Lincoln Nets Game-Winner as Drury Earns Gutsy Win

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- After going toe-to-toe with Ludlow for more than 44 minutes on Wednesday night, the injury-depleted Drury hockey team had one last shot.

 

And Brandon Lincoln made it count.

 

Lincoln took the puck out of his end, made a rush down the right side and beat Ludlow’s keeper with 7 seconds on the clock to give the Blue Devils a 5-4, come-from-behind victory at the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Rink.

 

“I just gotta put it in the net, gotta win it for the team,” Lincoln said of his thoughts in that final breakaway.

 

Drury played the game with just 11 skaters plus keeper Nate Haley (26 saves) and his backup.

 

Early in the third, you could see the game taking its toll as Drury skaters repeatedly bent over at the waist during stoppages and, at times, seemed just a step slower than they were earlier in the match.

 

But when it mattered most, the Devils delivered, tying the game with Cam Abel’s second goal of the night with 3:36 remaining and getting the game-winner after one of their number, Chase Vanderwoude, was helped off the ice after taking a hit into the boards with 1:09 remaining.

 

“I just told them in the room that there weren’t a lot of people in the building that thought we would win this hockey game tonight,” Drury coach Derek Durocher said. “But there were three people behind the bench, not dressed in uniforms, that really thought they had it in them.

 

“We spend every day with them on the ice. They work hard, they give us everything they’ve got every day, I’m proud of that team.”

 

Drury did not trail until midway through the third period.

 

It got the game’s first goal from Abel (2 goals, 2 assists) late in the first period and held that lead until the Lions’ Sam Cocchi converted a rebound early in the second period to make it 1-1.

 

Four minutes later, Cam Taylor scored with assists from Vanderwoude and Abel to put their team up, 2-1.

 

But Ludlow’s Ben Corbin answered with a 4-4 goal late in the second that sent the teams into the second intermission tied, 2-2.

 

Lincoln scored an unassisted goal to open the third, but that lead lasted just two minutes before Ludlow tied it, 3-3.

 

And the Lions’ Aaron Picard gave his team a 4-3 lead with 6:30 left.

 

“It was hard for them to get through that tonight, but it’s a super proud moment for the coaches because they gutted their way through,” Durocher said. “It wasn’t easy. They could have unraveled halfway through the third period. But it speaks to the character of the kids in the room that they didn’t.”

 

Facing its first deficit of the night, Drury rallied. Taylor set up Abel with a pass into the slot for a wide-open shot, and Abel converted to make it 4-4, setting the stage for Lincoln’s dramatic game-winner.

 

“I’m always pleased when I see it, but I expect it because that’s the kind of player he can be,” Durocher said. “He can change games. It took him a little bit to get going tonight, but he’s been a big part of this team the last two weeks. And I expect that to continue for the next couple of years.”

 

Drury (3-5-1) goes to Holyoke to play Chiocpee Comp on Saturday.