Nats’ game plan handcuffs Lincolns in series
Pat Payton, Sports editor It was a case of two Western Ontario Hockey League teams going in opposite directions.
When analyzing the London Nationals’ sweep of the St. Marys Lincolns, certain things were quite evident.
A powerplay that went cold, mediocre goaltending, and a lack of discipline cost the Lincs dearly in the best-of-seven semi-final.
“We just didn’t stay out of the (penalty) box, at all,” Lincolns’ veteran Tyson DeJong said following Game 4. “Our powerplay wasn’t working; we just weren’t playing Lincoln hockey. That’s basically what it came down to. All of a sudden, it’s four games and it’s all over.”
On the other hand, everything seemed to go right for the Nats, but there
were good reasons for that. Barry Martinelli and his coaching staff put
together a solid game plan against the Lincolns, and the players executed
it—making very few mistakes in the series.
Nationals seemed to gain more confidence with each victory. They were a team
that didn’t win a game in St. Marys during the regular schedule, but won
twice at the Pyramid Centre in the playoffs.
“We got great leadership, and we had a lot of guys who worked hard to get
better every day,” Martinelli said. “In probably the last seven games, since
we lost the first game to Leamington (in the quarter-finals), I thought we
competed every shift in every period, and we battled for every puck. We
played really well as a group.
“You can say whatever you want about coaching, but at the end of the day
it’s about the players and how they execute.”
Goalie posts 1.75 G.A.A.
Another big factor was the excellent play of London’s Torrin Lauziere (8-2).
The 17-year-old goaltender posted a 1.75 goals-against average in the
series, and allowed just three goals in the final three games.
“Hats off to London; they did a helluva job,” Lincs’ coach Merlin Malinowski
said. “They played four strong games. They stayed focused and they stayed
disciplined, and congratulations to Barry and his coaching staff. They had
their team in order.
“I’ll tell you what, the winner from the Tecumseh-Strathroy series is going
to have their hands full with London. They’re going in the right direction
and peaking at the right time,” he added.
Lincolns’ powerplay clicked 10 times in the six-game St. Thomas series, but
could muster just three man-advantage goals—in 28 attempts—against London.
Martinelli described his team’s penalty-killing in the series as
“outstanding.”
When asked the question by a reporter, Martinelli admitted that he didn’t
think he had the team, this season, to reach the WOHL final.
“At the beginning of the season, we just had so many kids and so many
question marks,” he said with a shrug. “Everybody was saying, ‘can you win
with a 17-year-old goaltender?’
“We sort of built this team for the future, for next year and the year
after. But when things come together, and you get good leadership, then you
can accomplish more.
“In the playoffs, we’ve really paid attention to detail. In this series, I
thought be played tremendous defence—great penalty-killing and
back-checking, and our face-off wins were outstanding. And our depth in the
last two games really came to the fore-front. In this series, I think our
depth won out.”
Prior to the semi-final series, Martinelli said Nationals had a full week to
put a game plan together for the St. Marys series. They used video tape to
break down the Lincs’ powerplay and penalty-killing systems.
“If you looked at how we played the Lincolns in the regular season and how
we played them in this series, it’s been totally different,” Martinelli
pointed out.
“We forced them and pressured them. (Former Lincs’ assistant) Adam Casey
said that ‘we had to go after St. Marys; we can’t sit back.’ Every time we
had a chance to put pressure on their defence, we did. Everything runs
through their defence — No. 2 (Greg Noyes), No. 6 (Mike Gillen) and No. 8
(Mike Noyes).
“Adam was instrumental in putting that game plan together,” he added.

Series notebook:
•Both the St. Marys and London coaching staffs expressed respect for one
another during the series.
“I have a lot of respect for Merlin,” Barry Martinelli said after Game 3.
“In my opinion, I think if Merlin hadn’t got suspended (for 15 games) that
he would have got coach-of-the-year. I thought he did a helluva job with his
group.”

•Lincolns scored just seven goals in the London semi-final, and they scored
just once in the two games at Western Fair.

•Interestingly, it wasn’t Nationals’ big line of WOHL scoring champ Glen
McCarron, Michael Sharp and Andrew Wilson who did the damage against the
Lincs.
Nats’ second and third lines, and their defence, supplied a lot of the
offence. A productive line was the trio of Michael D’Agostini, Chris MacKay
and Adam McKee, who collected eight goals and 20 points in the four games.
“That line was tremendous,” Martinelli said. “They’ve really been our go-to
line in both playoff rounds.”

•Tyson DeJong (9-2) and Mike Noyes (2-9) led Lincolns in scoring in the
playoffs, each with 11 points. Greg Noyes (4-6) had 10 points, and three
players had nine apiece.

•Lincs had the best home-ice record (20-3-1) in the WOHL during the regular
season. However, the cracks in a team that lacked depth started to show in
the playoffs as St. Marys lost three times in the post-season at the Pyramid
Centre.

•Lincolns lose five players to age—defenceman Mike Gillen, and forwards
Tyson DeJong, Jeff Silver, Scott Mezenberg and utility player Chad Snell,
all 20-year-olds.

•Former Lincs’ centre and captain Jeff Bes (1988-90) recently surpassed the
100-point plateau in the Central Hockey League scoring race.
The 34-year-old Tillsonburg native has 44 goals, including 15 on powerplays,
and 58 assists for 102 points in 62 games with the Laredo Bucks.
Laredo is in first place in the CHL’s Southeast Division.