Lincs’ win streak hits 11 in home-and-home sweep against Stratford

By Spencer Seymour

 

The longest winning streak to start a season in St. Marys Lincolns’ history continued to grow longer last week when the Lincs won their first two games of the year against their budding arch rivals, the Stratford Warriors.

 

In the first installment of the long-awaited ‘Battle of Highway 7’ on Oct. 16, it was a feeling-out process for much of the game as both teams traded goals at the William Allman Memorial Arena.

 

Head coach Jeff Bradley was pleased with his team’s showing, especially with regard to their defensive structure.

 

“We limited Stratford, a really good team, to only 18 shots, and only a handful of those came from the middle of the ice,” Bradley told the Independent. “We achieved our goal of taking away the middle of the ice, we only gave up one or two odd-man rushes, so I thought it was a good performance by us.”

 

So far this season, the Lincolns haven’t allowed more than three goals in any single game, and up until the 14:21 mark of the first period in Stratford, St. Marys still was sitting on single-digit goals against.

 

Cole Lewis tallied the icebreaker for the Warriors on a powerplay, taking a 1-0 lead with just over six-and-a-half minutes left in the opening frame on the Stratford captain’s ninth goal of the season. However, just 53 seconds later, the Lincs answered with the first in the GOJHL career of defenceman Hayden Barch, assisted by Noah VandenBrink and Blake Elzinga.

 

The second period had a dose of déjà vu when it took just one minute and three seconds after Zach Bell gave Stratford a one-goal lead for the Lincs to counter with the sixth of the season by Ryan Hodkinson, a goal that gave the hometown centreman points in five straight games. Along with Barch, Chase MacQueen-Spence had an assist on Hodkinson’s goal.

 

Coach Bradley mentioned Hodkinson, MacQueen-Spence, and VandenBrink performing like true leaders for the Lincolns.

 

“The whole team was really good, to be honest, but guys like Noah [VandenBrink], Chase [MacQueen-Spence], and Ryan [Hodkinson] really stepped up when we needed them to. We’ve all seen the growth in Ryan’s game going back to last season and he’s just continued being incredibly reliable at both ends.

 

“Chase and Noah are both known predominantly for their offensive skill, but they are evolving into genuine two-way players,” Bradley continued. “They understand the puck won’t be on their stick for most of the game so they have to be hard defensively and make life tough on the opponent.”

 

Bradley also praised the team’s veteran core for being able to respond to both of Stratford’s go-ahead goals in quick order.

 

“To me, it sums up what kind of team we are and the kind of players that our team is comprised of. There are games that you really don’t want to lose, and that was one of those games, and because of that, they just refused to quit. Our guys don’t think one goal is the end of the game. It’s a matter of sticking with it and turning the page after a negative and responding with a positive.”

 

With just under three minutes left in the second, Hodkinson sent the puck into the slot where Jacob McLellan was driving to tip the puck by Warriors’ netminder Carter McDougall to put St. Marys ahead 3-2, a lead they took into the second intermission. MacQueen-Spence also picked up a helper on McLellan’s goal.

 

However, the Warriors showed why they entered the game tied with the Lincs for the top spot in the Western Conference, getting a goal from Dracen Campbell a mere 33 seconds into the third to tie things at three apiece.

 

Almost three minutes later, first-year forward Dylan Searles, taking a cue from his older teammates, answered for the Lincolns when he helped create chaos in front of the Warriors’ net. A point shot by Barch hit off Searles before floating over McDougall’s head and dropping in the back of the net. Searles’ third of the season held up as the game-winning goal with St. Marys hanging on for a 4-3 victory.

 

Bradley believes the team’s overall learning curve of the team’s systems has been accelerated thanks to their deep reservoir of experience.

 

“It’s been really a huge advantage for us to have so many returning players. We’ve got half a dozen guys who have been here for three years, plus a guy like Ethan [Coups] who was here years ago, plus some of our younger guys who were affiliates with us last year, so there is a lot of familiarity with our style of play. We have a number of players who are almost assistant coaches with how they are able to set an example and relay expectations.”

 

The head coach also felt the contest provided the team with very valuable insight into one of their newest conference opponents.

 

“We’re answering questions that we didn’t have first-hand answers to yet. We’ve played in the West for so long, and now we’re competing against teams like Elmira, Stratford, Listowel, and Kitchener-Waterloo. You’re wondering how you stack up against those teams since we haven’t seen them very often in recent years. We answered that question against Elmira [on Oct. 11] and we got our answer against Stratford, and it was nice to answer that question by getting the two points.”

 

Lincs weather Warriors’ storm in 4-1 win

 

The Lincolns’ 4-1 win over Stratford two days later proved true the adage of, “When you’re hot, you’re hot,” with St. Marys escaping with a three-goal win despite being outplayed for 40 minutes.

 

Bradley described the game as a pendulum that swung wildly, with a first period that couldn’t have been more different from the second and third.

 

“In the first period, we were great. We came out really well. I thought the second period was one of our worst periods of the season, and I didn’t feel like we got too much better in the third. We were fortunate to have a couple of our veteran players turn it on for a shift here and a shift there, but if not for a handful of players and some great goaltending, we probably don’t get that win.”

 

Nico Armellin got the start for the Lincolns and was spectacular, stopping 45 of 46 Stratford shots. The Warriors outshot St. Marys 34-17 in the final two periods.

 

Almost exactly halfway through the first, VandenBrink extended his point streak to seven games with his fourth goal of the season, a powerplay marker assisted by McLellan and Elzinga. The goal was a measure of payback for the Lincolns after the Warriors held the St. Marys powerplay off the scoresheet on Oct. 16, the first and only time this year when the Lincolns haven’t had at least one powerplay goal in a game.

 

Close to five minutes later, MacQueen-Spence also reached seven straight games with a point when he potted his fourth of the campaign. Ryder Livermore and Owen Voortman picked up the assists. After having no goals in his first five outings, MacQueen-Spence has scored in four of his last six games.

 

The first period wasn’t all good news for the Lincs, as Hodkinson left the game due to an upper-body injury. Hodkinson didn’t return to the game, causing Bradley and company to juggle the lines. Despite the large six-foot-three hole in the middle of the ice, Bradley credited a makeshift line for doing an admirable job of trying to turn lemons into lemonade.

 

“When Ryan went out with the injury, we had to mix some things up and the chemistry took a bit of a hit. Ryan is obviously a big part of our team. We put out Cornfield, MacQueen-Spence, and Voortman, and thankfully, at a time when we were on our heels, they didn’t deviate from the plan. They stuck with our plan and it ended up opening a hole for Owen [Kalp] to get his goal.”

 

Owen Kalp’s goal came at the 7:34 mark of the third period, his first as a Lincoln, but it followed a middle frame from which the Lincs barely emerged with a lead. It appeared the Warriors had missed their shot to get back in the game when they failed to score on a five-on-three powerplay, but the Warriors kept the pressure on the Lincolns and got rewarded when Nolan Galda finally solved Armellin to cut the lead in half.

 

With six seconds left, the jam-packed and boisterous crowd at the PRC drowned out the sound of the official’s whistle, blown when St. Marys briefly got a hold of the puck in front of their own net with a delayed penalty call. The Warriors put the puck in the net shortly after the whistle was blown, briefly making Stratford think they had tied the game but instead, they went to a man advantage that carried over into the third and, eventually, was killed off.

 

In the third, Kalp potted his first as a Lincoln, which was followed by McLellan’s fourth of the campaign. Coming into the season, McLellan was touted as a defensively stout forward whose offence may not blow the doors off. However, while the hard-working Kingston, Ont. native has more than lived up to the two-way billing, McLellan has consistently put up points, averaging over a point per game through the team’s 11-game season-opening winning streak.

 

“He’s definitely made an impact on both sides of the puck,” said Bradley. “As soon as we saw him play, we knew he could be a great part of this team. He has endeared himself to his teammates and I think the fans as well. He has become incredibly important to our team and in our locker room. He’s incredibly polite and coachable. He’s been raised incredibly well. He’s one of the more experienced players we have and knows what makes a good program.”

 

McLellan is one of seven Lincolns’ forwards to average a point per game so far this season, while the team also has two sitting at 10 points in 11 games. Bradley acknowledged how important the consistent production of the team’s top nine forward group has been to the team’s unbeaten start to the year.

 

“It’s been incredibly important, but it’s also important that everyone buys into our commitment to our depth. If we want to have the type of depth production that we have, you can’t play any one line 25 minutes every night. Our guys see the big picture and they know that if you’re fortunate enough to make the playoffs and then get late into the playoffs, we can’t rely on one or two lines to get it done. We need everybody on board and having the opportunity to contribute.”

 

Although the second half of their home-and-home series against Stratford wasn’t the 60-minute performance the group wanted, Bradley believes the team simply needs to “turn the page” on what was a disappointing blip on a largely stellar beginning to the season.

 

“We’ve established ourselves as a top team in this league, which is a pretty good place to start. We can’t become complacent and comfortable with where we’re at. We have to keep pushing the pace and finding ways to get better. Our veterans have been outstanding, our younger guys are following their lead, and we’re progressing well. We’ve touched on many parts of our game, and while we’re not perfect in all aspects of our game, we’re comfortable in all aspects of our game.”

 

Searles/McDougall photo:

St. Marys Lincolns’ forward Chase McDougall crashes his older brother Carter’s net during the Lincs’ 4-3 win over the Stratford Warriors on Oct. 16. Photo credit: McGinny Photography