Lincs’ 16-game win streak ends with back-to-back losses

Jakob Drobny fires a shot on goal during the St. Marys Lincolns’ 5-2 loss to the LaSalle Vipers on Feb. 6. Drobny, who has points in two of his last three games, was one of few bright spots in the Lincolns’ winless weekend, which also featured a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Stratford Warriors on Feb. 8.

By Spencer Seymour

The warts and inconsistencies that had been popping up in the last few weeks finally bit the St. Marys Lincolns, who dropped back-to-back games against the LaSalle Vipers on Feb. 6 and the Stratford Warriors on Feb. 8.

After the Lincolns escaped the first period ahead 2-0, with goals by Chase MacQueen-Spence and Owen Voortman, the Vipers completely took the game over, scoring five unanswered goals to win 5-2, three of which came with LaSalle on the powerplay.

Vaughn Barr was solid in between the pipes, making 35 saves.

Associate coach Mike Herman told the Independent the Vipers were far more intense than the Lincolns.

“I thought LaSalle came in with a playoff mentality and took it to us right off the bat, and we weren’t in the same mode and didn’t respond,” said Herman. “I think we were pretty fortunate to be up 2-0 after the first period because the overall tone of the period was they were physical and playing with a lot of intensity and focus, and we didn’t match that, and that was an indicator of a trend of the last few games.”

Herman explained how the lengthy unbeaten stretch the Lincolns were on heading into their game against the Vipers can lead to a team losing a bit of the edge that helped them begin such a hot streak.

“You get into a state of mind to go on a long run like we did, but over time, it’s easy to start not playing with the same details you had instilled when the run started,” Herman said. “It’s not unique to us. Your play starts to deteriorate but you’re still winning. None of us were overjoyed about how we were playing in our last three or four games of our winning streak, but I think Friday was the peak of it. Fortunately, we were a lot happier with how we played (in Stratford), especially in the second half of the game, where we started to get that desperation back in our game.”

After the Warriors jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the Lincolns’ visit to Stratford on Feb. 8, Jack Clarke tied the game in the final minute of the opening period on a one-timer set up by Voortman and Chase McDougall. However, for the second straight game, the second period was the beginning of the Lincolns’ downfall on the scoreboard, with two straight goals by Stratford to go up 3-1.

The Lincolns cut the lead back to one in the last minute of the second, with affiliate player Quinn Roberts potting his first career Greater Ontario Hockey League (GOHL) goal, which Herman noted was a bright spot for the team.

“The entire team loved it. We have a really good bunch of guys in terms of supporting these kids when they come and play for us and making them feel welcome and comfortable to play their game. Quinn (Roberts) had a really good game and showed he can compete at this level. He played like a seasoned guy in this league. I’m always impressed by the poise of these young guys when they come in. It can be difficult to feel comfortable with a bunch of older guys in a new setting with a higher level of play. He wasn’t afraid to make plays. He used his speed to disrupt them. He got involved physically a little bit, and he handled himself well defensively.”

Herman also cited the team’s goaltending trio and one of the team’s first-year defenceman as also being positives in their winless weekend.

“We’re getting outstanding goaltending from all three guys. We’ve given up a lot more shots over the last three weeks than what we have all season, so we’ve needed to lean on them a bit and they were put into a difficult situation. It was a situation that was unavoidable, but they’ve handled it like pros and they’re using the time between games to stay sharp. We have a real competition going on there with three good goaltenders that are acting like grownups.”

“There has been a growth in Jakob (Drobny) over the course of the season, but over the last month, it’s really started to click in with him,” Herman continued. “I thought he had an outstanding game (in Stratford). That’s a continuing trend with him, and if he keeps it up, we will have a really good player on our hands going into the playoffs. He’s an offensively driven player, but he’s learned how to defend and balance his offensive skills and put a priority on defence.”

An empty netter in the third sealed a 4-2 win for the Warriors. The loss resulted in the Lincolns heading into their game on Feb. 11 against the London Nationals sitting in third in the Western Conference, just one point back of Elmira and Chatham, who are tied for first.

While the two defeats are frustrating, Herman said the team has every capability of righting the ship quickly.

“You have to face some adversity,” said Herman. “Our play has been a little bit uneven, but we’ll get back to it. These guys have a lot of pride. We haven’t lost a lot this year, so it’s an experience we don’t like and we’re not familiar with. Getting out of it is the most important thing, and we do that by focusing on the process. Getting results is always important, but we’ve always preached that results come when you follow the process.”