St. Marys Lincolns will host the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s ‘Showcase Weekend’ on Thanksgiving Weekend, Oct. 8-10, at the Pyramid Recreation Centre.
“It was confirmed (last) Saturday morning,” Lincs’ GM Warren Nye told the Journal Argus. “We had to get the okay from GOJHL commissioner Mark Ellis.”
All 25 GOJHL teams in the province will be taking part. All games will be held at the PRC, and St. Marys will likely play two games that weekend, Nye says.
A special tribute will be held for former Lincolns’ coach Barry Hearn on Friday, Oct. 9. Hearn coached the last St. Marys Jr. B team to win an All-Ontario title (in the spring of 1976 in Collingwood).
Hearn, who was in his 70th year, died peacefully on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009 at St. Marys Memorial Hospital, surrounded by his family, following a courageous battle with cancer.
Holding it next fall will also give the Lincs’ organization more time to contact alumni (spanning 55 years) about the special night, GM Nye says.

•Lincolns will honour St. Marys native Brett Petrie in a short pre-game ceremony prior to their home game against the London Nationals this Friday, Jan. 22. Game time is 7:45 p.m.
Petrie, a 20-year-old defenceman, played six seasons with the Lincs before being traded to the Nats this past summer.
A framed print will be presented to Petrie from Lincolns’ coach Merlin Malinowski, as well as a Lincs’ jersey.
If the two teams don’t meet in the playoffs, it could be Petrie’s last Jr. B game at the PRC.

•Seth Griffith’s goal last Friday night was his 20th powerplay goal of the sesaon. The Lincolns’ centre is now just one shy of tying Mike McLaughlin’s modern-day team record of 21 powerplay goals, set in 2006-07.

•Anyone wishing to make a donation to the Relief Fund for Haiti can do so at Lincs’ home game this Friday against London. There will be a collection box in the front lobby.

—Nationals added one player before the Jan. 10 roster deadline, signing Kevin Mole, a 20-year-old defenceman who had been playing for the OUA’s Western Mustangs.
“He wasn’t getting as much ice time as he wanted, so we picked him up,” coach Adam Casey said.
The Mississauga native, who is 6 ft. and 185 lbs., also has a little OHL experience having played 47 games with Kingston.

—Chatham Maroons improved their defensive corps significantly, just prior to the Jan. 10 deadline, adding veterans Steve Kruk and Mike MacIntyre.
Kruk, a 20-year-old Michigan native and Leamington’s team captain, was purchased from the Flyers for reportedly big bucks, while MacIntyre returned from the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds. The 19-year-old from Belle River was a member of the Maroons the last season and a half.
Back from the B.C. Tier II Jr. A League is speedy forward Devon Roeszler.
“Hopefully, they are the final pieces to the puzzle so we can have a good playoff run,” coach Marc Swayze said before last Friday’s game in St. Marys.
Swayze also feels he has the best goaltender in the Western Conference in Mike Ostropolec, 20, a four-year veteran.

—After the game, Swayze was steamed at Malinowski—claiming the Lincolns’ coach was yelling at his players.
“You don’t think the players and the benches are going to get riled up when something like that happens?” the angry Chatham bench boss said. “If he wants to yell at somebody, I’m right here, talk to me.
“Apparently, (Malinowski) thought there was a cheap-shot, but let the kids settle it on the ice.”
There were six fighting majors handed out in the final minute of play, plus a couple of instigator penalties. Most of the fire-works came after Maroons’ Mitch Dunning ran St. Marys goalie Stephen Heming with 23 seconds remaining.
“The game was over (on the scoreboard), why does that have to go on?,” Malinowski replied when asked about the late-game tensions. “If Chatham is behind in a game, that’s the way they like to finish it. It’s been going on for three years now. You just expect it; I’m not surprised by it.”

—The Leamington Jr. B club has been sold to two Leamington men, and the sale was approved by the Flyers’ board of directors last Tueday night. The new owners are Abe and Jake Fehr, who own a local company called Uni-Fab.
Like the Lincs, Flyers have always been a community-owned team.

—Due to a large skating competition at the Pyramid Centre on the Feb. 19-21 weekend, Lincolns’ home game against St. Thomas Stars on Friday, Feb. 19 has been moved ahead to Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
It’s Lincs’ second-last regular-season game.

—In the Midwestern Jr. B Conference, Waterloo Siskins had their 17-game winning streak snapped on home ice Sunday when they lost 4-1 to the seventh-place Guelph Hurricanes.
Siskins’ last defeat before that was back on Nov. 15 against first-place Brantford Golden Eagles.
Waterloo (31-6) has won 23 in its last 25 games—dating back to Oct. 17. Siskins, who have the best road record (17-2) in the entire GOJHL, are in Brantford (32-4-3) tonight (Jan. 20).

--Prior to last Tuesday’s home game against London, Lincs’ defenceman Josh Cornelissen, 19, was honoured as the team’s player-of-the-month for December.