For
the second time in a week the Louie’s Pizza and Pasta Bantam rep team
celebrated a lopsided victory over the Caledonia Thunder.
It took a while for the Express train to get rolling, but after allowing Caledonia to register the game’s first goal, Ingersoll woke up and scored five of their own. As the game progressed it became obvious that Caledonia was no match for Ingersoll in the speed and skill department. The Thunder’s players and coaching staff were clearly frustrated. Cheap shots and dirty play earned the home team nine minor penalties, compared to only two for the Express, who remained calm and refused to be intimidated into taking retaliatory penalties. Dayton Racicot, Mick Donker and Isaac Westlake rattled the opposition with good, clean, bone-crunching body checks. Westlake, Joel Verspeeten, Parker Hodgson, Ben White and Nathan Graham were the goal scorers for Ingersoll.
On March 9th the Bantam boys travelled to Port Dover to battle the Simcoe Warriors. Ingersoll spent a good part of the first period applying pressure in the offensive zone. Ben White got the Express on the board first, taking a pass from Brennan Rupert and lifting a beautiful backhand shot into the top corner. Joel Verspeeten made a nice play, sliding the puck through the defenseman’s legs and almost beating the goaltender five hole. Simcoe turned it up a notch in the second period, beating Logan White twice to take the lead. Ingersoll continued to entertain the fans with crisp passing and creative play making. Parker Hodgson, working his magic behind the Warrior’s net, fooled the Simcoe defenders with a nifty behind the back pass out to Mick Donker who came close to slamming home the tying goal. Big Ethan Emerson flattened one of the Warriors players as the third period got under way. Daniel Martineau relayed a pass to his defense partner Brennan Rupert who unleashed one of his rocket slap shots into the top corner before the Simcoe netminder could react. With the game tied at 2, Symon Hutcheson went hard into the boards behind the Simcoe net and had to be helped to the bench with an apparent injury to his left knee. Rupert was assessed a double minor when his stick came up and contacted a Simcoe player in the head with 7 minutes left to play. Logan White came up with several key saves while Ingersoll was short-handed. Sixteen seconds after Rupert’s penalties expired, Daniel Martineau found the back of the net with a wrist shot that fooled the goalie. With Ingersoll ahead 3 to 2, Simcoe pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker and with just 17 seconds on the clock managed to score the tying goal, much to the delight of the Warrior’s fans in the stands.
Be sure to come out to support the Bantam boys Saturday night at Ingersoll Memorial Arena as they host the Flames of Penetang in game one of the OMHA finals. GO EXPRESS!!!
Submitted by M. Martineau