Carmeuse Lime Ltd Ingersoll Express Minor Midget Rep were in
a two-goal deficit to the Mount Brydges Cougars at 4:22 of the first period
during the final game of the Bob Tansley Memorial Tournament, yesterday in
Tillsonburg. As the buzzer sounded to
end the period Carmeuse had taken the lead, 3-2.
While each of these teams finished first in their respective pools, Mount Brydges (Pool A) won both games and finished first overall with the GF% of .833, earning the bye to the semi-final game; Carmeuse (Pool B) finished with a GF% of .571, and a record of one win and one tie. Whether the team would play in the quarter-final game Saturday night or have a bye to the semi-final game on Sunday would be determined by the Dorchester Dragons and the Petrolia Oilers at 1:15 Saturday afternoon. The Carmeuse stats staff computed that, for the bye to happen, Petrolia would need to tie, lose or win by only one goal, any other win margin would result in Carmeuse playing in the quarter-final game Saturday night. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, Carmeuse now waited for the results of the quarter-final game between the Ennismore Eagles and the Petrolia Oilers.
Sunday morning at 10:45, Carmeuse Lime Ltd faced-off against the Ennismore Eagles. The smaller ice surface and two quick skating hockey teams made for a very fast-paced first period, no goals and no penalties. This game’s pace seemed to intensify throughout the second period, making for a very unfortunate incident at the Ingersoll blue line. The Ennismore forward was carrying the puck and appeared not to see Carmeuse defenseman #9 Ryan Cooper who was skating straight for the puck. The two collided and the Ennismore forward fell to the ice. The referee issued a five-minute head contact penalty (game misconduct) to Cooper, who then left the ice for the dressing room. Carmeuse assistant coach Matt Duncan incurred a two-minute bench penalty for voicing his disagreement with the call. Carmeuse now awaits word as to how many games suspension Cooper will serve. The Ennismore player was taken off the ice by paramedics. His status is not known at this time.
The game continued and each team resumed their high level of play. Carmeuse would successfully kill off the penalties and the second period would end like the first, tied 0-0. Two very evenly matched hockey teams played a total of twenty-three minutes of very fast-paced hockey before the puck made its way past a goal line. At 12:06 of the third period, #16 Brock Swain, assisted by #7 Tyler Arts made the score 1-0. Swain later assisted #6 Eric Savoie, who scored the final goal of the game at 2:08 of the third period. Carmeuse then waited to hear if they would meet the Mount Brydges Cougars or the Ayr Flames in the final game at 2:30.
During the first period of the final game, the Mount Brydges Cougars would make good on a rebound at 4:38, then, just sixteen seconds later would strike again at 4:22. Carmeuse argued that the net was of its moorings, but the scoreboard would show 2-0 in favour of the Cougars. Just two minutes later, #11 Tanner Gedies, with support from his line-mate, #14 Ben Jentz, put Carmeuse on the scoreboard. The last minute of play in the period had just started when #6 Eric Savoie tied the score with a solo shot. Just forty-two seconds later, Ben Jentz made his way to the net with two Cougars in pursuit. Jentz scored the winning goal with just ten seconds left in the first period.
Assistant Coach Matt Duncan met with the media following the championship game. He was more than prepared with his statement, “Despite however many goals we’re down, as long as there is time on the clock we’re very confident of our offensive abilities, as long as we’re moving the puck and working hard. We knew the second (Mount Brydges) goal shouldn’t have counted as the net was off its moorings before the puck passed the line. The first one was just a bit of a thick-lipped, if you can call it that. Our defenseman had a bit of a lapse, but our goalie, Calder, we can count on him to stop just about anything he can see. We always tell the team, no lead is too big and no deficit is too big. We just continue to play our game, stay the course and we’ll have lots of success if we stay true to that.”
Carmeuse Lime Ltd is on the ice tonight for practice then enjoy a couple of days off before a very busy schedule. Thursday night they host the Ilderton Jets, game time 9:30. Friday Carmeuse travels to Ridgetown to play the South Kent Lightning at 9:30 PM. Saturday the team will practice. On Sunday the Petrolia Oilers will be in town for the 9:15 PM game.
For news, photos and the game schedule, visit the Carmeuse Lime Ltd – Ingersoll Express Minor Midget Rep webpage.