Nov 06, 2021 | Rich McNeil | 170 views
Game #3 NOTL tournament - Express vs Rams
After two big wins yesterday, the boys had the entire day to themselves as they did not hit the ice until 9:20pm to play their only match of the day vs the Stittsville Rams.
It was Jaxon's net for this contest, coming off a strong game vs NOTL. Right off the puck drop, it looked like the long layoff was not going to be a factor, as Colton MacPherson gained the zone and got off a good shot to start the game. The Rams may have been a little rattled as they immediately took a head contact penalty, and the Express moved the puck well. We thought we had the first goal of the game as Eli North got a solid pass on the tape and released a wicked wrist shot, but the Rams goalie just got enough of it to deflect over the Stittsville net. It was after that power play opportunity, the Rams turned it up a notch. The Rams got a powerplay of their own, after a tripping call was made on Jeremy Stiles. Pinard was up to the challenge, making a couple of amazing saves to keep us scoreless at the end of the first.
The Rams kept coming and the Express just did not seem to be able to get in sync, as we suffered to move the puck effectively. Stittsville opened the scoring midway through the second as a pass out to their captain was in the right spot and released a nice shot that got behind Jaxon. They would add another with just about 37 seconds left after a big blast was saved by Pinard, but the rebound landed right back on the Rams stick and was able to slide it through the five hole.
The third period was uneventful, as again we tried to get more pucks deep, but credit to our opponents who did not give us a whole lot of room to maneuver. Westin would get a minor penalty for head contact, but we held our own, and as the buzzer sounded, the Express found themselves on the wrong end of a 2-0 score. We get to do it again tomorrow as we will need a win or a tie to get a chance to play in the finals vs a Strathroy Rockets squad who has a 1-1-1 record this weekend. Best of luck tomorrow boys!!