Lincs claw back against Kings; near-perfect in Listowel

Blake Elzinga celebrates against the glass with numerous young fans after scoring the game-tying goal in the St. Marys Lincolns’ 7-4 victory on Nov. 14 against the Komoka Kings.

By Spencer Seymour

After salvaging two points in a topsy-turvy game against the Komoka Kings on Nov. 14, the St. Marys Lincolns bounced back with one of the best performances of the season on Nov. 16 against the Listowel Cyclones.

A first period that was largely controlled by the Lincolns saw them jump out to a 3-0 lead against Komoka, with goals by Jack Clarke, a powerplay tally and his seventh of the year, as well as Lincoln Moore’s ninth of the campaign and the first goal as a Lincoln for Oliver Lacko.

Lacko’s goal came after a dash by the freshly acquired Atley Rogers, who was brought to St. Marys from the Strathroy Rockets. Rogers described an incredible experience following his Lincolns’ debut.

“This is an amazing group,” said Rogers. “I’ve only had one practice, but it’s felt like home. I’ve really enjoyed my first couple of days here and it’s a great team to back it up, so I’m looking forward to the future and the rest of the year with these guys. I always come into this barn, and I hated sitting in that visitor’s bench. I hated hearing the horn, but when you get on the right side of it, it’s pretty special to be a part of.”

Head coach Jeff Bradley was thrilled with Rogers’ performance, noting how well he complemented his linemates, Chase McDougall and Jack Clarke.

“I’ve coached against Atley (Rogers) for a few years now, but I don’t really get a chance to look at him and watch him closely, so to see him playing with Chase (McDougall) and Jack (Clarke), I think it added an extra layer of skill to that line. Sometimes with skilled guys, you worry about how they are away from the puck and if they really care about the defensive side of things, and we talked to Atley about some things before the game that were important to us, and he executed very well, and we were really happy with Atley.”

The Lincolns also added 19-year-old defenceman Cam Kean, who picked up an assist in his Lincs’ debut against Komoka. According to general manager Pat Powers, the skillsets and experience of both players add another layer of ability to the Lincolns’ lineup.

“Atley (Rogers) adds some scoring depth,” Powers told the Independent. “His speed and tenacity are both benefits, along with his experience in junior hockey. And with Cam (Kean), it’s nice to add a right-shot defenceman who brings a physical presence. He moves pucks hard and makes a great first pass.”

While the first period was a solid start to the game for St. Marys, the second period was anything but, as the speedy Kings took advantage of the Lincolns losing their structure and cutting the deficit to just one goal by the second intermission thanks to goals from Mason Landry and Nash Jacobs.

Bradley noted the puck management wasn’t up to par in the middle frame.

“We started turning pucks over where we shouldn’t be doing it. Komoka is very fast and their fast players like to join in on the rush, and we talked about it in our pregame meeting. Our forecheck is our bread and butter, but at times, we got into some bad habits. After the first phase of our forecheck, we were quitting on the second and we can’t do that because we allowed a team we were beating back into the game.”

It then took the Kings just three minutes and 33 seconds in the third period to score two more, with the Lincolns going from having a 3-0 lead to trailing 4-3. However, the Lincolns managed to refocus with Blake Elzinga tying the game at the 6:51 mark of the third followed by a go-ahead goal by Devun Colebrook around two and a half minutes later.

While their ability to get back to their gameplan and avoid losing the game was a positive, Bradley made it clear the team’s standard is to not squander a 3-0 lead.

“We dug in when we were down and started playing really well once they scored that fourth goal, but I don’t think we get credit for doing that because we put ourselves in that position to have to come back,” said Bradley. “There are definitely areas we have to clean up because if we start playing like that against top teams, we’re not going to be able to come back. I hope it’s a lesson learned.”

Chase MacQueen-Spence one-timed home an insurance marker before Owen Voortman hit a late-game empty netter to seal a 7-4 victory for the Lincolns.

Lincs’ outstanding performance secures shutout win over Cyclones

The Lincolns didn’t make the same mistakes in their trip to Listowel on Nov. 16, turning in what the bench boss described as one of the team’s best outings of the year and earning a 4-0 victory.

“I thought that was one of our more complete games this season,” said Bradley. “I loved how we competed. I loved our attention to detail. I loved how they worked hard to be on the right side of their guys and right side of the puck. We sent our pre-scout in the morning and then talked about it before the game, and I thought they did everything they could to execute what we asked them to. At times, that’s a lot to put on them, and you sometimes throw a lot at the wall and hope something sticks, but in that game, everything stuck.”

The excellent performance came against a Cyclones squad that, despite their place near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, remains one of the most structured and well-coached teams in the entire league.

“We look forward to playing Listowel every year because of the way they’re coached,” said Bradley. “We know it’s not going to be like a game of shinny, and honestly, it’s the furthest thing from a game of shinny because we know how organized they are. We know we’re going to have to get our thinking caps on and it makes it more fun for the coaching staff, and a very interesting game to be a coach in.”

Declan Ready buried his third of the season to open the scoring halfway through the first period, the only goal of the first period.

The floodgates finally opened in the second, with three goals in the final seven minutes and 34 seconds. Elzinga fired home his sixth of the year and MacQueen-Spence, who delivered one of his best games of the season, buried a pair.

Bradley was thrilled with his entire team’s play, but specifically mentioned the line of MacQueen-Spence, Moore and Voortman for rebounding after a less-than-stellar showing against the Kings.

“Our whole team played great, but I thought it was great for our top line to step up the way they did,” Bradley said. “I challenged those three to be better at five-on-five. I didn’t like the way they managed the puck and some of the back-checking (on Nov. 14), but against Listowel, I thought they were great. That was, to me, their best game as a line since the beginning of the season, and they know we need that out of them because if that line stays together and plays the way they’re capable of, then we can keep the rest of the lines together because we really like the rest of our lines.”

The Lincolns limited the Cyclones to just three shots on net in the third to close out the 4-0 win, and Brogan Colquhoun made 25 saves in the game to pick up his first Greater Ontario Hockey League (GOHL) shutout.