Mar 02, 2017 | dosmond | 753 views
Ingersoll Thamesford Pizza (2) @ Ingersoll Unifor 3264 (1)
Needing one point in the final regular season game to guarantee a fourth place finish in the league the Unifor 3264 Bantam LL team came up a goal short against the winless Ingersoll Thamesford Pizza Bantam team on Tuesday night.
Heading into the contest the Unifor 3264 side was 6 points ahead of their closest competitors but are now awaiting the results of the Norwich Knighthawks final three games to see where they will finish in the standings. The Knighthawks final three games are against the Port Dover Pirates (March 2), Waterford Wildcats and Six Nations Blackhawks (March 5).
The rivalry game against the other Ingersoll Bantam LL team saw both sides generate a couple of opportunities in the opening period along with sustained offensive zone pressure. However, both sides defensively were up to the task and the game headed into the second period tied at 0-0.
In the second, the Unifor 3264 side fell into a bit of a lull for a few minutes and that is when the Thamesford Pizza side took advantage scoring their two goals of the game. A defensive zone turnover led to the first Thamesford Pizza goal on a nice slap shot from just above the top of the slot. The second goal came on a nice individual effort that saw the Unifor 3264 defense give just enough of an opening for a hard wrist shot in the slot to beat goalie Dawson Sharpe.
Down by two goals heading into the third, the Unifor 3264 side would need to get back to what has made them successful over the past four league games - aggressive fore-check, puck pressure, puck possession and skating.
They would cut the score to 2-1 when defenseman Alex Barr played the puck behind the Thamesford Pizza net. Winger Kieghan Osmond would get possession of the puck and pass it from behind the net to Center Liam Carson who fired a backhander past the Thamesford Pizza goalie. The boys were unable to tie the game up late in the third when they pulled their goalie.
Now the team will sit back and wait to see if their successful second half has pushed them into the playoff rounds.
"To me, a winner is someone who recognizes their God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses those skills to accomplish his goals. Even when I lost, I learned what my weaknesses were and I went out the next day to turn those weaknesses into strengths." - Larry Bird