Flyers' rivalry with Lincolns intensifies

By C. Scott Holland

It has been 19 months since the St. Marys Lincolns and Leamington Flyers last faced each other. During that long spell, the rivalry between the two clubs has clearly intensified.

The Flyers won their first two meetings with the Lincolns with both contests being played in St. Marys earlier this season. But the Thursday night, Nov. 18, match here in Leamington was the first between the two clubs since the very last game of the 2019-20 campaign.

The game itself was like watching two titans in a joust. They traded physical checks, had glorious scoring opportunities, and featured stellar goaltending and end-to-end action.

Special teams did not play any part in the scoring as the Lincolns rode a late third-period tally to edge the Flyers 2-1 in regulation time.

Lincolns’ starting goalie Bryce Walcarius and the Flyers’ Ryan Polidori each halted 31 shots.

The key play of the contest occurred in the opening frame at 12:30 when Leamington forward Noah Prudhomme was skating in the neutral zone away from the penalty box area and heading toward centre ice. Out of nowhere, Lincs’ player Kieran Moore bore down on Prudhomme and kneed him hard. Prudhomme dropped to the ice in pain. Moore was assessed a five-minute kneeing penalty plus game misconduct for his action and Flyer Colton O’Brien was handed a two-minute slashing call which limited the Flyers’ powerplay opportunity.

At 12:30, Andrew Uturo and Seth Martineau hooked up with Jack Cotter who deftly rifled a high shot that sailed into the top corner of the Lincs’ net for a 1-0 lead.

That precious one-goal lead lasted until midway through the second period when Lincolns’ Ethan Lamoureux’s screen shot bounded off Polidori and tied the game.

As the rivalry increased, so did the tempers. Ref Shawn Hamelin gave a warning to both captains at the end of the second after a brief flare-up in the final minute of play. From that juncture, both teams had moments when it appeared they would surge ahead but the goaltenders and defenses helped keep the slate even.

The Lincolns got the go-ahead tally at 15:20 when Ryan Cooper plucked a loose puck and drilled a shot over Polidori who had lost his balance while lunging to snare the puck.

Down 2-1 in the final minute, the Flyers lifted Polidori but were unable to gain the equalizer.

Head coach Dale Mitchell wasn’t too concerned about Thursday’s outcome and said, “I thought we were okay. We generated a lot of chances; however, we could not score. Our PP was not dangerous and unable to finish. When you leave teams hanging around it tends to end badly and that’s how it went as we gave up the late goal. Then it was too late for us to recover after that.”

On Saturday the club traveled to Komoka where they played the Kings and won 5-3.

The contest in Komoka was “one of our best five-onfive games of the year,” according to Coach Mitchell.

The Flyers’ defense showed its strength as they had to kill off two separate five-on-threes.

The head coach added,“We need to be more disciplined and take less penalties, but they did everything asked of them and deserved the win. If we play solid five-on-five like Saturday night, we will have lots more success as the season continues.”

The game did have one long delay in the third when a pane of glass broke and had to be replaced.

Flyers’ forward Darby Lemieux (#17) is perched upon the doorstep of Lincolns’ goalie Bryce Walcarius as Flyer Gabe Piccolo (#98) trails.

Scott Holland photo

Scoring for the Flyers were Gabe Piccolo (2), Ryan MacPherson, Gavin Grundner and Wyatt O’Neil. Starter Boe Piroski halted 31 shots to gain the win and now has a 5-0 record with a 1.80 goals against average.

The victory also vaulted the Flyers back into second place.

The Flyers next home game is Thursday, Nov. 25 versus LaSalle at 7:10 p.m.