It’s been quite the week for Teague Vader
Last Thursday, the Barrie Colts rookie scored his first OHL goal in a 5-4 overtime loss in Peterborough. A few days later, the defenceman found out he would make his playoff debut in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the Niagara IceDogs.
On Thursday night, Vader capped off his eventful week with a big third-period goal to break open a tight game and help the Colts strike first in the opening game of the best-of-seven matchup with a 4-1 win over the IceDogs at Sadlon Arena.
Cole Beaudoin and Ben Wilmott, with a goal and an assist each, and Parker von Richter also scored for Barrie, which will look to grab a 2-0 series lead back at home on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
“I’m really just trying to take it all in here,” said the six-foot, 192-pound Gowanstown native, who was added to the starting lineup after co-captain Kashawn Aitcheson was suspended for two games for exceeding the league’s fighting threshold in the team’s final regular-season game last Saturday. “I’m just trying to make the most of the opportunities I get, and I was fortunate to put a puck on net and find the back of the net.
“I’m glad I could help the boys out tonight.”
Vader’s contributions of late certainly haven’t gone unnoticed.
“It’s a hell of a week for the kid, and I’m just happy he could get in the lineup and contribute that way,” said Colts’ head coach Dylan Smoskowitz. “I actually thought he had a very good game aside from the goal as well.”
Vader’s first of the playoffs would come at a really good time. With the Colts hanging on to a 2-1 lead just past the midway point of the third, and the IceDogs nearly drawing even after a hit post by Hayden Reid and Ryerson Edgar getting stumped by Colts’ goaltender Ben Hrebik on a breakaway, the first-year defender delivered some much-welcomed breathing room.
With Mason Zebeski setting up the perfect screen in front, Vader floated a high-rising shot from the point into the top glove corner that Niagara goalie Vladislav Yermolenko never saw coming.
“He’s one of the guys we always know is going to be there,” Vader said of Zebeski’s ability to create traffic in front. “He gets in the dirty areas, and he’s just a great player, a great leader in the room, and we’re fortunate we picked him up at the deadline.”
Despite the slim lead, Vader said he and his teammates stayed cool.
“We’re a pretty confident team going into the third, so I don’t think we were too stressed out with a one-goal advantage there,” he said. “That’s, kind of, right where we wanted them, but it definitely provided us with a little more cushion, so I’m glad I could help out.”
Smoskowitz said he felt a lot better with the two-goal lead. It meant Niagara had to pull their goalie a lot earlier, and his team could even play “more loosely.”
Wilmott would score into an empty net with 1:33 remaining to seal the win.
“I know (Teague’s) not really focused on scoring goals that much, and that it’s more of a bonus for him, but again, getting bodies to the net, it’s playoff hockey,” said Smoskowitz, whose team did a good job all night of creating traffic in front of Yermolenko. “It’s not going to be pretty. It’s not going to be fancy. It’s simple hockey.
“Getting pucks to the defence, getting bodies to the front, taking the goalie’s eyes away and getting a shot on net. That’s exactly how it went in. It was a great screen by Mason Zebeski and a great shot by Teague.”
Edgar, who just a few days earlier had scored the overtime winner in a 3-2 win here in the final game of the regular season, looked to silence the home crowd again a little over five minutes into the third.
Jakub Chromiak sprung the rookie in alone with a long pass from inside his own blueline, and the speedy forward raced in on Hrebik. Edgar brought the puck to his forehand before pulling it back to his backhand, but the Barrie netminder threw out the right pad to protect the one-goal lead.
“That was a huge stop,” said Smoskowitz. “It’s a bang, bang play, and that’s all it takes in the playoffs, is half a second when you’re caught sleeping a little bit, but Benny was there.
“That’s why we got the two best goalies in the league. So, even when we do have those lapses, bad bounces, we have a brick wall in net. Ben was fantastic tonight.”
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After a scoreless first period, an early power-play goal just 2:56 in on a point shot by Beaudoin past a screened Yermolenko would get the Colts rolling.
A little more than four minutes later, with the Colts buzzing, von Richter cut in front and backhanded one through the pads of the Niagara goalie to double the lead.
Sean Doherty would cut the lead in half at 12:28 on a perfect feed from behind the net by Noah Read, but it was the only time the puck would get past Hrebik all night.
Barrie outshot Niagara 39-24.
“I like that we didn’t give up much tonight,” said Smoskowitz. “I thought our defensive game was pretty good.”
Still, there’s room for improvement in Game 2.
“I thought we could have played with a little more energy, to be honest with you,” added the Colts’ head coach. “I thought we started off pretty good and got just a little bit sloppy, and became slower than we would have liked, but it’s a good start for us.
“Fifteen wins away now.”
The Colts will put this one aside quickly and turn their attention to Game 2, where they want to hold serve at home once again.
“It’s all about keeping a level head,” said Vader. “A win here tonight is nice, but once midnight hits tonight, it’s a new day, a new practice. Game 1 is obviously nice to have, but it doesn’t matter, come Game 2, because anything can happen.
“So, we’re just trying to stay ready day-by-day.”
Smoskowitz reminded his team of that in the dressing room after.
“Whether we won this game or lost this game, we’ve got to flush it right away because in the playoffs things happen quickly, and you can’t get too high, and you can’t get too low, so we’re not going to enjoy this for a second,” he said.
“We’re going to recover. We’re going to have a good sleep tonight, go over some film (Friday), make some adjustments and be mentally and physically prepared for Game 2.”
COLTS STYLE IS DEFENSIVE HOCKEY
Smoskowitz would rather win 1-0 than 10-9.
“I know wins are wins, and we’ll take whatever we can get at this time of season, but you want to be playing a certain way,” he said. “You want to be comfortable in your style, and our style is defensive hockey, and the guys know that. Our offence is going to come from good defence.
“We take pride and spend a lot of time working on our defensive game, so to limit them to a low number of chances and a low number of shots, with one goal against, we’re pretty happy with our effort.”
ICE CHIPS: After Saturday, the series moves to the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines for Game 3 on Tuesday night and Game 4 on Thursday night. Both games begin at 7 p.m. . . . Brad Gardiner had a pair of assists, while Cole Emerton, Emil Hemming, Justin Handsor, and Zebeski had one each. . . After pretty well all sellouts at home since the end of Christmas, attendance was 3,105. . . Top NHL prospect Ryan Roobroeck (high ankle sprain) remains out of the lineup for Niagara. He’s been out since early February. . . Former Colt Riley Patterson was held off the scoresheet and was a minus 2. . . Barrie was 1-for-2 with the man advantage, while Niagara was 0-for-2.
