Warriors lose in Game 7 to Lincolns, ending their run for Sutherland Cup
- Apr 23
- 6 min read
The Stratford Hunter Steel Warriors’ unforgettable 2025-2026 season ended with a Game 7 defeat to the St. Marys Lincolns in the GOHL Western Conference Championship on April 21.
Before a full house at the Pyramid Recreation Centre in St. Marys, with more than 1,450 of both Warriors and Lincolns fans present, Max Wildfong from Cruz Ferguson and Coen Galbraith scored the opening goal for the Warriors with 6:38 remaining in the first period.
Throughout the first two-plus periods, Stratford kept control of the Lincolns through strong defence and solid goaltending by Noah Bender. The Warriors nearly doubled their lead midway through the second period when Wildfong’s shot from the right circle in the St. Marys zone missed by less than an inch, hitting the crossbar and nearly crossing the goal line, but the puck stayed out.
Grady Murphy from Jonas Schmidt and Quinn Kipfer put the Warriors ahead 51 seconds into the third period, making it 2-0. The visitors maintained control until the middle of the final period when the Lincolns started their comeback. Despite the hard-fought effort by Bender and the defence, the Warriors were dealt the cruel twist of fate in the midway mark of the third period, and in a span of two minutes and six seconds, goals by Lincoln Moore, James MacGregor and Ethan Weir gave the home team the lead.
The Warriors pushed for the equalizer and replaced Bender with an extra attacker with 1:45 remaining, but goaltender Colby Booth-Housego and the St. Marys defence managed to hold on. St. Marys sealed the victory and the conference championship with an empty-net goal from Camden Kean with nine seconds remaining.
Head coach Dave Williams was disappointed by the Game 7 loss but looked back on the team’s growth during the season and playoffs with optimism.
“Yeah, I'm immensely proud of the guys. To get to Game 7 and lose is kind of gut-wrenching for the guys, because we see how much time and effort those coaches put into it throughout the week. They want to win more than anybody else in the rink. They want to win, you know, for each other,” Williams said.
“It's a tough finish to what I thought was a really good season. We had lots of growth, and it was really exciting to come to the rink throughout the season, but even more exciting to come the last six weeks here as we pushed through the playoffs.”
More details about the outcome of Game 7 and the team’s season review will be in next week’s edition of the Times
The Warriors put in a hard-fought battle, both in that game and the ones that came before.
The GOHL Western Conference Championship series between the Warriors and the Lincolns continued this week with Game 3 in St. Marys.
Stratford started the game with a 2-0 series advantage, having won six in a row and seven of their last eight games.
Blake Elzinga started the scoring for the Lincolns on the powerplay at 6:14 in the first period. St. Marys continued their strong second period for the second straight game. Devun Colebrook extended the lead to 2-0 at 6:03. Just over a minute later, Colin Slattery scored an unassisted goal, getting the Warriors on the scoreboard.
St. Marys took a two-goal lead with a powerplay goal from Kean at 9:31, and Lincoln Moore extended it with another powerplay score with 8:36 remaining in the middle frame. Following Moore's goal, Stratford's starting netminder Bender was replaced by Gage Hurst. Bender had conceded four goals on 18 shots over more than 31 minutes of play.
Despite the goaltending switch, it didn’t stop the Lincolns’ offensive onslaught, as Chase McQueen-Spence put the home side up 5-1 before the end of the period. At the midway mark of the third period, Owen Kalp cemented the victory as the Warriors dropped Game 3 in a convincing 6-1 defeat.
Less than 24 hours after their rough loss in Game 3, the Warriors aimed to recover and solidify their hold on the series at the William Allman Memorial Arena.
After a scoreless first 20 minutes, the Lincolns took the lead with Colebrook's goal at 5:05 of the second period. Kipfer replied for Stratford, scoring his tenth postseason goal with 5:57 remaining in the middle frame. Drew Hodge from Ferguson and Galbraith put the Warriors ahead 2-1 less than four minutes into the third period. However, the Lincolns equalized in the middle of the third after Moore seized the loose puck in front of the net and potted it in just before the whistle.
After a back-and-forth overtime, Kalp capitalized on a rebound to score the game-winning goal at 9:46. Bender made 37 saves in the loss during Game 4.
The Warriors travelled back to the Pyramid Recreation Centre for Game 5 on April 17.
In front of 1,445 fans, St. Marys initially took the lead 62 seconds into the game with a goal from Moore. Slattery equalized for the Warriors on the powerplay, assisted by Galbraith and Schmidt, midway through the first period. Callum McAuley responded with a powerplay goal for the Lincolns with 5:01 remaining in the first. However, Dax Vader scored under 90 seconds later, with McQuen Haylock and Slattery providing the assists, bringing the game to a tie at the end of the first period.
Moore’s second goal of the game with 6:53 remaining was the only goal scored in the second period, giving the St. Marys Lincolns a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes. Kipfer scored his 11th playoff goal from Joseph Curtin and Slattery with 7:19 remaining in the third period, tying the game.
The game went into overtime again in the series, marking the second consecutive time. However, the Warriors turned things around and took the series lead once more. On a counterattack from their own zone, Rhyse Brown and Dominic Marshall coordinated a play that allowed Hodge to score the game-winning goal 4:35 into overtime.
Hodge emphasized the significance of winning that game for the team, as it put them back on top in the series and gave them the advantage of playing at home, a challenging venue for opponents.
“That was just a great goal for me. It was just a nice setup. I ran a quick turnaround, three-on-two, and Dom (Marshall) just made a nice pass, let it over to me,” Hodge said.
“Just winning that game was huge, being back on top, in the series, and coming and playing in our home barn, and it's a hard place to play, and this is where we want to be in the series.”
Marshall notes that the locker room atmosphere was upbeat, with everyone looking forward to the next game. He thinks returning to the aggressive style of the first two games is essential to clinching the series on Sunday.
“I was a huge win for us. Obviously, that's what we're taking a lead in the series, and that's just exactly what we're looking for. Brownie (Brown) came down the around from the back of the net and hit me, and I didn't have a D on me, so I just kind of started taking it up the ice and got my head up. Colin took his guy to the net, and Tito (Hodge) was all alone, so I just fired it over to Drew, and he put her on the top corner. So that's … that was a pretty good goal,” Marshall said.
“It's huge. I mean, everyone, everyone's pumped. Everyone wants the same thing. So we're all ready to come out tomorrow and then work our hardest. So we're all super excited.”
Game 6 was held at the Allman Arena on April 18. In front of 1,694 fans, the Warriors aimed to secure their spot in the Sutherland Cup Championship series against the Cambridge Redhawks, who had swept the St. Catherines Falcons in the Eastern Conference Championship on April 17.
James MacGregor started the scoring for the Lincolns with 7:31 remaining in the first period. Ferguson answered for the Warriors with 5:30 left in the opening period, but Jacob Montesi scored to give the Lincolns the lead with 3:13 remaining in the first.
After a scoreless second period, the Lincolns extended their lead to 3-1 early in the third on Hodkinson's goal. Vader, assisted by Haylock and Lucas Minard, brought the Warriors back within one. Oliver Lacko then increased the Lincolns' lead to 4-2 with 8:33 remaining.
The Warriors pulled Bender to the bench for an extra attacker, and Kipfer’s shot with 2:46 remaining brought the Warriors within one goal. They again used the extra attacker with 2:38 left to try for an equalizer, but the Lincolns secured the win with an empty-net goal from Moore at 1:02. Voortman added an insurance goal with 31 seconds to force a Game 7 in St. Marys.
The full story about the series finale will be published in next week’s issue of the Times.
GOHL Western Conference final results
Game 1 – Stratford 4 St. Marys 2
Game 2 – St. Marys 6 Stratford 7
Game 3 – Stratford 1 St. Marys 6
Game 4 – St. Marys 3 Stratford 2 (OT)
Game 5 – Stratford 4 St. Marys 3 (OT)
Game 6 - St. Marys 6 Stratford 3
Game 7 - Stratford 2 St. Marys 4
St. Marys Lincolns take the series, 4-3
Comments