The Searles Motor Products Novice Rep competed in the Paris Tournament Nov 6 & 7 at the Syl Apps Community Centre. On Saturday, the Express took on the Shallow Lake Lakers, in a very evenly matched game. Daniel Martineau scored early in the first period to put Ingersoll up 1-0.
The Lakers fought back, and tied the game at 1-1 two minutes later. The score remained 1-1 until midway through the third period, when Martineau put the puck past the Shallow Lake netminder a second time. Ingersoll held off a flurry by Shallow Lake, and took the win with a final score of 2-1. Assists went to Brennan Rupert, Ethan Vlemmix and Cole Ellis.
The Express next faced the Ayr Flames in their second game. Aside from one dominant player on the Ayr team, both teams were evenly matched. The Ingersoll kids played well, but could not hold off the powerhouse that was Ben MacFarlane. Scoring for Ingersoll were Nolan Adkins, Daniel Martineau, and Cole Ellis. Assists were registered by Parker Hodgson (2). The final score was 10-3, however with MacFarlane's goals taken off the scoreboard, the final score was 4-3 for Ayr.
To finish out the round robin, Ingersoll faced off against the hometown Paris Wolfpack. Again, the two teams were very evenly matched, and it was a back and forth game. Ingersoll opened the scoring with a goal by Parker Hodgson late in the first period. Paris tied the game up early in the second period, but Ethan Vlemmix put Ingersoll back in front late in the second. Midway through the third, Paris again tied the game up, and the teams continued skating together going back and forth. Hodgson added another goal with two minutes to play, putting Ingersoll up 3-2. After weathering a flurry by Paris, and with the Wolfpack goalie on the bench for the extra attacker, Brennan Rupert was able to add an empty net marker for insurance, and the Express won the game 4-2. Next up, the 'A' Division Final, and a rematch with the Flames.
On Sunday, the Express met up against the Flames in the final game of the tournament. Ayr quickly got on the board to a 1-0 lead, but that was nullified right away by an Ingersoll goal by Nolan Adkins, to tie the game at 1-1. Again, the goal of the Express team was to contain MacFarlane, and they did a pretty good job. However, MacFarlane continued to give the Ingersoll team fits, 3 minutes into the second period, Ayr was ahead 5-1. Brennan Rupert chipped in with a goal in the second, and at the end of the period the score stood at 5-2. Ingersoll continued to press in the third period, with Rupert adding his second of the game at the midway mark. Ingersoll had their chances to close the gap, but were unable to capitalize on their remaining chances. When the final buzzer sounded, Ingersoll fell after a valiant effort, with a final of 5-3. (If you take McFarlane's goals out again, the final was 3-2 Ingersoll!!)
Congratulations to all the kids for a job well done, and for putting on an entertaining set of four games. Special mention to the player chosen as Player of the Game by the oppositions coaching staff:
Game 1 vs. Shallow Lake - Parker Hodgson
Game 2 vs. Ayr - Cole Ellis
Game 3 vs. Paris - Gabe Robinson
Game 4 vs. Ayr - Brennan Rupert
The Searles Motor Products Novice Rep next face regular season action on Thursday, November 11 at 6 pm in Paris in a rematch against the Wolfpack.