The Shooters Photography Midget Local
League team travelled to Paris on Thursday to face off against the Wolfpack.
The scoreless first period featured solid defensive play by Colin Van Dyk and
Lucas White. Early in the match, Van Dyk poked the puck away from a Paris
forward who was charging up the middle and would have had a clear path to the
net. Later in the period, White slid across the ice to break up a play that
would have led to an excellent scoring opportunity for the home team.
Ingersoll turned up the heat early in the second period, but ran into penalty trouble at the four-minute mark. The Express survived almost a full minute down five skaters to three. With 31 seconds to play in the middle frame Ingersoll got on the board when defenseman Daniel Martineau drifted a shot in from the point. The initial shot was stopped, Max Branderhorst took a swipe at the rebound before Cohen Belore managed to slide the puck in behind the Paris goaltender.
The Wolfpack battled back, tying the game early in the third. Ingersoll came close to regaining the lead minutes later when Alex Schuett picked up a loose puck behind the Paris net and shoveled a pass out to Dylan Daltrey who was alone in front. As play continued, Liam Knox unleashed a wrist shot from the sideboards, the puck trickled through the Wolfpack netminder’s pads and came to rest an inch from the goal line as spectators in the stands held their breath. Belore got to the the puck first, tapping it into the Paris net for his second of the night. Tyler Bergman earned an assist on the play. Ingersoll continued to press, looking for an insurance marker as the clock ticked down. Good hustle by Kieghan Osmond kept the puck in at the Paris blue line which allowed Austin Brunelle to pounce on the puck and drive for the net. As play continued, Tanner George found himself all alone with the puck in behind the Paris defense, but he was stared down by the Wolfpack goalkeeper. With 25 seconds remaining in the game, Brunelle scored his first of the contest, sealing the victory for the Express and improving Ingersoll’s record to 6-2-1.