Joe Salandra picked up right where he left off in his return to the Barrie Colts lineup on Saturday night.
The rookie forward, who had been out with a lower-body injury since February 21, scored once and added an assist to help lead the Colts to a 5-2 win over the Sudbury Wolves in the annual St. Patty’s Day Game at Sadlon Arena.
Salandra, who had three goals in his three previous games before missing six games, showed little or no rust in his return after a month-long layoff.
“When you’re off for that long, and as a rookie, as a first-year player, you don’t really know how he is going to respond when he comes back,” wondered Colts’ head coach Dylan Smoskowitz of his young forward. “Is it going to be another adjustment period? The game has picked up, and it’s closer to the playoffs now, and guys are finding their stride, but Joe comes back and doesn’t miss a beat.
“He helps our power play a bunch and has a good game. It’s just a solid performance all-around. I’m really happy for him.”
Salandra almost made it five goals in four games in the latter stages of the third period, but was denied on a partial breakaway by Sudbury goaltender Chartier Karsen.
He credited linemates Brad Gardiner and Mason Zebeski for helping him slide right back into his usual spot on the line and keep his scoring run going.
“Playing with Brad Gardiner has been awesome,” said the Pleasantville, New York native, who now has 12 goals and 23 assists in 55 games. “We have a lot of chemistry this year, and Mason Zebeski complements us pretty well, as well.
“They make it pretty easy on me, and I just try to go out there and play my game.”
Cole Beaudoin, with his team-leading 31st of the season, William Schneid, Kashawn Aitcheson, and Gardiner also scored for the Colts (44-13-3-4), who moved back to within five points of the Brantford Bulldogs atop the Eastern Conference standings with four games remaining.
Vladimir Provorov and Jan Chovan, on the power play, scored for the Wolves (26-37-2-0), who grabbed a 2-1 lead after scoring a little more than two minutes apart early in the second period.
Salandra set up Gardiner’s 29th of the season on a perfect cross-ice feed to open the scoring in the first period at 13:47. Gardiner returned the favour late in the second to tie at 2-2 with Barrie on the power play.
The Colts overager slid it back to Salandra on the point, who moved in a couple of steps and fired one through a screen and past the right pad of Karsen.
Snake-bitten on the goal front earlier this season, Salandra appears to be breaking out at a good time of the year, with the playoffs around the corner.
The offensive numbers are starting to catch up to his strong play all season.
“At the beginning of the year, I just tried to play my hardest out there,” said Salandra, who was a third-round pick in the 2025 OHL Priority Selection. “I wasn’t scoring as much, but I just tried to play my game and do what it takes to win the hockey game.
“It’s good that it’s coming to me now, but, at the end of the day, I just want to win hockey games, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Smoskowitz is happy to see his young forward rewarded for his hard work. He sees the scoring chances Salandra generates every game.
“A good coach will tell his players that as long as you’re generating the chances, I won’t be worried about the offensive output,” said the Colts’ bench boss. “But when the chances are not coming through, that’s when I get concerned. I’ve never been concerned with Joe.
“He’s always had the chances. Now, whether the numbers show the true amount he’s generating for us, probably not, but he does generate chances. It’s only a matter of time. The kid is a gifted hockey player.”
Barrie broke it open late in the second when Salandra, Beaudoin, and Schneid scored a little more than three minutes apart. The Colts went from being down a goal to having a 4-2 lead and control heading into the third.
“We’re comfortable in those situations,” said Salandra. “We never get nervous. We’re comfortable down one or up one. We just continue to play our game and wear teams down, and that’s why we have so much success.”
Smoskowitz pointed to the first part of the second period being the only part of his team’s game that he didn’t like on this night. Much of what they did well in the first, including good energy, puck possession and the choices they made with the puck on their sticks, disappeared at the start of the middle frame.
“The guys understood that,” he said of the rough start. “The guys looked at themselves in the mirror and turned it around again in that second half of the second period. There’s a certain type of hockey that we want to play. There are certain habits that we want to continue to build and work on going into the playoffs, and I think we saw that for about 50 minutes tonight.
“I just didn’t like the first 10 minutes of that second period.”
Kashawn Aitcheson added a power-play marker midway through the final period to cap the scoring. It also completed another successful night on the man advantage for the Colts, who finished 3-for-4 on the night.
Barrie’s power play, which is now ranked third overall in the OHL, is now clicking at a 26.5 per cent success rate, which would set a franchise record.
Smoskowitz was told of the record pace in a conversation he had with former Colts’ assistant coach Phillip Barski, who previously ran the team’s power play.
“So, we shared that with the guys and gave them a little bit of an incentive going into these last five games,” said Smoskowitz. “If we get above 26.4 per cent, it’ll be the highest in Barrie Colts history, and that’s what the guys are gunning for.”
UP NEXT
The Colts complete a busy weekend Sunday night when they travel to Tribute Communities Centre to take on the Oshawa Generals.
Salandra will look to keep his offensive run going, though he says his focus is on more important things.
“I never try to change my game to try and put a goal on the board, or to get an assist,” he said. “I just try to keep it simple and do what it takes to win.”
Meanwhile, Sudbury's next contest is another school day game in Brampton on Tuesday.
ST. PATRICK’S DAY JERSEY AUCTION
As they do every season, the Colts were sporting special jerseys to celebrate the Irish holiday. The special night, which included a traditional live pipe band before the game, green drinks, and plenty of Irish spirit, also featured a live post-game auction of the limited-edition blue and green game-worn jerseys.
TRIBUTE TO GRADUATING PLAYERS
The team held a special ceremony before the game at centre ice for graduating NHL prospects Cole Beaudoin (Utah), Kashawn Aitcheson (New York Islanders), and Emil Hemming (Dallas), and their respective families. Colts’ owner Howie Campbell presented the three first rounders with a framed jersey, while playing a brief video of their time spent in Barrie on the scoreboard.
ICE CHIPS
Colts’ blueliner Evan Passmore had to leave the game in the second period after taking a slap shot off the side of the hand in front of the net.
Carter Lowe, who got “sucker punched” in a dust up with Sudbury’s Henry Doucet with 25 seconds remaining in the second period, also had to leave the game for some emergency dental work.
Ben Hrebik made his first start in nine days, kicking aside 28 of 30 shots. Barrie outshot Sudbury, 52-30.
Hemming had a pair of assists.
The team's 44th win of the season puts Dylan Smoskowitz in a three-way tie for most wins by a first-time head coach in the OHL in a single season.
ADD. OHL
Niagara 7 Erie 1
Owen Sound 4 Guelph 1
Flint 5 Saginaw 1
