Lincs split home-and-home against Siskins; Lacko impresses in debut

Chase McDougall beats Brock Greign on the five-hole to score the first goal of the game during the St. Marys Lincolns’ 4-2 win over the Waterloo Siskins on Nov. 7.

By Spencer Seymour

In a home-and-home series on Nov. 7 and Nov. 9, the St. Marys Lincolns and Waterloo Siskins picked up right where they left off in their first-round playoff this past spring.

Head coach Jeff Bradley called the atmosphere of the Lincolns’ 4-2 win on Nov. 7 “playoff-like.”

“Waterloo is a well-coached team, they work really hard and they don’t give up much,” said Bradley. “They play really tight in the defensive zone, so it forces us to battle through sticks and bodies to get out front of the net. They’re very hard on pucks and on faceoffs. I thought that was a really good test for us, and they forced us to really compete and battle. It was a game we needed and I think it’s going to be really good for us. You’re constantly playing really good teams in our conference, so us having to be on our toes and make sure our game is in order is hopefully going to help us be ready to have a successful playoff run.”

The game remained scoreless until the 12:58 mark of the second period when Chase McDougall put home a second-chance opportunity to give St. Marys a 1-0 lead. The rebound came after a point shot by the newly acquired Oliver Lacko, a German-born Slovakian forward who was acquired by the Lincolns last week from the National Collegiate Development Conference’s (NCDC) Idaho Falls Spud Kings.

General manager Pat Powers said the addition of the lanky, two-way centre, who has represented Slovakia in international play, brings several vital intangibles to the Lincolns’ lineup.

“Oliver (Lacko) is a high-IQ player who will make others around him better,” Powers told the Independent. “He has played high-level hockey through his international experiences, which will pay dividends in our pursuit of a championship.”

Lacko, who ended the night with two assists to earn player of the game honours, received high praise from the bench boss.

“Oliver is a very intelligent, good kid, and obviously a really good player,” said Bradley. “He works hard and does a lot of little things really well. You can tell that he’s been taught very well. Defensively, there’s an instance where he picked up a guy on the back check, and that’s something that we’ve had to bring up at times with our team, whereas he just did it. He moves the puck well, he’s got a good shot and he’s perfect for that bumper spot on our spread powerplay unit.”

Lacko himself was glowing post-game as he discussed his first game in a Lincolns’ jersey.

“The boys welcomed me really nicely, and that made me comfortable, so I just tried to play hard, get to the net and pass to the guy open and help score. This, for me, is a changing point in my season right now, and from now on, I just want to keep improving.

“It was great,” Lacko continued, touching on the atmosphere while playing at the Pyramid Recreation Centre (PRC). “I loved the fans. When they cheered me on, on the ice, and when we got to the fist bumps after scoring, (the feeling) was like goosebumps.”

Four-and-a-half minutes later, Ryan Hodkinson registered his sixth of the year, but less than two minutes later, Nolan Macey found the back of the net for Waterloo, cutting the St. Marys lead to one heading into the third.

In the third, a game-tying goal by David Bodzai was quickly countered by the eighth of the season for Chase MacQueen-Spence.

The powerplay unit on which Lacko played in the bumper position also included Hodkinson, Blake Elzinga, Ethan Weir and Owen Kalp, who were responsible for an insurance marker midway through the third, with Kalp firing home his fifth of the season.

Despite not having a point, the game was the best performance in recent memory for the highly skilled Ethan Weir, who Bradley said gave the Lincolns exactly what they need from the 2023 second-round pick of the Kingston Frontenacs.

“Ethan (Weir) was outstanding. He really competed hard and he was thoroughly engaged. If he plays with that level of engagement, he’ll be around the puck a little bit more, and with the skill he has, we want him to be around the puck. He’s just such a huge weapon for us. We expect Ethan to put up points, and he will do that when he plays like (he did on Friday).”

Offensive well goes dry as Siskins shut Lincs out

Despite controlling the majority of the play, the Lincolns couldn’t solve the Siskins’ stingy defensive play and an outstanding effort by goaltender Brock Grein on Nov. 9, with Waterloo blanking St. Marys 2-0.

The Siskins outshot the Lincolns in the opening 20 minutes by a 14-11 deficit, but much of the puck possession was still controlled by St. Marys. However, despite some great goaltending by Brogan Colquhoun, including an incredible save when Colquhoun dove back to keep the puck out after leaving the crease to play the puck, the Siskins took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission thanks to a goal by Liam King.

Assistant coach Mike Siddall noted the team still had plenty of confidence after the first 20 minutes.

“We had a really good feeling going into the first intermission,” Siddall said. “We thought we outplayed them all through the first period, but we kind of made our guys reflect and take a step back. It felt like we were all over them, but they did have a couple of high-end opportunities. They had a couple of odd-man rushes and high-danger opportunities that Brogan (Colquhoun) had to make 10-bell saves on. So as much as it felt like we were in the driver’s seat, there was still lots of stuff that we can clean up.”

Unfortunately, despite doing a better job preventing high-danger scoring chances in the final 40 minutes, the Lincs couldn’t find the back of the net, while a highlight reel goal by Ulysses Lombardi and a 43-save effort by Grein lifted the Siskins to the 2-0 victory.

“It does get frustrating, especially on the big ice, when you think you’re never going to score a goal and you’re down by two late in a game,” said Siddall. “You’ve just got to put your work boots on and keep going at it. Maybe not be as fancy at time, look to bang one in, or hope one goes in off your butt at some point, and make life difficult on the goalie.”

Siddall added the team’s efforts to increase their offensive production have been an ongoing work in progress.

“We took a deep dive at some video, and looking at the stats, it was taking us 18 shots to get a goal a couple of weeks ago. We’ve focused in practice on scoring more offensively and some tactics to try to reduce the number of shots it was taking us to get a goal. I thought we did a good job and started to get some more goals, but we have to keep focusing on that and making an effort to get to those dirty areas, play with skill and play with pace.”

One bright spot for the Lincolns was the line of Elzinga, Hodkinson and Declan Ready, who once again delivered a strong showing. Siddall mentioned Elzinga in particular, who has found his stride after a slow start to the year.

“Blake (Elzinga) is playing really well right now,” Siddall said. “He is lights-out right now. He’s physical, he’s engaged, he’s moving his feet. I think he’s understanding that he doesn’t need to beat guys one-on-one all the time. He can chip a puck in and have confidence in his ability that he can out-muscle or out-work guys down low.”

The trio of Elzinga, Hodkinson and Ready, according to Siddall, have meshed well together thanks to their versatility of skills.

“Declan (Ready) has really found a home in that line, and he’s making that engine run smoothly. Playing with two high-skill guys like Ryan (Hodkinson) and Blake is not an easy task, but he goes out there, retrieves pucks and puts himself in good areas.

“Ryan feels pressure really well,” Siddall continued. “He sucks a player in and then spins off and creates space that way, or he can fish pucks out with his long reach. You pair that with Blake, who can go in and get the puck, and has a really good shot. For Declan, who, as a young player, is still trying to figure out his game, to be as tenacious as he is and work as hard as he does, it makes all of their traits work really well together.”

The Lincolns’ next action is Nov. 14, when they host the Komoka Kings on Alumni Night at the PRC, where the Lincolns and the St. Marys Lincolns’ Alumni Group will be honouring the 1975-1976 Lincolns’ team. They then go to Listowel on Nov. 16 for an afternoon clash against the Cyclones.