We all knew the Atom Reps could do it, and they proved everyone right Thursday night as they skated to a nail-biting 2-1 victory over the Twin Centre Stars in the Southern Counties Atom semi-final game.
Anyone associated with the Atom Rep team this season can testify that the road to the Southern County final game has not been a smooth one; but, it certainly has been exciting....
Southern County playoffs started off well in January with the Atom Reps picking up a few wins before hitting a slump in February. With no wins that month, the prospect of making it to the Southern County finals looked slim. Heading into March, things weren't looking much better - our playoffs seemed to be plagued by weather cancellations, injuries & sickness, and march break vacations. As we have said all year, however, these kids persevere. With four playoffs games to go, and the end of their season looming, the team was determined to fight for every point they could get in hopes of making it to the final round. And with plenty of hard work, determination, and the help of some Novice APs (thank you!!), that is exactly what they did. After coming up with a couple of ties, then getting smoked by Six Nations early one Sunday morning, the team pulled together and, as mentioned, came through with a big win in the semi-final, paving the way to the Southern Counties Atom Championship game!
March highlights:
March 15th: Tie 2-2 vs Simcoe, who are 1st place in the division and undefeated in league play. This was a very exciting game and almost like a win for the Express who were amazing out on the ice and outplayed their opponents from start to finish. And as an added bonus, Walter Gretzky was watching our game.
March 16th: Loss to Six Nations...this game was brutal in more ways than one. Thankfully no one got hurt. On a positive note, we did score 3 goals, so that was good. Another positive was the teamwork displayed. Great job of having each others' backs out there! And with plenty of penalties called, we did practice playing short-handed as well, which could only help us in future games...
March 6th & 16th: Two ties with Hagersville. In the second game with Hagersville, the Ingersoll squad was desperate for a point in the game, which would bump them into 3rd place in the playoff series, giving them a more favourable semi-final opponent. The kids played their hearts out but the Hagersville goaltender was putting up a wall. With only a couple of minutes left in the game, the score was tied at 2-2. Then, a VERY controversial goal was awarded to the Hagersville team, putting them into the lead. The players were devastated, the bench staff was outraged, and the Express fans were on their feet in protest. But a call is a call - the goal stayed, two Express players went to the penalty box for bench penalties. Down to 3 players on the ice vs 5 opponents, but still time on the clock, the Express, in true fashion, did not give up. Emotions were running high, and playing with all of the grit they could muster, another penalty was called on the Express. But, there was still a minute on the clock, and with that one game point on the line, Gavin Bryant broke through the defence with the puck, deked the goalie, and scored to tie the game!!! Hallelujah! The Express secured 3rd place in the standings, setting up the semi-final game vs 2nd place Twin Centre.
March 20th Semi-Final game vs Twin Centre:
This was edge-of-your-seat action with two great teams pushing for that first goal. The 1st and 2nd periods were scoreless, both goaltenders making amazing saves to keep it even. Emotions were high going into the 3rd - no one wanted this to be their season-ending game. Ben White managed to break the deadlock as he pushed into the Twin Centre zone with the puck, cut wide, then found the top corner of the net with a nifty wrist shot! Unfortunately Twin Centre responded a few minutes later with a nice three-way passing play to tie it up. Play was back and forth, both teams pushing their limits, trying to get ahead. On a Hagersville line change, Nathan Bailey picked up a pass from Seth Hedges, saw an opening to skate with the puck and moved up the ice into the Twin Centre end. With a shift to the right, he caught the goalie moving across the net and fired a low wrist shot under
the pads and into the net to put Ingersoll into the lead! With plenty of time still on the clock, the pace was fast and furious as Twin Centre battled to tie the game and Ingersoll fought to hang onto the lead. In a last-ditch effort the Stars pulled their goalie as the final minute counted down on the clock, but the Express held their ground, Jeremy stopping everything coming his way...and finally...the buzzer. 2-1 victory!
The Express will face the winner of Simcoe vs Six Nations (game will be played Tuesday) in the finals on March 30th in Simcoe! GO EXPRESS!!