Feb 01, 2020 | Rich McNeil | 180 views
Game #4 S.C Playoffs. Express earn the win in Tavistock
The Peewee A/E's headed up Hwy 59, for a Saturday afternoon tilt with the Tavistock Titans. The boys needed these points to get back into the race for the second half standings in the Southern Counties playoff round. It was Ben Baker's turn to take the net in this contest. This was a good opportunity for the boys to find their legs before their OMHA game vs Tillsonburg tomorrow evening.
This was probably not what we would call text book hockey from the Express, as even though we dominated much of the play during the entire match, we didn't really get into much of a rhythm. There was lots of hit shin pads, missed passes and wide shots on the opposing netminder. We had a few scoring chances, but the Tavistock goalie, did a good job keeping the puck out of his net. It was late in the first where a strong effort by Cole McNeil, kept the puck in the offensive zone, made a cross ice pass to his defense partner Logan Pare, who rifled a shot on goal, that was neatly tipped by Tyler Fleming to give the Express the lead. Ben was not tested often in this contest, but stayed focused and made the stops he needed to throughout this game. The second period was a scoreless period, where their was lots of possession from the Express, but little finish, as we tried to shoot from long distance. When we did crash the net, the Titans ensured there was nothing to be had.
The third period had Eli North tally for the visitors with 3:11 left to give us a two goal cushion. Assists were given to Ethan Kish and Tyler Fleming on the play. The final ended 2-0, with Baker the recipient of another shutout for the stat line. Shots favoured the Express 38 to 7. Before kickoff tomorrow, we need to head out of town to Tillsonburg for game 2 of our OMHA showdown with the Tornadoes. Best of luck tomorrow boys!!