OMHA Playdowns - Ingersoll vs. Tavistock
The R.
McNiven and Sons Insurance Ingersoll Express Atom Rep team began their pursuit
of the OMHA title on Thursday, January 31 hosting Tavistock. The team started off with a back and forth
defensive battle, with very few opportunities on either net through the first
period. Both teams started finding their
sticks in the second period, and Parker Hodgson was finally able to breakk the
goose egg, putting Ingersoll up 1-0 after two.
The teams came out again for the third, and Tavistock showed they
weren't going to give up and roll over, and put 3 quick ones past the Ingersoll
goalie. Ingersoll found themselves back
on their heels and were unable to get themselves back into the game, dropping a
3-1 decision.
Game 2 took place in Tavistock two days later. This time Ingersoll showed up to play. Both teams scored in the first period, with Parker Hodgson netting Ingersoll's first goal. The teams skated through the second with nobody getting a leg up, however the third period belonged to Ingersoll, with goals by Daytn Racicot and Josh Clark, and three more from Hodgson. Tavistock put one more past Ingersoll goalie Logan White, but that was it and Ingersoll tied the series up at 2 points a piece with a 6-2 victory.
Ingersoll hosted game 3 on Thursday, February 7th, the first game in 4 games over 4 days. This game was a hard fought battle, with both teams showing up to play this one. Nothing was solved in the first or second period, and the teams started out the third knotted at zeros, and both teams looking to get the edge in the series and take a 4-2 point lead. The third period turned out to solve nothing either, with Hodgson matching the one goal that Tavistock was able to score. Then the overtime was played, and although Ingersoll managed another 10 shots on net, they just couldn't solve the Tavistock goalie as the did in game 2, and when the final buzzer sounded the game was a wash 1-1.
Saturday, February 9th saw Ingersoll return to Tavistock for game 4, hoping to gain the 2 points that would give them the advantage in game 5 on Sunday night. With a win in this game the team would have a 5 points to 3 advantage, meaning that a win or a tie in game 5 would result in a series win. Unfortunately things did not quite go as planned, and Tavistock ended up on the winning side of a 4-0 score.
Later Saturday night the team hosted Tillsonburg for their game in the Carmeuse Lime Invitational. The team felt they needed to somehow makeup for their game earlier in the day, and regain some confidence before their return to the ice against Tavistock for Game 5. The boys did not disappoint either, and played a great 35 minutes of hockey, leading from the first minute. The team's first goal came 52 seconds int the game, and from their the team was off to the races. With goals by Ben White, Symon Hutcheson, Nolan Adkins and Parker Hodgson (2). Final score Ingersoll 5, Tillsonburg 1.
Sunday, February 10th was a do or die game for the Express. Since the series was based on point total rather than win-loss, only a win would even the series between Tavistock and Ingersoll. A tie would give Tavistock the necessary sixth point to take the series, and a win would give them seven, which was plenty to win the six point series. A win by Ingersoll, on the other hand, would knot the teams at five points a piece and force a sixth and deciding game. The teams started off seemingly tense, with both sides knowing how important this game was to their OMHA playoff hopes. Both teams went back and forth, each having their opportunities and each team's respective netminder keeping the puck out. After one period, score 0-0. After much of the same kind of second period, score 0-0. On to the 15 minute third period, and it was looking like a mistake was going to be where the first goal came from to decide this game. However, fifteen minutes later, score 0-0. On to overtime. Now the pressure was really on Ingersoll. Ingersoll had to fight to win, whereas Tavistock only had to play not to lose. The Tavistock team didn't need to score, and they knew it. They just had to plug up the middle and shut down the Ingersoll scorers. Unfortunately for our team, they did just that. After a 10 minute overtime, the teams skated to a 45 minute 0-0 draw. That tie was enough to give Tavistock the necessary sixth point, and Ingersoll was eliminated from the 2012-2013 OMHA playoffs.
It was a great series guys that your fans enjoyed watching, and aside from the one hiccup game, these two teams were evenly matched, and Ingersoll could have just as easily skated to the next round if circumstances had been better. Good luck in the league playoffs boys!!