The puck on his stick in the slot and the top glove-hand corner in sight, Kashawn Aitcheson appeared set to pull off another exciting overtime win for the Barrie Colts on Thursday.
Ryan Fetterolf had other ideas, though.
The Ottawa 67’s goaltender flashed the leather and snared the fast-rising shot for a highlight-reel game-saver, before Spencer Bowes raced down the ice 20 seconds later and slid it across to Cooper Foster for an easy tap-in to give the visitors a 3-2 win and silence a stunned home crowd of 4,090 fans at Sadlon Arena.
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With six game winners so far this season, including a pair in the extra frame, Aitcheson appeared ready to play the role of hero once again when Cole Beaudoin dug a puck out of the corner and found him creeping in from the point.
Aitcheson one-timed the feed, but Fetterolf made the best of his 39 saves on the night when his arm shot up like a windmill to keep it 2-2.
Foster ended it with 2:29 left, and after giving up a rare six goals in an 8-5 loss to the Colts back in Ottawa in mid-February, Fetterolf, the OHL’s top goalie in goals against average (2.11) and save percentage (.921), exacted his revenge.
“We have some pretty special guys out there in overtime, and they’ve done a bunch of great things for us this season in the extra frame, and it just wasn’t their night,” said Colts’ head coach Dylan Smoskowitz, who had NHL first-rounders Aitcheson, Beaudoin, and Emil Hemming out on the three-on-three. “Give their goalie credit, he made that great windmill save at the end there.”
Barrie (44-13-3-4) had its chances in the extra frame, but as often happens, one good chance at one end is followed by one the other way.
“It’s tough. It could go either way, the three-on-three,” said Colts’ rookie Eamon Edgar of the loss. “We had our chances, but we didn’t come out of it on the right side today.”
Nic Whitehead and Bowes also scored for Ottawa (43-14-3-3), which cut the Brantford Bulldogs’ lead atop the East Division standings to six points with five games remaining.
Carter Lowe and Parker von Richter scored for the Colts, who have now dropped three of their last four games.
Ottawa was determined to bounce back after a pair of earlier losses at home to Barrie. With the two teams on a possible collision course in the second round of the playoffs, the visitors got a message across early.
The Colts were fortunate to be only trailing 2-1 after 20 minutes.
“I thought they had a pretty good first,” said Smoskowitz of Ottawa. “I thought our first was pretty lackadaisical. I thought we had very little interest in the first period, very little care. You could see that when we break down the film, it’s going to be like two different teams from the first period to the third period.”
That Barrie was down only by one was in large part thanks to the play of its young goaltender. Arvin Jaswal, who came into the night riding a 14-game win streak, was stellar.
“You can’t tell me that Fetterolf was better than Jaswal tonight,” said Smoskowitz. I thought they were both really good, especially when we were on our heels at the start of the game. We could have come into our room three or four goals down, and that game would have been over.
“Jaswal gave our guys a chance to find their legs and find their momentum to get ourselves back in this game.”
The Colts gave up 10 scoring chances in the opening frame alone.
“You don’t want to give up 10 scoring chances an entire game, let alone 20 minutes,” said Smoskowitz. “A scoring chance every two minutes is unheard of. Then, in the third period, to outshoot them 15-3, that’s more the hockey we want to play.
“We’re kind of built that way. We grind teams down, and when they slow down, we speed up. We just have to find a way to match that kind of speed and intensity at the start of the game.”
The second period was better for the Colts, but it was in the third that they really turned it on.
It took just 40 seconds to tie the game. Brad Gardiner spun around and slid it back to von Richter at the point.
The defenceman took a couple of steps in and hammered a drive over the right pad of Fetterolf for his 11th of the season and seventh in 25 games with Barrie since being acquired at the trade deadline.
The Colts went on to outshoot the 67’s 15-3 in the third.
“I thought the first period we gave away a lot for free,” said Smoskowitz. “I thought the second and third period, we were much better. I was really happy with the guys’ efforts in the second half of that game.
“I thought we made life hard on Ottawa, and we made them realize, ‘OK, if the Colts are going to play like that in a seven-game series, it’s going to be a real grind. That was our goal tonight.”
It was a frustrating night for Hemming, who had four or five prime scoring chances, but couldn’t seem to buy one.
He fired one just over the net in the third and then minutes later, on an identical setup, ripped one off the crossbar.
“He’s a guy that has God-given talent, and there’s always a magic touch on his stick, and it seems to find him in a good spot, and it found him tonight,” said Smoskowitz of the Dallas Stars’ top prospect. “He played well. He was all over it. I was convinced that last one off the bar went in, just the way it made that weird sound.
“I thought it hit the back bar, but upon further review, it was a crossbar, and that’s the difference.”
HREBIK SCRATCHED
Veteran Ben Hrebik was a scratch for a second straight game. Jaswal has got the nod in net in three of Barrie’s last four games, but Smoskowitz said his starter could have played if needed.
“We are going to take advantage of having a cushion here in second place and having some extra days of rest,” said the Colts’ head coach. “If it’s a do-or-die situation, he’d be in tonight. It’s not that, so we’re going to give him some time.”
Nico Armellin was the backup.
UP NEXT
Barrie returns to action on Saturday night when they host Sudbury in the annual St. Patrick’s Day game.
“A very playoff-like kind of atmosphere,” said Smoskowitz of Thursday’s battle against Ottawa. “Two good fights. A game of inches. It goes all the way to extra time. If we do end up seeing them in the playoffs, it’ll be a fun series.”
SALANDRA FINALLY NEARING RETURN
Smoskowitz said injured winger Joseph Salandra (lower body) is expected to be in the lineup Saturday against Sudbury. The winger has been out since Feb. 21 and has missed six games.
“He’s excited, and we’re all excited to have Joe back in the lineup,” he added.
ADD. OHL
Kingston 2 Niagara 1
North Bay 3 Brantford 2 (OT)
Oshawa 3 Peterborough 2
Soo 4 Windsor 3 (OT)
