Lincs win first conference title in 30 years

17 Apr Lincs win first conference title in 30 years

By Spencer Seymour
The St. Marys Lincolns are 2024 Western Conference champions after defeating the London Nationals 5-2 in game seven this past Sunday to claim the Bill Weir Trophy.
Reaching a seventh game was a journey that began last Wednesday when the Nationals defeated St. Marys 3-2 in overtime to take a 3-2 series lead. The loss came despite the Lincolns outplaying London for large swaths of the game, including in the first period when the Lincs led in shots 15-8.
Head coach Jeff Bradley felt his team deserved a better result for the effort they put in.
“Honestly, I thought we played really well,” Bradley told the Independent. “Your frustration or anger turns into more of a numb feeling that is hard to explain. In the first period, we thoroughly outplayed them and then got unlucky with their goal, which gave them a little bit of momentum and then you could see our focus shifting a little bit to getting into the extracurricular stuff.”
Just over eight-and-a-half minutes into the game, Jaden Lee opened the scoring for St. Marys followed by a powerplay marker by Noah VandenBrink just under five minutes later to put the Lincolns ahead 2-0. However, an otherwise stellar first frame was soured by a goal credited to Michael Kopcok with under 90 seconds left in the period, who sent a floater on goal that hit off the hand of Lincs’ defender Ryder Livermore and bounced by goaltender Brandon Abbott.
The flukey goal sparked the Nationals who found their footing in the second period, culminating with yet another unfortunate moment of bad puck luck for the Lincolns, ending with Riley Wood batting home his 10th of the playoffs.
A back-and-forth third period went without a goal at either end, resulting in overtime that lasted just two minutes and 28 seconds before Colton Chipman scooped a big rebound and buried the winning goal.
Bradley explained the team’s mindset going into overtime which, unfortunately, wasn’t executed the way they needed.
“We knew that they rely heavily on certain players and the longer overtime lasts, the better it was for us. So, if they’re going to make a mistake, let them. Don’t interrupt them if they’re making a mistake. Don’t be the team that makes a mistake. Play solid hockey, be patient and control the offensive zone. Once we get there, don’t throw pucks away to make something happen. I don’t know why we made the mistake, but we did.”
Arguably, the Lincolns’ biggest focus going into game five was starting on time, which had been a problem through the first four games of the series. Despite the loss, the head coach felt good about the way his team came out of the blocks.
“It was really good because when things start to happen on a consistent basis, you start to wonder if it’s just a trend or if it’s what we are. Seeing that we’re able to play the way we’re capable of playing at the start of the game, we know we’re able to do that. There shouldn’t be any reason we don’t do that on Friday night.”
Lincs rout Nats in game six
With no reason not to start on time last Friday, the Lincolns couldn’t have started more on time, scoring just seven seconds into the game, not only setting the tone for the rest of the night but also setting a new all-time team record for fastest goal to start a playoff game.
Owen Voortman pounced on an errant pass by a London defender, which the native of Thunder Bay rocketed by Nationals’ goalie Hayden Sabourin. Coach Bradley explained how every Lincoln on the ice played a role in the game’s first goal.
“Owen scored the goal, which is great. It was a good read by Owen, but also a great job by the four guys behind him. Our defenders took away their wingers, we had their centreman taken away, and then we had up-ice taken away. Right from puck-drop, we were ready to execute. We were ready to play hard.”
While the Nationals got several quality chances of their own, Abbott played one of his strongest games in a Lincolns uniform to date, stopping all 36 London shots in the game, 15 of which came in the first. Meanwhile, the Lincolns’ offence continued picking up steam with Voortman scoring his second of the night exactly 11 minutes and 50 seconds later, this time shorthanded. Four minutes and 33 seconds after that, Ryan Hodkinson put the Lincs ahead by three, a lead they carried into the intermission.
In the second, another strong play by Hodkinson on the penalty kill led to a breakaway for the hometown forward who deked out Sabourin and buried his second of the night. According to Bradley, the rookie forward has established himself as a lineup regular in the GOJHL.
“It’s beyond the point of surprise and even making a point of it, to be honest. Ryan is just a really good player and a very important player for us. And now you just come to expect it. There’s no surprise at all that he did what he did. Mike Herman directs a high-pressure penalty kill that takes some thinking and for a first-year player to become one of those dependent players so seamlessly as a rookie speaks to Ryan’s intelligence level and ability.”
Later in the second, Lee fired a powerplay goal to make it 5-0 for St. Marys, a goal that would force the Nationals to yank Sabourin and replace him with Carter Froggett. In the third, Voortman completed the hat-trick to make it 6-0 Lincolns, the eventual final score.
Bradley credited Voortman for his calm demeanour and wide array of skills.
“I just don’t think pressure affects him, certainly not in a negative way. He’s there to play and the attributes he possesses, they’re great to have in a high-pressure situation. He’s got really good speed for a big man. He’s got the size. He’s got a really good stick. He’s smart. He’s got a really good shot. Everybody wants to play with Owen because he just makes life easier for everybody else.”
Lincs meet the moment in game seven
A wait that lasted 30 years finally came to an end on Sunday when a 5-2 victory, led by an explosive second period, gave the series and the Bill Weir Trophy to the Lincolns.
The emotions of the win were wide-ranging for the head coach.
“We’re relieved,” remarked Bradley. “We’re certainly proud and happy. We believe we’re the best in this conference. We have believed it for a while. We knew it was a tough conference, but we did believe we were the best and we’re excited for an opportunity to compete for the Sutherland Cup. It’s been a few years since I’ve been in them. I was fortunate enough to go to three of them. It’s a really fun time and it’s always a good challenge and a fun challenge and something to be proud of that we’re able to reach this point.”
Bradley described the feeling of seeing his players able to take their moment to celebrate their accomplishment.
“I was just happy for them. They get harped on. They get talked to about faceoff responsibilities and breakouts and forechecking and all the stuff that make up our game-plan. You’re telling them a lot what to do and sometimes you don’t get to see them enjoy their success, so for them to have a moment to do that, I’m just honestly really happy for them. They’re good kids. They’re respectful. They love hockey.”
The support the Lincolns received was astonishing, with seemingly over half of the arena made up of St. Marys fans who made game seven sound and feel like a home game.
“The thing you do notice is you definitely didn’t feel alone in there,” Bradley said. “We really enjoyed playing at home and winning that game six, but you aren’t sure if you’re going to feel that again. And fortunately for us, we did feel it again and we felt it in an opposing arena. Seeing some former players come back and having some parents come up and thank me and thank our staff really means a lot. Having them come up and acknowledge us, you get to see where the kid comes from and you understand why they are such good kids.”
Neither team appeared to be at their absolute best in the first period. The Lincs’ head coach was satisfied with the period but acknowledged they knew they had to go to another level to be victorious.
“The first period was a good road period for us, but we didn’t quite have that top gear.
“System-wise, the way we played was proper but we were just doing it to do it and we had to kick it up a notch. We didn’t want to play not to lose, we wanted to play to win and I thought in the second period we certainly did that.”
A league-leading 13th goal of the playoffs by Chase MacQueen-Spence opened the scoring at the 5:11 mark of the second frame, followed just 40 seconds later by the eighth of the post-season by Billy VanSumeren. Less than four minutes later, Cohen Bidgood scored on a powerplay, a goal that forced the Nationals to make a goalie change for the second straight game. However, just 38 seconds later, the fourth goal in two games for Voortman made it 4-0 Lincs and prompted London to call their timeout.
From there, said Bradley, the Lincs refused to get complacent and instead continued playing incredibly hard.
“Our guys do a tremendous job of defending and we don’t defend on our heels. We defend on our toes and we can be aggressive when we need to be. We can sit back when we need to. Our players have a really good gauge of how to play in certain moments and last night was not a moment to sit back and let them come to you. With a 4-0 lead, we kept pushing. We were extremely aggressive in the defensive zone. It was great.”
The Nats stopped the bleeding three minutes later with the second of the playoffs from Blake Arrowsmith. The Lincolns shut the Nationals down for the rest of the second and much of the third until, with the goalie pulled in favour of the extra attacker, Wood cut the St. Marys lead to two with a minute and 43 seconds left.
However, a herculean shift by Maddox Callens keeping the puck tied up in London’s end of the ice coupled with an empty-netter by Lee sealed the deal for St. Marys.
“The whole team should get some recognition for that game,” said Bradley. “It took not only the 20 guys who dressed but the guys who weren’t playing. They’re a real big part of what we’re doing here and I know they want to play and they’re good enough to play. Them helping prepare our guys to practice and being a part of team meetings, that matters and they’re a huge part of our team. Everybody from the training staff all the way up to Brandon Boyd and Pat Powers; it was a full team effort last night.”
Several Lincolns’ players’ spoke to the Independent after the game including Bidgood, whose goal went down as the game-winner. The 17-year-old felt the bond of the players was a big part of their victory.
“This group of guys is incredible,” said an ever-jubilant Bidgood. “We all knew we had to do this for each other and we knew we had to do it as a family. This team is so tight together and we battled through it together.”
Part of the reason for the team’s tight-knit bond is the number of returning players leading the squad, including MacQueen-Spence, who won the Playoff MVP award after leading the GOJHL in both goals and points in the post-season. MacQueen-Spence scored 13 goals and 26 points and had points in all but one of the 15 playoff games the Lincolns played.
“No words can really describe it,” said MacQueen-Spence. “This team has been through a lot this year. Same as the guys who were here last year, we got to this spot but couldn’t get the job done and this year we did so it’s just an unbelievable feeling.”
Last year’s conference-final loss to the Leamington Flyers helped lay the foundation for this year’s success, and part of last year’s squad was Cole Schnittker, who, during the St. Marys Radio broadcast, expressed his elation for his former team hoisting the Bill Weir Trophy.
“I feel so good for those guys,” Schnittker said. “I’ve never met a more deserving group of players than the ones I played with and even the ones I didn’t play with out here today. These guys have worked their asses off to get where they are right now, and they are some of the best guys you will ever meet.”
Also, during the St. Marys Radio broadcast, former sports reporter Pat Payton joined and delivered high praise for the Lincolns.
“I was at the game the last time we won this league,” said Payton, who covered the 1993-94 Lincolns squad, the last to win a west final. “I can’t believe it was three decades ago, but this team deserves it all. This is one of the best Lincolns’ teams I’ve seen in a while.”
General manager Pat Powers summarized his feelings quite succinctly after the game.
“Winning rules.”
Powers added, in addition to being thrilled for the players, he was incredibly happy for Jeff Bradley and the entire staff, whose work ethic and dedication to the team are second to none.
“The opportunity to see Jeff and his staff have success and be rewarded for all their sacrifices is the best thing for a GM to see,” Powers said. “Jeff is the most committed coach in my experience and to see him get the recognition he deserves is very gratifying for me.”
Captain Adam Barkley was overwhelmed immediately after the game but did detail how it felt lifting the Bill Weir Trophy over his head as he skated back to his teammates.
“This is amazing. I actually don’t know how to describe this right now. Seeing all the boys smiling and happy to win and happy for each other was just the best feeling. Emotions are going through the roof right now.”
Team president Brandon Boyd called the victory “rewarding” for the people who help run the team behind the scenes.
“It’s rewarding for all the community support that we have from the businesses to our volunteer group,” Boyd said. “The people who have been here with us through thick and thin of the dark times and putting in the thankless hours to get back to this point. It was also rewarding seeing how many fans travelled to this game and how it galvanized our community.”
Perhaps no one summed up the night better, however, than Luca Spagnolo.
“It’s surreal,” said an emotional Spagnolo. “It’s the best feeling in the world. I almost started crying when we finally won. This town deserves it. They’ve been waiting 30 years. They always fill up the PRC. They travelled incredibly and packed out this barn. Looking up and seeing our fans gives us a huge boost of adrenaline. You feel like you can run through a wall. This is the best town to play hockey in, by far.”