Dec 17, 2014 | jrupert | 493 views
Express look to round out SCMHA season as Silver Stick Warm-up
The Ponting Financial Group Ingersoll Express PeeWee Rep team has played a lot of hockey in the last month and a half, all leading up to the Silver Stick Regional Tournament taking place on the weekends bracketing the Christmas break. After a solid performance at the Golden Acres Tournament in Kent County the team has returned to Southern Counties play, playing a couple of their best games this season as they lead up to the Silver Stick.
On Tuesday, December 9th the team hosted the Twin Centre Stars in what many on hand referred to as the best game that this Express team has played all season. The game pitted the league #1 team (Twin Centre) and #2 team (Ingersoll), both undefeated, in what was seemingly the battle for the regular season title. The game went back and forth with every player on Ingersoll stepping up to the level of their competition, from the net out. Goaltender Logan White made some amazing saves, the defence as they have done for most of the year kept the shots to the outside and gave White good looks at the puck, and the forwards had great puck presence, forcing the puck and the play. The only thing missing was scoring, until Brennan Rupert banged home a loose puck in front of the net in the second period to put Ingersoll up 1-0. Things went along well like that into the third, but then a pileup in the Ingersoll crease left Logan White a little worse for wear. When the play resumed, Ingersoll had trouble clearing their zone, White lost his stick, and after some scrambly play in and around the net, Twin Centre was able to capitalize on the missing stick and beat White to tie the score. After that Ingersoll continued their press, but were just unable to find the back of the net again, and when the buzzer sounded, the two teams were no further ahead than before the game, as it finished in a 1-1 tie.
Two nights later the team travelled to Paris for what on paper should have been a routine game for them. The game was anything but routine however. Whether it was a hangover from Tuesday night or just a sense of over confidence, Ingersoll came out flat in the game, seemingly a step behind Paris throughout the whole game. And not to take away from Paris, they played an excellent game, described by one of their parents as the on of the best games the team has played all season. As a result, Ingersoll suffered their first regular season loss in two years, falling 3-2.
Monday night Ingersoll hosted a strong Plattsville Rage team, a team that gave them fits last year when they played. Things started off pretty good for the Express, as just three minutes into the game Parker Hodgson lifted the boys to an early 1-0 lead finishing off a nice play from Daytn Racicot. But after that the team had a little trouble finding the back of the net, and after two periods the game was tied at 1-1. Plattsville went ahead midway through the third period, opening up a two goal lead on Ingersoll, and forecasting possible back to back losses for the team, something else that hasn't happened since last season. An Ingersoll power play goal just 14 seconds into a Plattsville penalty ona nice tic-tac-toe play between Racicot, Brennan Rupert and finished by Hodgson brought the team back within one. Ingersoll continued to press, but the Rage goalie was steady, turning away everything thrown at him. Late in the game, with the loss drawing nearer, Coach Boersma pulled the goalie and got the extra attacker out to try to tie the game up. With just 23.8 seconds left, AP player Gavin Bryant tipped in a point shot from Keegan Purdy, tying the game up at 3-3 and letting everyone breathe a sigh of relief as the team escaped with one point from the game.
The team returned to the Ingersoll arena Tuesday night to host the Glanbrook Rangers, in what would be, if history continued, a chippy affair. Ingersoll seemed to have found some of their mojo back, and from start to finish controlled the play of the game. The game did get chippy, but Ingersoll didn't get intimidated by it or back down, and after goals by a raft of players, including two by birthday boy Symon Hutcheson, the Express skated away with a dominant 8-2 victory. Thanks to Ty House and Jeremy Hardeman, both AP players who saw time in the game. Hardeman relieved Logan White in net for much of the third period to allow a little rest before Silver Stick, and turned away all but one shot put at him.
The team returns to the ice Thursday night to take on the Simcoe Warriors in their last Southern Counties regular season game before heading to Watford for the Silver Stick Preliminaries against Ilderton and Mount Brydges Saturday and Sunday.