening minutes of the first period, it quickly became apparent that the Express players were pumped and ready to battle. The Stars were back on their heals for the first few shifts, surprised and overwhelmed by the speed and tenacity of our bantam boys. Much to the delight of the noisy, energized Ingersoll crowd, Isaac Westlake and Dayton Racicot found the back of the net with authority to lift Ingersoll to an early 2-0 lead. Express goaltender Logan White was forced to make several key saves as the Stars found their legs and turned things up a notch. The remainder of the opening period saw end to end action and an exchange of bone crunching body checks. Mick Donker almost put Ingersoll ahead 3-0 when he stole the puck, powered his way into the zone and feathered a nice pass to teammate Ben White who forced the Stars’ netminder to come up with a sparkling save. The Stars continued to press, and were rewarded for their hard work with just over two minutes remaining in the period. Excellent penalty killing along the boards by number 19 Joel Verspeeten helped Ingersoll maintain a 2-1 edge as the buzzer sounded to end the opening period. As play resumed, the fast paced end to end action continued. Nathan Graham and Isaac Westlake delivered bruising body checks, and Ingersoll defenceman Ben Brown found out the hard way what happens when you skate across your opponent’s blue line with your head down. After a scoreless second period, the Stars came out flying and tied the game early in the third. Ingersoll regained the lead when Verspeeten set up Mick Donker for a power play goal five minutes into the final frame. Fans became concerned when reliable Ingersoll defenceman Daniel Martineau was forced to leave the game with a knee injury. The physical play and intensity of the match reached a fevered pitch as time became a factor for the visiting team. Big hits by Brennan Rupert, Parker Hodgson and Christian Lee slowed the Stars’ forwards and frustrated the Twin Centres fans in the stands. Isaac Westlake was on the receiving end of a solid body check but bounced back to his feet to rejoin the play. Several penalties were handed out to both teams as the chippy play continued. An audible gasp rose from the crowd as the Stars rang a shot off the post. The Twin Centres goaltender headed to the bench for the extra attacker, but the Express players worked hard to protect the lead, and a glorious save by Logan White in the dying seconds secured the victory for the home team.
Submitted by M. Martineau