Blake Elzinga, pictured, scored the game-winning goal in Game 5 of the St. Marys Lincolns’ first-round series against the Strathroy Rockets. The Lincolns defeated the Rockets 2-0 in Game 5 to advance to the second round of the post season. Photo by Turner Roth
By Spencer Seymour
On its face, a game that was scoreless until well over halfway through the third period doesn’t seem like it could be a one-sided thrashing.
However, with the Strathroy Rockets getting nary more than the occasional one-and-done chance, which were themselves few and far between, the St. Marys Lincolns delivered a commanding performance in Game 5 of their first-round series that ultimately saw the Lincolns win 2-0 to eliminate the Rockets and advance to the second round of the Sutherland Cup Playoffs.
“I thought we were outstanding,” head coach Jeff Bradley said of the Lincolns’ series-clinching showing. “It was closer than it should have been in terms of the score, and we probably deserved more, but regardless, we didn’t really give up much at all. They maybe had a couple of chances here and there in a 60-minute game, but other than that, we were outstanding.”
Bradley added the team’s defensive prowess was a key reason they ultimately came away with the series win, with the west’s second-ranked powerplay in the regular season managing just one goal on 21 attempts over the five games, and the Rockets scoring just one goal in the last 11 periods of the series.
“We allowed six goals in five games against one of the league’s best powerplays, and a team that has been shooting the lights out as of late,” Bradley said. “I think the way we defended and managed the puck, I thought at times we could do a better job of that, but when it mattered most, our guys were locked in and for the most part did the right thing at all times.”
With a chance to either close out the series or allow the Rockets an opportunity to claw back into the series, the Lincolns displayed a strong winning mentality and didn’t let their foot off the gas once during the fifth and deciding game.
“I know we have that killer instinct,” Bradley said. “At times, there are ups and downs throughout a team, and it’s much better that we’re going to do what we need to do at the times when it matters the most. In moments like (Game 5), you get reminded how good a team and how good of players we have with how they step up in those moments.
“We know what it takes. A lot of guys in here know what it takes to win, and whether they’ve done it or seen it, we know that our level of play has to be a little bit higher than the regular season, and that’s what they did, and you’ve got to give them credit. When we have all 20 guys going like that, we’re a hard team to beat.”
With the entire team playing so well yet going unrewarded and tension building amongst the ever-eager Lincolns’ crowd, it seemed to only be a matter of time before someone became the hero and the Lincolns finally were rewarded for their great effort.
Enter Blake Elzinga.
Just moments after successfully killing off a penalty, the Rockets went down a man due to a charging minor assessed to Gavin McGahey-Smith. On the ensuing Lincolns’ powerplay, a perfect storm of strong puck movement by the entire powerplay unit, and especially Blake Elzinga and Callum McAuley, coupled with traffic in front of Rockets’ netminder Seth Ronan led to Elzinga wiring home his first of the post-season to give the Lincolns a long-awaited 1-0 lead with just five minutes and 40 seconds left in regulation.
Elzinga described the clutch goal through his vantage point.
“They had a powerplay right before and then they got a penalty, so you go into that powerplay thinking, ‘We’ve got to score here,’ because there’s only five minutes left. The puck gets in the zone and to the right side of the zone, and I got it back at the point and I saw Callum (McAuley) sneaking down the left side, so I gave it to him. As he’s going around, there was a little open pocket just inside the slot, so I snuck in there.
“Callum saw me, gave me a pass, and I knew there was a guy in front of (Seth) Ronan, so he was coming across and couldn’t quite see where I was picking it up,” Elzinga continued. “I saw a spot high blocker and took a shot and was pretty fortunate to get it in there because we haven’t been able to score high.”
Elzinga added the goal lifted a huge weight off of his and his teammates’ shoulders simultaneously.
“It was a sigh of relief for myself, getting the first one of the playoffs and then obviously what game it was. It was an elimination game, and that goal put us ahead, so it was just a huge sigh of relief because we’re not waiting for one anymore. We can control the game now, and we’re not chasing that first goal.”
Owen Voortman potted an empty netter at the 18:38 mark of the third to seal the 2-0 victory, while Colby Booth-Housego turned in yet another excellent performance, making 27 saves for his second shutout of the playoffs. Booth-Housego has posted a save percentage of 0.972 or higher in three straight games, and hasn’t recorded a save percentage below 0.909 so far this post-season.
The Lincolns will next play against either the Elmira Sugar Kings, London Nationals, or Stratford Warriors. If the Sugar Kings defeat the LaSalle Vipers in their first-round series, the Lincolns will meet the Elmira in the second round. If the Vipers beat the second-seeded Sugar Kings, the Lincolns will meet the winner of the Nationals and Warriors’ series, which is set to conclude on March 25 in a seventh game.
No matter who their opponent is, Bradley noted there are a couple elements of the team’s game the Lincolns will try to improve upon in the second round.
“I’d say our discipline could be a little bit better and our powerplay just needs to break through,” Bradley said. “We’ve seen some good things on the powerplay, but actually getting some more sustained production out of it would certainly be big for us. We’ll reset for our next series and begin seeing if there are areas that we can expose, but for the most part, it’s just about continuing to do the right things.”
