Colquhoun shines in return as Lincs blank Siskins

Brogan Colquhoun prepares to lead the St. Marys Lincolns out of the dressing room. Colquhoun backstopped the Lincolns to a 1-0 win in a 31-save shutout on Jan. 23 against the Waterloo Siskins. Turner Roth photo

By Spencer Seymour

It’s one thing to look good in your return to action after missing three weeks with an injury.

It’s another to look like you never missed a game.

On Jan. 23, Brogan Colquhoun made it seem as if Jan. 3, his last appearance in the St. Marys Lincolns’ crease, was but a moment ago, rather than almost a month between games, as he turned in a 31-save shutout in the Lincolns’ 1-0 victory over the Waterloo Siskins.

Head coach Jeff Bradley told the Independent Colquhoun was the biggest reason the Lincolns came away with their 13th consecutive win.

“The star was definitely Brogan (Colquhoun) for sure,” said Bradley. “I’m happy for him, but it’s not much of a surprise. It gives you a certain level of confidence for sure, and not only that, I’m sure it gives the guys in front of him a little bit of guilt when they’re not playing well, not that we played poorly against Waterloo, but it’s nice to know that you’re going to be safe back there. When you have to step it up a notch and you see your goalie’s doing everything he can to keep you in the game, you start playing a little guilty, which can be good.”

Bradley added he was pleased with how his team battled back after a feisty opening frame from the visiting Siskins.

“I was really happy with how we played. I certainly think we competed hard. We were better with the puck. We were really good defensively. It’s always nice to get a shutout. I thought we rebounded really well after the first. Although they did put up a lot of shots, there weren’t many that were dangerous. We were keeping them to the outside.

“It’s not that we got pushed around in the first, but Waterloo definitely came in trying to put us on our heels a bit,” Bradley continued. “But, in the second and third periods, we were definitely the aggressors, and we had some huge hits. I think that built some momentum for us, and they unravelled a little bit.”

Waterloo outshot St. Marys 17-9 in the opening 20 minutes, but the Lincolns took control of the shot clock in the second, outshooting the Siskins 12-7 in the middle stanza. It was in the second period that Jack Clarke finally found the game’s first goal, which also ended up being the last, when he whacked a bouncing past goaltender Brock Grein. Blake Elzinga and Declan Ready picked up the helpers.

Clarke, along with Chase McDougall and Devun Colebrook, were praised for their impact on the game.

“I think that’s a game where guys like Jack (Clarke), Chase (McDougall) and Devun (Colebrook) up front specifically could really turn the game in our favour,” Bradley said. “They compete and they’re not scared at all. They are heart-and-soul guys, tip-of-the-spear type of guys. We really wish we could have had these guys last year, and we had Chase as a 16 year old, but he’s reached a better comfort level with more experience in the league. So, being able to have those three, they’re a huge part of our identity.”

Bradley also had high praise for three members of the Lincolns’ blueline – Cam Kean, Luke McMillan and James MacGregor.

“Cam (Kean), Luke (McMillan) and James (MacGregor) were unbelievable for us,” Bradley said. “You look at Luke, he dislocates his finger halfway through the game, misses one shift, gets it put back into place and finishes the game. He’s a warrior. All three of those guys are warriors. We need warriors like that, and thankfully, we have those in spades. Luke and James may not always jump off the page, but I haven’t seen rookies play like that on the back end for us since I’ve been here, and I can’t think of seeing it when I was coaching in London either.

“And then with Cam, he can do it all. He does whatever he can to help us win. We’re on the ice almost every day, but that’s not enough for him, and he’s at the gym every day as well. Cam is a beast. There’s a poise and maturity with Cam that reminds me of Adam Barkley. They are different players, but they can both control the game, and there’s no panic at all. Having a veteran guy like that who looks like a 30-year-old man amongst kids is certainly a luxury.”

Though viewed largely as a positive, the Lincolns continue to see some struggles on the powerplay, which the bench boss emphasized as a part of the team’s game they need to get back in order.

“Whether it’s one unit or the other, they play the same system. It’s just a matter of if they’re willing to execute it or not. In the game against Strathroy (on Jan. 17), we scored three goals on the powerplay, and I think the difference between that game and this game against Waterloo was our willingness to execute, and we didn’t show that against Waterloo at all.

“We had a game plan,” Bradley added. “We had a meeting before the game about our breakouts, faceoffs and in-zone, and we didn’t execute any of it. It was uncharacteristic for us in that guys who don’t typically try to do their own thing were trying to do their own thing. The five-on-three was a good example of that where we were basically just playing shinny, and it wasn’t effective whatsoever.”