General manager Warren Nye was busy this past weekend trying to bolster St. Marys Lincolns’ defence corps before the Jan. 10 OHA roster freeze.
Nye obtained big blue-liner Brendon Merritt from Lambton Shores Predators, and was hoping to add another veteran defenceman from the Midwestern Conference’s Listowel Cyclones prior to midnight Tuesday.
The Lincs’ GM told the Journal Argus Sunday that he acquired the 20-year-old Merritt for forward Cale Duberry and cash.
Merritt was second in Preds’ team scoring with 14 goals, 44 points and 41 penalty minutes in 36 games. The 6 ft., 3 inch, 225 lb. Brantford native was used as a forward by Lambton Shores, but will play defence for St. Marys, Nye said.
Ironically, Merritt picked up two assists—including one on the game winner—against Lincolns in a 3-2 overtime win Saturday night. He was in his second full season with the Predators.
Duberry, meanwhile, was in his rookie season with the Lincs, and was sometimes a healthy scratch. The 17-year-old right winger, from London, had two goals, nine points and 49 penalty minutes in 29 games.

•In an interview with Jamie Baker last week, the Lincolns’ head coach said he’d like to see his team generate more scoring opportunities going down the stretch drive. He said shooting the puck more and driving to the net could accomplish that.
“We need to get more pucks to net, and go hard to the net, and not worry about all the pretty plays,” Baker said.
“We’re a few points from being in third place, but also a few points from being in eighth,” Baker said looking at the very tight Western Conference standings.
“We’d like to get back to our winning ways. In the last four or five games, we’ve played pretty well. We’ve beat London and Sarnia before Christmas, and we lost to Stratford in overtime (on Dec. 30), so we’ve shown that we can play with the top teams.
“We need to get a little more consistent and be peaking at the right time moving into playoffs because that’s when it counts.”

•Lincs’ captain Sean Consitt said it was a good start to the 2012 stretch drive, getting three of a possible four points this past weekend.
“Hopefully this win tonight gets us on track,” he said following Friday’s 4-2 victory over LaSalle. “We’re in a lot of one-goal games, but we haven’t been winning a lot of them.
“Doddzie (goalie Greg Dodds) played strong tonight, and with him back, hopefully we can get behind him and just ride him. We always play well when he’s in net; he gives us that extra confidence.”
The 19-year-old Dodds missed a month with a groin injury.

•Mitch Berzins was honoured as Lincolns’ player-of-the-month for December prior to last Friday’s home game against LaSalle.
The 18-year-old centreman, from Ingersoll, had six goals, eight assists and 14 points last month.
After this past weekend, the hard-working Berzins (14-26) and Sean Consitt (13-27) are tied for the team scoring lead with 40 points apiece.

•The Finnbilt ‘BB’ Novices were guests of the Lincolns last Friday night. All the players got a tour of the Lincs’ dressing room following the game. The visit was arranged by rookie forward Tyson Baker, a St. Marys minor hockey graduate who played eight seasons in the SMMHA ranks.

•Brady Wiffen scored his team-high 18th goal last Friday night against LaSalle. The sophomore centre said he’d like to reach the 25-goal plateau before the end of the regular schedule.

•LaSalle GM Kevin McIntosh said his decision to release head coach John Nelson just before Christmas was one of the “toughest” of his life.
“We just felt that discipline was lacking,” McIntosh said last Friday night. “Johnny was a good guy and was with us four years, and he’s a good coach. We did have some issues, and we had no pressure from ownership to do it, but we’re all hired to be fired.
“I hated to do it; it was one of the toughest Sunday afternoons I’ve had in a long time, but it had to be done.”
Vipers are 3-3 since the coaching change. McIntosh added that he hoped to add one more tough defenceman and a forward before the Jan. 10 roster freeze.

•Lincolns continue to have one of the best powerplays in the GOJHL.
Lincs have scored 51 times with the man advantage, tops in the Western Conference by one over Leamington Flyers (50) and two over St. Thomas Stars (49).
Cambridge Winter Hawks, of the Midwestern loop, lead the GOJHL with 53, following by Stratford Cullitons (52). Niagara Falls Canucks lead the Golden Horseshoe division with 51.

•After this past weekend, Lincolns have 14 regular-season games remaining—seven at home and seven on the road.

•Former Lincs’ captain Dan Wildfong (1992-95) is now in his fifth season as head coach of Texas Brahmas of the Central Hockey League.
Going into this past weekend, Brahmas were in fourth place in the Berry Conference with a 14-11-6 record.
The 36-year-old Wildfong, a Clinton area native, led Texas to the CHL title in the spring of 2009.
Wildfong had 45 goals and 107 points in his final season in St. Marys (1994-95). Following that season, the feisty winger accepted a NCAA Division 1 scholarship at Colgate in upstate New York.