STRATFORD - St. Marys Lincolns’ coach Merlin Malinowski didn’t want to take anything away from Stratford Cullitons.
But Malinowski said his Lincs may have been “mentally fatigued” going into their Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) inter-locking game against the Cullitons here Saturday night at the Allman Arena.
Kurtis Bailey’s second goal of the game, with just 56 seconds remaining in regulation time, snapped a 3-3 tie and proved to be the winner in a 5-3 Cullitons’ victory over the Lincolns.
A sellout, standing-room-only crowd of 2,350 watched an intense, emotion-packed Hockey Day in Canada feature game.
Saturday’s game was Lincs’ third in a span of four days, and their 11th in a hectic stretch of 22 days. Lincolns went 6-4-1 in their tough January schedule, but were 1-3 in their final four games.
“I just felt we were coming from behind all night,” Malinowski said outside a sombre St. Marys dressing room. “Stratford played a heckuva hockey game and you have to give them credit. They skated well, they forechecked real hard, and their defence was pinching real hard.
“But it was our fourth game (last) week, and I think we just ran out of gas. And mentally, we weren’t doing things that were smart. Instead of making quick decisions, we weren’t sharp. It caught up to us and that’s basically what happened on their winning goal.
“We were bringing the puck up ice and entered their zone, and we should have got it to the net and didn’t. They came back down, and it was a heckuva shot by the Bailey kid that beat Hems (Stephen Heming).”
Griffith injured in first period
To make matters worse, Lincs didn’t have leading scorer Seth Griffith at full strength. Griffith has 40 goals and 71 points to date.
Griffith, 17, injured his hip after being checked into the Stratford net late in the first period. He returned in the second period, but was only used a couple of times on powerplays the rest of the night.
St. Marys was already short three regulars: defenceman Tyler Bryson (lower-body injury), and forwards Ian McIntosh (concussion-type symptoms) and Ryan Davidson (illness).
“We were short four of our top-end players, so that hurt tonight,” Malinowski admitted. “Those four guys are key players who play big roles for us.”
Bailey emerges last-minute hero
Bailey, meanwhile, called his game winner the biggest goal of his Junior career . . . and most likely his life.
And for a 20-year-old Stratford native in his final season with his home-town Cullitons, it couldn’t have come at a bigger time and on a bigger stage.
Bailey’s winner is a goal that most hockey players dream about scoring. Game tied, final minute, and the chance to be the hero on home ice in front of a full house . . .
Overtime was looming when he gathered up a long clearing pass along the right boards from defenceman Andrew Lorimer. After crossing the St. Marys blue line, Bailey snapped a wicked, perfectly-placed wrist shot over the right shoulder of Lincolns’ goalie Heming.
“(Cullitons’ captain) Bucky (Nelson) played with Heming in St. Marys and he said you have to put it a foot over his pad or in the top corner,” Bailey said. “I wanted to go top corner and he gave me just enough room.
“It’s the biggest goal I’ve scored so far . . . unbelievable. You don’t get too many chances like that, and it was good to come through. It was a hard-fought game right down to the wire; nobody left anything on the ice tonight.
“It was a big win for us, especially on this day with all the anticipation leading up to the game. It was a great game for our fans,” he added.
Saturday’s game started with good pace and energy, and Cullitons’ confidence seemed to grow as the night progressed.
Defenceman Myles Melchers finally broke a scoreless deadlock at 2:26 of the second period, converting a perfect centring pass from Cohen Adair.
Malinowski pep-talk works
After Bailey put the Tribe ahead 2-0 on a powerplay at 14:03, Lincs’ coach Merlin Malinowski called a time-out. The pep-talk seemed to spark the Lincolns as captain Anthony Soboczynski scored 21 seconds later, and Paul Thompson tied it just 27 seconds after that.
Cullitons regained the lead midway through the third after Lincs’ Dave Hutchinson took an undisciplined, head-checking penalty away from the play. Forty-seven seconds later, Brad McClure fired his team-leading 26th of the campaign to put Stratford back in front 3-2.
To Lincolns’ credit, they refused the quit and Blair Brewer tied it with just over six minutes to play. After some sustained pressure, the veteran centre turned and backhanded a shot up and over goalie Cody Vinnai.
After Bailey’s dramatic goal, Brock Reynolds added an empty-netter with just nine seconds remaining.
The Cullitons’ Adair and Lincs’ Darren Young both finished the game with two assists.
‘Good emotional game’
“Other than a couple of minutes in the second period, it was a good effort by the guys tonight,” Stratford coach Phil Westman said. “St. Marys did a good of job calling that time-out, and they got some momentum going from it.
“It was a good emotional game, that’s what the people wanted to see . . . some scoring and some fighting. It was good hockey, the fans got their money’s worth, and we ended up with a good win tonight.
“But really all that matters is the playoffs. It’s a big win tonight, but it really doesn’t mean a thing. We have to win in the playoffs,” he added.
Overall, Cullitons out-shot the Lincs in every period and 40-27 overall.
The victory was Cullitons’ second in a row, and they finished their nine-game January schedule with a 4-4-1 record. They were 3-1-1 in their final five games last month.
Following weekend action, the Tribe (19-23-1) continues to sit in sixth place—four points behind Elmira Sugar Kings (19-19-5)—in the Midwestern Conference standings.
Lincs (27-12-4), meanwhile, are tied for third place with Chatham Maroons (28-13-2) in the Western Conference—one point behind Strathroy Rockets (29-12-1) and four ahead of the LaSalle Vipers (25-15-4).