The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League inter-locking game was promoted as the ‘Highway 7 Challenge’ and ‘The Showdown in the Stonetown.’
And with two points and lots of bragging rights at stake, St. Marys Lincolns and Stratford Cullitons didn’t disappoint last Tuesday, Dec. 30 at the Pyramid Recreation Centre.
In a playoff-type atmosphere, Lincs emerged with a hard-fought 5-3 victory over the Cullitons in front of an estimated 1,100 fans—St. Marys’ biggest crowd of the season.
It was a well-played, entertaining game that wasn’t decided until the final minute, and had officials from both teams talking about a rematch next season. With the GOJHL introducing a six-game, inter-locking schedule for all its teams this season, it was the first time Lincs and Cullitons had met—with points at stake—since the 1974-75 season.
Last Tuesday’s result counted in both the Western and Midwestern Conferences.
After a recent five-game losing skid, it was Lincolns’ second win in a row following the Christmas break. The victory moved St. Marys (26-10-1) into a second-place tie with London Nationals (23-5-7) and to within two points of front-running Sarnia Legionnaires (26-5-3) in the Western standings.
Cullitons clawed their way up to fourth place in early December, but have slipped back to sixth spot in the Midwestern standings. The loss to Lincs left Stratford (17-15-2) with an 0-4-1 record in its last five games.
“I think St. Marys wanted to win more than we did tonight,” Cullitons’ coach Phil Westman said tersely following the game.
“We needed the Christmas break, but we’re in neutral right now. I don’t know if we’re paying the price to win right now. We competed hard and worked hard all night, but we missed assignments and missed checks.
“The difference between winning and losing is a fine line,” he added.
Lincs get early jump
Cullitons held a 10-7 edge in shots in the first period, but it was Lincolns who opened up a 2-0 lead.
Anthony Soboczynski, with his fifth goal in three games, made it 1-0 at 6:13—converting a rebound from the top of the crease. Defenceman Tyler Bryson scored his first of the season at 14:29. It appeared that former St. Marys goalie Evan Groenestege was screened on Bryson’s low shot from the point.
Collectively, the second period may have been the best of the game for Stratford. Cullitons finally gave their fans something to cheer about at 10:57 when Kyle Wilhelm tipped in Alex Ehrlich’s shot on a powerplay.
Brett Petrie restored a two-goal Lincs’ advantage at 3:43 of the third. Similar to Bryson’s goal, Petrie’s low drive from the blue line found its way through traffic and into the net.
Just over two minutes later, Stratford turned the puck over in its own zone and Lincolns’ centre Blair Brewer made it 4-1 with his 20th goal of the campaign.
Cullitons refuse to quit
For intents and purposes, it appeared the game was over at the point. But to the Cullitons’ credit, they refused to quit.
After Cohen Adair closed the gap to 4-2 with a powerplay goal at 8:43, Kurtis Bailey made things interesting when he fired an unassisted goal with just 4:31 left on the clock.
It set the stage for an exciting finish, but it proved to be Stratford’s last good chance.
Brenton Kemp clinched the win with an unassisted, empty-netter with just 46.5 seconds remaining. It came just seconds after Groenestege had raced to the Cullitons’ bench for an extra attacker.
“We’re always telling our guys to put pucks at the net,” Lincs’ coach Merlin Malinowski said with a smile.
Malinowski was pleased with his team’s 60-minute effort.
“Overall, I thought we played pretty well tonight,” he said. “We have a high-strung bunch and sometimes it’s hard to keep them focused on what’s important. Sometimes we take undisciplined penalties, and let the other team back in the game.
“But tonight was a pressure game, and I think we were a little nervous at the start. I could see we were gripping our sticks a little tighter.”
Malinowski also tipped his hat to the Cullitons.
“Stratford has a nice hockey team, with some nice hockey players. And they have a good powerplay.
“I didn’t see a lot of difference between them and (first-place) Brantford really,” he added.
Lincolns out-shot the Cullitons 11-5 in the final 20 minutes, and 26-22 overall.
Kemp (1-1) and Colin Martin (0-2) each had two points for St. Marys, while Wilhelm (1-1) and captain Mitch Good (0-2) had two points apiece for Stratford.
Game notes:
•Following last Tuesday’s game, Bauer and Dunny’s Source for Sports jackets were presented to game MVPs Colin Martin (Lincs) and Mitch Good (Cullitons). The selections were made by members of the local media.
For winning the game, all St. Marys players received a Bauer and Dunny’s T-shirt as well.
•There’s a “great possibility” that Lincolns and Cullitons will play another GOJHL regular-season game next season, Lincs’ General Manager Warren Nye says.
If next year’s game is scheduled, it would be played at Stratford’s Allman Arena between Christmas and New Year’s, Nye noted.
•Michael Zador, London Knights’ back-up goalie, improved his record to 3-1 with the Lincolns—making 19 saves. The Ontario Hockey League team has been giving the 17-year-old Toronto native extra work with the Lincs.
•Lincolns had a home game last night (Jan. 6) against Sarnia. After a re-scheduled game Thursday in Forest against Lambton Shores Predators, Lincs host LaSalle Vipers on Friday at 7:45 p.m.
Next Tuesday, Jan. 13, Leamington Flyers are in town to play the Lincolns at 7:30 p.m.