Jan 21, 2020 | Rich McNeil | 137 views
Game # 2 S.C Playoffs - Express settle for a draw.
The Norwich Nighthawks came into town for a playoff game vs our Express. Tanner Belore would get the net on this night. Right off the opening faceoff, the Nighthawks showed they came to play. Norwich only came with 10 skaters, so it seemed their game plan was to try to get the early lead and they did just that, scoring only 38 seconds into the period to tally their first goal. Norwich kept coming, and Belore had to make to solid consecutive saves to ensure we did not fall behind further.
As the boys shook the cobwebs out of their heads, they tried to match the speed of their opponent, but just could not seem to get into sync with one another. You could see the boys getting their game together as the period concluded, but the boys were still down 1-0.
In the second, Ingersoll just took it to them, shift after shift we attacked the offensive zone, but the young goaltender for Norwich was spot on all evening, limiting rebounds, and keeping his team in this contest. The Express would finally score when defender Logan Pare made a great effort making his way through the visitors with precision and speed. He had a great shot on goal that was a tad high, but Tyler Fleming was in his office behind the net and made a great decision to go for the wraparound, and tie this contest at 1-1.
The final frame, the Express through all they could at the blue and gold, but could not buy a goal. With just over 5 minutes remaining, we took our first lead as Ethan Kish cleaned up a rebound after Eli North hit the post. A play started by a great pass by Jeremy Stiles. We did everything to increase our lead, but could not get one past the Nighthawks goaltender. With the goalie pulled, Norwich who was gassed, pushed on one last shift,pulled their goalie fot the extra attacker, and with our defenders not able to clear the zone, Norwich marched in and a perfectly placed shot beat Belore with only 25 seconds left. We made one last dash down the ice, but a great passing play and scoring chance was again stopped by the Norwich netminder, who was the only reason this game ended tied at 2-2.
Hoping for a better result Saturday, as we head down Hwy 19 to face the Tornadoes in Tillsonburg.