Logan Linklater rises to the occasion
- Powerplay Sports
- Feb 27
- 2 min read
Logan Linklater scored a pair of goals Thursday night, including the overtime winner, to propel the Windsor Lancers men’s hockey team into the OUA semi-finals.
Linklater gave Windsor a 2–1 lead at 14:46 of the second when a point shot from Colton Smith ricocheted off the back wall to the side of the Guelph net where he forced it in.
The goal appeared to be the difference until the dying moments of regulation, when Jack Wismer tied the game with Gryphons goaltender Olivier Ciarlo on the bench for the extra attacker. He scored with just 39 seconds left in the third period.
The late equalizer didn’t faze Windsor. Just 1:15 into the overtime, Linklater burst out of the defensive zone with speed, split the defence and slid the puck five-hole to clinch the series in dramatic fashion. The goal was his second of the night and his first two of the playoffs after scoring five times during the regular season. Keegan McMullen opened the scoring for Windsor in the first period.
“Logan Linklater has been our statistical leader all year,” Lancers head coach Kevin Hamlin told Powerplay Sports. “More importantly he has a knack for big moments and he proved it again tonight.”
Hamlin also praised his group’s response after surrendering the late tying goal. “A teams journey on this road is filled with ups and downs. You know you’re going to deal with adversity,” he said. “It’s essential you’re able to bounce back. To get scored on in the last minute of the game was a gut punch. I’m proud of the way our guys dealt with it.”
The Lancers will now face either Toronto Metropolitan or Brock in the OUA semi-finals. TMU took Game 1 of their QF series 6–2 and heads to Brock Saturday afternoon for Game 2, with a deciding Game 3, if necessary, set for Sunday night.
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