Practice makes perfect for Jamie Nelson
Pat Payton LISTOWEL - Jamie Nelson estimates that he shot over 30,000 pucks in the basement of his Stratford home this summer.
That kind of commitment has certainly been paying off for the 19-year-old sophomore centre and the St. Marys Lincolns.
Nelson fired the game winner 58 seconds into overtime here Friday night, lifting Lincs to a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the Midwestern League Cyclones.
It’s Nelson’s second OT winner of the pre-season, as Lincolns improved their exhibition record to a perfect 5-0.
“It was a lot of hours in the summer, working in the gym and shooting pucks in the basement,” Nelson said, outlining his summer work regimen.
“I shot pucks every day, and I had a bucket of about 300. Every time I went through that bucket, I wrote it down. I think I shot over 30,000 pucks, and it’s starting to pay off big time for me.
“Hopefully, it continues into the regular season,” he added with a smile.
Lincolns 4 - Cyclones 3
(Overtime)
In the first minute of OT Friday night in Listowel, Nelson took a centring pass from linemate Tom Jobson and roofed it over Cyclones’ goalie Josh Leis.
“I seen Jobo (Jobson) coming out from behind the net and I just tried to get my stick on it,” Nelson explained. “I didn’t think the puck was going to slide through (the crease), but it slid right onto my tape. It was a great pass by Jobo.”
It was Nelson’s fourth goal of the pre-season.
Cyclones opened the scoring with a pair of goals—less than five minutes apart—just past the midway mark of the second period.
Tenacious centre Blair Brewer got Lincolns on the scoresheet with a powerplay goal at 18:14 of the period.
On another powerplay in the first minute of the third, Brenton Kemp tied it 2-2. The veteran winger re-directed a perfect pass from linemate Curtis Logan past Leis.
After Listowel went back in front at 2:12, Lincs’ rookie Dean Klomp tied the score 3-3 at 8:15 with one of the prettier goals of the night. After skating over the Cyclones’ blue line, Klomp snapped a wicked wrist shot over Leis’s shoulder.
Brewer and Kemp both finished the game with two points.
Merlin Malinowski was wearing the smile of a 5-0 coach following the game.
“In tonight’s game, we were down 2-0 in Listowel’s building, and they have a good hockey team. That’s probably Listowel’s starting line-up going into the season,” Malinowski said.
“But our kids didn’t quit. I like our character and it showed in the third period. I’m very happy, and everybody is contributing. It’s scoring by committee, and our goaltending has been strong.”
Lincolns 6 - Cullitons 4
Last Tuesday night at the Pyramid Centre, Lincolns completed a two-game sweep of the Cullitons—defeating their Midwestern League and Perth County opponent, 6-4.
Just seconds after Lincs killed off a 5-on-3 Stratford powerplay, veteran defenceman Tim Bilcke fired what proved to be the winner for St. Marys at 14:53 of the third. The goal snapped a 4-4 tie.
Second-year forward Josh McDonald added an insurance goal with just over three minutes to play.
Lincolns had a great chance to extend their lead with 2:54 remaining, but Kevin McLelland failed to score on a penalty shot. It was awarded when the 20-year-old forward was hooked from behind on a breakaway.
The first period was scoreless, but that all changed in the middle 20 minutes. The teams combined for eight goals, with a flurry of five goals coming in the final five minutes of the period.
A pair of goals by rookie forward Brent Rae, and a powerplay marker by Reuben Smith, helped St. Marys grab a 3-1 lead. However, Cullitons exploded for three goals in a span of three minutes to go on top 4-3.
Jamie Nelson pulled Lincs even with just 10 seconds remaining in the second.
Scoring for Stratford in the middle frame were Mitch Good, Kurtis Bailey, Blake Jordan and Craig Dalrymple. Good and Dalrymple both connected on powerplays.
Bilcke’s winner came with just over five minutes left in the third. His high shot from the point beat screened goalie Braden Van Nynatten, who was stung for all six St. Marys goals.
Overall, Cullitons out-shot the Lincolns 39-35.
“I thought it was a little sloppier game than last Friday in Stratford,” Cullitons’ coach Phil Westman said. “But it was a good spirited hockey game between two decent teams, with a lot of kids on both sides who probably aren’t going to stick.”
Assistant coach Jamie Baker liked the way Lincs battled through several shorthanded situations.
“The guys were getting frustrated with some of the penalty calls, but we battled through it,” Baker said. “Two times, we had 5-on-3s for four minutes, and the kids battled hard. We only gave up four goals with all those powerplays Stratford had.”
The ‘Kid Line’ of Brent Rae, Dean Klomp and Darren Young also drew praise from the coaching staff. All three played Minor Midget a year ago. “The young line played awesome for us,” Baker said.
Jesse Raymond and Trevor Pearce again split the goaltending duties for St. Marys.
In the first game between the two teams, Aug. 22 in Stratford, Jamie Nelson’s goal—with just four seconds left in overtime—gave Lincolns a 3-2 win.
Pre-season notebook:
—One of the linesmen in last Friday’s Lincs-Cyclones’ game in Listowel was former Lincolns’ defenceman Jason Gallagher (early 1990s), who now lives in Owen Sound.