Cole Beaudoin and Ben Hrebik were men on a mission Saturday night for the Barrie Colts.
Beaudoin posted his second consecutive three-point night, and Hrebik made 32 saves, several of the highlight reel variety, to lead the Colts to a 5-3 win over the Ottawa 67’s in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,265 at Sadlon Arena.
Barrie now leads the Eastern Conference second-round playoff series 2-0 and can take command of the best-of-seven matchup with a win in Game 3 Tuesday night at TD Place in Ottawa.
“Each game gets tougher, and Game 3 is pivotal,” said Colts head coach Dylan Smoskowitz. “They don’t want to go down 3-0. They’re back on home turf and sleeping in their own beds.”
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Calvin Crombie, Carter Lowe, Emil Hemming, Ben Wilmott, and Beaudoin scored for the Colts, who trailed 2-1 early in the second before reeling off four-straight markers to win their fifth-straight playoff game.
Spencer Bowes, Cooper Foster, and Frankie Marrelli scored for the 67’s, who were better in Game 2, but once again paid a price for a lack of discipline.
Coming off a career-best 33-goal and 89-point season, Beaudoin has taken his game to another level these playoffs. The Utah Mammoth top prospect had a goal and two assists in the win and now leads all OHL scorers with five goals and 12 assists for 17 points in six playoff games.
“He’s just amazing,” Hrebik said of the Barrie co-captain. “He does everything for us. A defensive forward, and he gets his points. He’s doing great.”
Beaudoin said he’s just trying to help the team in any way he can.
“I got to give credit to my wingers and linemates, and everyone on the power play,” said the hard-working centre, who was awarded the William Hanley Trophy on Friday as the OHL’s Most Sportsmanlike Player. “They’re putting pucks in the net, and I’m just trying to stick to my game, and play up and down the ice.”
Beaudon also heaped praise on his veteran goaltender. Hrebik was there in a big way for his teammates on this night, especially when Ottawa was threatening to bust open a tie game.
Late in the first period, he stretched across the crease to rob Philip Ekberg of what appeared to be a sure goal, and then seconds later, Jasper Kuhta picked up a loose puck in front and went to backhand it in, but the Barrie goalie snared it with his glove-hand to keep it a 1-1 game.
Ottawa threatened again just 20 seconds into the second when Foster raced in alone and fired it short side, but Hrebik got his blocker on it to stop yet another prime scoring opportunity.
“He’s got our back every single game, and you see what he’s doing out there and making those saves,” said Beaudoin of Hrebik. “He’s a talented goalie, for sure.”
Hrebik still feels he can do more.
“I feel like I still have another level,” he said. “I’d like to have one or two of those back tonight, so I’m just trying to improve every single game.”
Big-time players come up big in big games, and just like Beaudoin, Hrebik certainly did that in Game 2 for the Colts.
“Nothing happens without our goaltending, and that’s been a common theme all year,” said Smoskowitz. “Whether it’s been Hrebik or it’s been (Arvin) Jaswal, these guys have been the backbone of the team, giving us a chance every single night.”
The 67’s, as expected, were better after their 4-2 Game 1 loss on Thursday, but “good shifts” by veterans Mason Zebeski and Crombie begun to turn the tide early in the second.
Smoskowitz said it was a good response after Ottawa had grabbed its first lead of the series.
“You’ve got to expect a good team like that to come back with a good effort,” he said. “They’re a well-coached team, and they’ve been through this before. They’re very experienced coaches with a good, hard-working group over there, so we knew they were going to push hard tonight.
“I didn’t think we had our best stuff to start the game, but I’ll give them credit, they were pretty good. I thought when we went down 2-1, our guys tightened up in a good way. Not tight where you’re playing scared, or you’re playing slow. We played with more structure, and we played harder.”
The 67’s lack of discipline, especially when it comes to Barrie’s Kashawn Aitcheson, has not helped.
In the series opener, veteran blueliner David Bedkowski was suspended for two games for spearing Aitcheson at the end of the second period.
Last night, the Colts scored twice on the power play. They are now 4-for-7 with the man advantage over the first two games.
After Crombie tied it at 2-2 at 1:36 of the second, Lowe put Barrie on top for good on the power play late in the same frame when he re-directed a Parker von Richter shot from the point past Ryder Fetterolf.
Fetterolf, who fought the puck most of the night, then let a bad-angle shot by Hemming past him 1:39 into the third for the game-winner, before Wilmott, parked in front and with Barrie back on the power play, deflected a von Richter shot from the point by the Ottawa goalie to make it 5-2 with less than 13 minutes remaining.
“We talked about it inside our room, about how controlling your emotions and discipline are so important,” said Smoskowitz. “I think our guys have done a good job of that, so far, and our power play has been hot.”
UP NEXT
The Colts are heading to the nation’s capital looking to keep their foot on the pedal on Tuesday night for Game 3.
“I'm sure their building is going to be packed, and we’re going to have to go in there and continue to play the way we’ve been playing,” said Beaudoin. “I expect a pushback because they’re down two, and we’re going to try and close it out in Ottawa.”
The Colts can’t focus on how the 67’s adjust or respond.
“We’re going to focus on our group, and how can we find another level,” said Smoskowitz. “We’ve done enough to go up 2-0, but we know there’s another level to this team, and how can we find it?”
ALL ABOARD
Smoskowitz once again was happy with the team effort he received.
“It’s such a luxury for a coach not to have to run guys many minutes and not have to be worried about line matching,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter who they throw over the boards, we’re confident to have all the guys get the job done, and hold down the fort, or go on the offence. As a coach, it’s nice to work with that.”
ICE CHIPS
Game 4 goes Thursday night in Ottawa.
Hemming, who has a point in all seven playoff games, has six goals and 13 points and is tied for third overall in playoff scoring with Brantford’s Caleb Malhotra and Flint’s Nathan Aspinall.
Both von Richter and Zebeski drew a pair of assists each.
Shots were even for a second-straight game, 35-35.
Ottawa was 0-for-3 with the man advantage and is 1-for-8 over the first two games.
