It has been a very tough season for the Oxford Chiropractic Atom Reps to date. They started the season with some very close losses. There record going into last Thursdays (November 12) game doesn’t speak of how competitive this team is. If not for a few bad bounces, hit posts, and a couple of unfortunate miscues, the team could be sitting at least .500 for the season. The ‘Hockey Gods’ it seems are against us!
To no avail, with a few strong practices, a little more focus, the ‘Express’ were determined to meet there next challenge and put all those ‘what ifs...’ to rest. The Caledonia Thunder came into to town having one of the league’s best records to date. From the drop of the puck, the ‘Express’ were not intimidated by the ‘Thunder’s fast skating and slick passing having problems with our own retooled defensive attack. A turnover allowed a speedy Grayson Lochhead to slide down the left side and slip one by the Caledonia netminder. Assisting on the play was Max Racicot. ‘Thunder’ fans became quiet as the ‘Express’ fans grew louder seeing a team that seemed to have a new edginess to there game. Collin Weller-Burgess tallied another Ingersoll goal late in the second with assists going to Sam Tasker and Jack Van Egdom. The score after the first period was 2-0 for the good guys.
The intensity of the match up rose when the ‘Thunder’ responded early in the 2nd with a goal of there own making it 2-1. Racicot countered late in the second with a goal from a nice passing play from Tasker putting the ‘Express’ backup by two. The ‘Thunder’ quickly responded before the end of the second period to make the score 3-2. Coach Jared Boresma and his staff were determined to not let the kids loose focus and urged them to win the battle along the boards and keep the puck deep in there end.
The 3rd period, with a playoff type atmosphere, was not one to disappoint. The ‘Thunder’ were not ready to give up tying the game up a little over halfway thru. The Ingersoll turning point came with less than 5 minutes in the game when Jack Van Egdom won a battle along the boards giving Gauge Langille the opportunity to rush down the left side firing a shot from the top of the circle. Racicot, following the play, drove to the net and picked up the ‘juicy’ rebound putting it in the back of the net. The good guys were up again, 4-3. The last few minutes lasted an eternity with an Ingersoll player in the penalty box and the goalie pulled, the ‘Thunder’ were determined to even it up. A quick glove hand by Noah Robinson, who was a ‘wall’ all night, shutdown the ‘Thunder’ with some timely saves. The rest of the ‘Express’ with an impressive defensive effort took over by keeping the puck deep over the final 30 seconds, letting the high ‘fiving’ begin!!.
The whole team should be proud of the effort put forth and hopefully this is a sign of good things to come. The Oxford Chiropractic Atom Reps next home game is Thursday, November 19th at 7pm vs Langton, so come cheer them on!