FOREST - St. Marys Lincolns have been involved in 10 one-goal decisions in their last 14 Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League games—dating all the way back to Nov. 27.
It demonstrates once again how close the teams match up in the tight Western Conference this season.
Here Saturday night, Lincs dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the last-place Lambton Shores Predators in front of about 325 spectators. Preds’ winning goal came with less than one second left in the five-minute extra period.
Despite the loss, St. Marys coach Jamie Baker was pleased that his team picked up three of a possible four points on the weekend.
“We ended the (2011) year that way, too, beating Sarnia and getting a point in the overtime loss in Stratford,” he pointed out. “Now in the New Year, we’ve started by taking three out of four points. We just have to keep grabbing our points when we can, and keep building towards the playoffs.”
Lincs only four points out of second
After weekend action, Lincolns (17-14-6) sit alone in fifth place, but are just four points out of second spot.
St. Thomas Stars (21-14-2) moved into a second-place tie with London Nationals (21-13-2) on Sunday. Both clubs have 44 points. Everybody’s chasing front-running Sarnia Legionnaires (24-9-2).
Leamington Flyers (19-12-3) are in fourth spot with 41 points, just more than the Lincs. The two teams play this Friday night in St. Marys.
Sixth-place Strathroy Rockets (18-16-3) moved to within a point of Lincolns with a 6-1 road victory Sunday over Chatham Maroons.
Dodds strong in return
Last Friday night at the Pyramid Rec. Centre, Greg Dodds’ return to the Lincolns’ net was a successful one as St. Marys skated to a 4-2 victory over LaSalle Vipers in front of about 375 fans.
Lincs played a solid defensive game around their No. 1 puck-stopper.
Dodds made 26 saves, including several big ones when Vipers threatened to tie the score or pull to within a goal. A groin injury had kept the 19-year-old goalie sidelined for the past month.
“We got good goaltending when we needed it tonight, and defensively we seemed to keep things on the outside and pushed them back out,” coach Baker said.
“You have to keep winning if you want to stay up there in the standings. You kind of watch what everybody else is doing, but it really comes down to what you do yourself. All you can do is take one game and one team at a time and try and go out and get two points.”
It was Lincolns’ third straight home-ice win over the Vipers this season.
Upcoming games: Lincs have a couple of tough games this coming weekend. After hosting Leamington on Friday at 7:45 p.m., they head to Strathroy Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. face-off with the Rockets.

PREDATORS 3 - LINCOLNS 2 (OT)
(Saturday, Jan. 7 in Forest)
The game: With the score tied 1-1, Lambton Shores took the lead with a shorthanded goal at 14:08 of the second period. On the same Lincolns’ powerplay, Reid Oliver tied it again just 36 seconds later.
After the third period went scoreless, veteran Adam Arsenault emerged the hero for the Predators. His winning goal came in the final second of overtime.
“There was only 0.1 on the clock,” coach Baker reported. “There was a battle for the puck on the sideboards, and then it went to the high slot. Their player threw it at the net; it was a nice shot, top shelf.”
Period scores: Teams were tied 1-1 after the first period, 2-2 after 40 minutes, and 2-2 after three periods.
Goal scorers: Ryan Trottier and Kody Ryan scored for Lambton Shores (13-23-1) in regulation. Tyson Baker and Reid Oliver (his 13th) each had a goal and an assist for St. Marys.
Penalty picture: Lincs took 16 of the 26 penalty minutes. Preds went 0-for-8 on the powerplay.
Shots on net: Overall, Lambton Shores out-shot St. Marys 41-30, including 2-0 in OT. Rookie Craig Wood (3-4-3) made 38 saves in going the distance for Lincolns.
Season series: Lincs now lead the season series 3-2.

LINCOLNS 4 - VIPERS 2
(Friday, Jan. 6 in St. Marys)
The game: After the teams traded first-period goals, Brady Wiffen’s powerplay goal early in the middle frame put Lincolns ahead to stay.
Mitch McIntosh fired the prettiest goal of the night, giving St. Marys a 3-1 lead at 15:07. He snapped a shot into the top corner after being sprung into the clear by linemate Bryan McCauley, and the goal would stand up as the winner. Centre Eric Noel scored his second of the night in the final minute of the period to pull LaSalle to within a goal.
After a big stop by Dodds early in the third, preventing the visitors from tying it, Mike Mandarelli scored on the return rush at 6:41 to give Lincs a little insurance.
Vipers finished the game on a powerplay, and also pulled their goalie for a 6-on-4 man advantage, but they couldn’t get another puck past Dodds.
Period scores: Teams were tied 1-1 after the first period; Lincs led 3-2 after 40 minutes.
Goal scorers: Calvin Penney (his 14th), Brady Wiffen (his 18th), Mitch McIntosh (his 17th) and Mike Mandarelli scored for St. Marys. Defenceman Kurt Lavis chipped in two assists.
Eric Noel scored both goals for seventh-place LaSalle (16-18-2), one on a powerplay.
Vipers better at home: Vipers are 11-5-1 at home, but only 5-13-1 on the road.
Penalty picture: Lincolns took 27 of the 52 minutes in penalties. Two fighting majors were handed out in the second period.
Shots on net: Overall, LaSalle out-shot St. Marys 28-27, including 13-8 in the third period. Dodds is now 12-6-2.
Vipers’ goalie Jordan Dekort, 16, was one of Team Ontario’s goalies for the 2012 World Under-17 Challenge in Windsor.
Season series: Lincs now lead the season series 3-2. Every game to date has been won by the home team. The teams play again Wed., Feb. 1 in LaSalle.