The deficit wasn’t anywhere near as steep, but there’d be no big third-period rally for the Barrie Colts on Thursday night.
Just days after battling back from a four-goal deficit in the final frame to defeat the Niagara IceDogs 6-5 in a shootout on Sunday, the Colts came up short in a late rally against the undefeated Ottawa 67’s, falling 2-1 at Sadlon Arena.
Playing head coach Dave Cameron’s stingy defensive structure, the 67’s (5-0) shut down the Colts (2-2-0-2) in third, outshooting them 13-5 over the opening 10 minutes before hanging on late as the Colts pressed for the equalizer.
“From my experience in Ottawa, I’ve always known that any team Dave coaches is going to work hard,” said veteran and former 67’s forward Brad Gardiner, who scored Barrie’s lone goal on the power play early in the second. “They’re going to play the right way. Be structured. Hard to play against. . . Going into the third, we knew we were going to have to battle pretty hard to get one by that goalie (Ryan Fetterolf).
“We tried to counter that by playing the same way. It was a close game, but they just came out on top.”
Barrie's News Delivered To Your Inbox
By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Central Ontario Broadcasting, 431 Huronia Rd, Barrie, Ontario, CA, https://www.cobroadcasting.com. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
With Brock Chitaroni’s late second-period power-play goal the difference, the Colts could get little going through most of the third until the dying minutes of the contest.
The best opportunities came with starting goalie Ben Hrebik on the bench for the extra attacker. Cole Beaudoin grabbed a loose puck at the side of the net, and with Ottawa goalie Ryder Fetterolf trying to get back across the crease, the Barrie captain tried to fire it into the top half of the open net and instead sent it just over the crossbar.
Ottawa remains the only undefeated team in the OHL.
“We had lots of good looks. Stuck with it until the end,” said Gardiner. “You saw the way we played against Niagara last Sunday. No matter the score, with the group we got in there, we’re never out of the game.
“I think we had that same belief going into the third period. We were all pretty confident that we had the ability to come back in this hockey game. We had our looks. They made a few good saves, a few good blocked shots, and things just didn’t go our way tonight. We just got to stick with it.”
Colts’ head coach Dylan Smoskowitz said Ottawa deserved some of the credit for holding the fort in the third, but not all of it.
“Yeah, they did, but we didn’t help ourselves,” he said. “We got really individual in the third period. We weren’t very connected. “We were turning over pucks. We’re trying to take on guys one-on-five. Give a little bit of credit to Ottawa, sure, but we can be a lot better than that.”
The game marked the fourth time in eight games this season that the Colts had just one power-play opportunity. For the second time in the last three games, they received a tripping penalty when replays clearly showed the opposing player fell on his own.
No excuses. Smoskowitz said his team simply has to be better.
“We liked our one power play that we got. Obviously, we capitalized on it,” he said. “I would have loved to have a couple of more opportunities, but again, at the end of the day, you just can’t rely on the officiating to win or lose a game. It’s not an excuse either way. You play with the hand you’re dealt. Tonight, we were dealt the hammer with the one, but it is what it is, and we made the most of it.
“Our five-on-five game, especially in that third period down a goal, we have to find ways to get to the middle of the ice. We have to find ways to make it harder on Ottawa’s defence. Again, credit to them, they played well. We just made it very easy on them in that third period.”
The Colts caught a tough break just 1:38 into the game when defenceman Ethan Armstrong lost his stick in his zone and had to try and kick a loose puck in front away.
Instead, the Colts defenceman missed, and Jack Dever was able to pounce on the puck and fire it past the left pad of Hrebik.
It was the lone goal of the period, but Smoskowitz came away happy with his team’s effort in the opening 40 minutes.
“We liked our first period. We even liked our second period,” he said. “I don’t know what it was. We were just trying to be too fancy, or maybe we thought it’d be a little too easy for us in the third and got away from our game a little bit. Our first period, we were really, really happy with the way we played.
“You hate to give up that first goal in the opening minute. A broken stick and broken play, and all of a sudden, you’re down 1-0. You dig yourself a little bit of a hole, but other than that, our first 40 (minutes) was good. I just wish we could have continued that for the full 60.”
The Colts will conclude the weekend on Saturday night against the Brampton Steelheads. It wraps up a home-heavy schedule to start the season, as Barrie will play three of its next four games on the road.
They have just two wins in their first six games at the Sadlon Arena, and Smoskowitz knows the importance of racking up those points at home.
“We have to bank these points,” he said. “Saturday night is a huge game, because, as many home games we’re at right now, and it’s nice to be getting home-cooked meals and sleeping in our own bed, and staying off the bus, those bus trips come soon.
“Now, because of so many home games at the start of the season, the bus trips are about to come very often. So, we really have to do a better job of putting on a full 60-minute performance in front of our fans, and we’re going to do that on Saturday night.”
ICE CHIPS
Jack Pollock was in for defenceman Justin Handsor, who missed his second-straight game. “He’s just kind of nursing something,” said Smoskowitz of Handsor. “He’s getting his strength back. He’s working hard to get back in the lineup, so we’re hoping Wednesday night.” . . . Beaudoin will be the captain for home games in the first half of the season and for away games in the second half. While Kashawn Aitcheson will keep the ‘C’ on his blue jersey for away games during the first half and then at home for the second half of the schedule. . . Ottawa outshot Barrie 38-36. . . Gardiner’s goal was his fourth, and he now leads the team in scoring with nine points.
ADD. OHL
Brantford 7 Niagara 4
Peterborough 5 Kingston 2
Windsor 3 Guelph 2 (OT)
