Lincs fall in heart-shattering Game 7 to Maroons

Luca Spagnolo tucks home a shorthanded goal during Game 7 of the Western Conference Final against the Chatham Maroons. The Maroons ultimately won the game 4-3.

By Spencer Seymour

The St. Marys Lincolns went out with a bang.

In one of the most exciting-yet-heartbreaking games of the entire season, the St. Marys Lincolns were eliminated from the Sutherland Cup Playoffs in seven games by the Chatham Maroons. With the win, the Maroons became the first team to hoist the newly minted Joe Thornton Trophy as Western Conference Champions, advancing to the Sutherland Cup Finals against the St. Catharines Falcons.

Head coach Jeff Bradley told the Independent his team turned in a strong performance in Game 7, but ultimately, fate was not on their side.

“I thought we played a really good game, but Chatham played one goal better and forced us to play catch-up, and we weren’t able to do that, unfortunately,” said Bradley. “It obviously felt horrible, watching the players, the coaches, Pat (Powers), Brandon (Boyd) and all of our supporters in that moment, knowing we were so close and knowing it could have been a really special moment for us at home, and we just couldn’t quite get the job done.”

Kyle Morey scored the game’s first goal at the 15:31 mark of the opening period on the Lincolns’ one and only powerplay of the night. The Maroons had just one man advantage as well, which came in the second frame but, rather than the Maroons capitalizing on it, the Lincolns potted a shorthanded tally to go ahead by two goals when Jaden Lee set up Luca Spagnolo for his seventh goal of the post-season.

Over the next five minutes and four seconds, however, the Maroons clawed back and got goals from Jaxen Fortier-Smith and Carter Chadwick to tie the game at two apiece.

The game stayed deadlocked until a shot from the point by Josh Harding snuck by Lincolns’ netminder Colby Booth-Housego. Almost exactly five minutes later, Connor Hunt tipped a shot from the point past Booth-Housego to give Chatham a two-goal lead of their own.

Harding and Fortier-Smith’s goals were the first career playoff goals for each defenceman.

Former Maroons’ rearguard Owen Kalp snapped home his third of the playoffs with six minutes and 41 seconds left in regulation to cut the lead back down to one, but despite a late-game flurry by the Lincolns, they came just short, unable to tie the game as Gannon Hunter ended with 30 saves to backstop Chatham to the Game 7 victory and the Western Conference title.

Despite the bitter-tasting defeat, Bradley acknowledged the Lincs’ history-making season was filled with positives.

“It’s hard to be better than we were this season. We were really good. The record we had and where we finished in the conference and in the league were obviously outstanding. But when you’re in that final four, there are three other great teams, and sometimes one goal separates you, and you can’t guarantee that goal will be in your favour.

“We’ve been in the conference finals three years in a row,” Bradley continued. “There is no other team that can claim that. You have to cherish all the fun we had this year. Even though this is a heartbreaking way to end, this season had a lot of success for us, and we’re going to try to take another step forward.”

Bradley also expressed gratitude to the community for supporting the team throughout their 2024-2025 campaign.

“Getting to play as much meaningful hockey as we have is a privilege, and doing so in St. Marys makes it an even bigger privilege for our players and our staff. We hope the fans enjoyed watching it, and we know they certainly gave us a boost. We deeply appreciate the support we’ve received. Our players gave our fans plenty to cheer about, and we hope the fans enjoyed the ride this year.”