The Barrie Colts are alive and kicking.
Brad Gardiner scored at 13:40 of overtime to help the Colts —who were without captain Cole Beaudoin for the majority of the game — stave off playoff elimination with a 4-3 win over the host Brantford Bulldogs in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final, Thursday night, at the TD Civic Centre.
Barrie trails the best-of-seven series 3-2 and will look to extend it to a seventh and deciding game when they host the Bulldogs on Saturday night at Sadlon Arena.
Game time is 7 p.m.
“We spoke about it going into the playoffs that there was going to be a time you’re going to feel you have nothing more to give, and, at that time, you’re going to have to find an inspiration to dig deeper then you thought was possible, and that’s what this group did today,” said Colts’ head coach Dylan Smoskowitz, whose team trailed 2-1 at the end of the second period. “There were guys out there who were banged up, guys who were breathing so heavy they couldn’t get enough oxygen to possibly go out there for another shift, and they just did.
“Not only did they go out for another shift, but they also continued to build on their last shift. These guys dug deep. These guys found a new level. It’s something we’ve been looking for the last week here. For these guys to find that, it’s big for our group.”
Gardiner’s overtime winner would come off a great read by former Bulldog Calvin Crombie in the Brantford end. Adam Jiricek backhanded a puck up along the boards, but the Barrie overage forward intercepted the pass intended for Jett Luchanko and found a wide-open Gardiner in the slot.
The centre wasted no time, ripping a shot over the right pad of goaltender Ryerson Leenders to send the series back to Barrie.
“It was a great pass by Crombie,” said Gardiner. “He makes my life pretty easy. I was just fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. We knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. I got a puck to the net, and anyone could have done it.
“I’m super excited and happy to bring this thing back to Barrie on Saturday.”
That Crombie came up with a huge play at a key time was no surprise to his head coach.
“He’s a playoff performer,” Smoskowitz said of Crombie, who was acquired before the season for this reason. “For guys to be called playoff performers, that means when the game is on the line. . . the going gets tough, the tough get going, and that’s Cal Crombie.
“That’s a guy you win with, and we’re really lucky he’s part of the Barrie Colts.”
Beaudoin, who leads all OHL players in playoff scoring, was glued to the middle of the bench the rest of the game after two shifts early in the second.
Smoskowitz said it was his call to sit the Utah Mammoth top prospect.
“Cole will be back for Game 6,” he said. “I didn’t like his game much tonight, so I just didn’t want to put him on the ice that much. But he’s totally fine.”
Missing their best player, the Colts just dug deeper. Depth players had to step up, and they did exactly that.
William Schneid scored his second of the playoffs off a beautiful setup by Kashawn Aitcheson to tie it 2-2 at 8:42 of the third. Just over two minutes later, Jaiden Newton would get his first of the playoffs when he raced down the left side from centre ice, stepped over the blue line, and ripped a shot from the left faceoff circle over the glove of Leenders to give the Colts their first lead of the night.
“It’s huge,” Gardiner said of the team’s resilience without their leading scorer. “We got contributions from everyone up and down the lineup. Whether it was goals, blocked shots, or guys winning big faceoffs. Honestly, we’re a pretty hard team to beat because of that.
“All those guys work hard and might not be on the scoresheet as much, but they work just as hard as everyone.”
The Bulldogs nearly won the game early in overtime. Cooper Dennis, parked to the right of Ben Hrebik, had the puck and a wide-open cage as the Colts’ goalie desperately dove across, but the winger shot it over the net.
Smoskowitz said his team was ready to go “deep into the night” to pull this one out. All season long, they put in what they call “investment days.” Working on their conditioning to be prepared for these moments.
“Did we want to get it done quickly? A hundred per cent,” he said. “We did not want to sit back on our heels. We wanted to go all gas and no brakes. We wanted to push these guys to the brink. Whether we score the first minute of the first overtime, or the last minute of the fifth overtime, our guys were ready to go to war tonight.”
Caleb Malhotra, with his first of two on the night, had the lone goal of the opening period before the teams traded power-play goals in the second.
Emil Hemming fired one from just inside the blueline that found its way through heavy traffic and Leenders to tie it at 5:44. Marek Vanacker would put the home side back on top less than six minutes later when he buried a rebound in front.
Malhotra would tie it in the third period, just 36 seconds after Newton had given Barrie its first lead. The rookie standout potted his 13th of the playoffs when he batted in a deflected Protz point shot out of the air.
The Colts had eight power plays in the contest, including a delay of game call on Jiricek just 2:22 into overtime, but could only make good on one.
“I think a lot of the penalties we took were fair calls,” said Bulldogs’ head coach Jay McKee. “We had some trips and the puck over the glass in overtime. . . The calls being 8-3 by the end of the game were a little lopsided.
“I think there were a few calls we could have had, but we talked all year about controlling what we can control, and I think we could have been better in certain areas regarding discipline.”
For the Colts, what matters is finding a way to get the series back home. The goal Saturday night is to have a similar effort and find a way to return the series to Brantford for Game 7 on Monday.
“We knew we had to play better if we were going to win tonight, so it’s just about getting better every shift,” said Gardiner. “We work hard all season, so our game doesn’t fall off too much come second or third period, and I think they’ve been our best periods all playoffs.
“This is when all the hard work pays off, and over times like tonight, it comes down to the wire.”
The Bulldogs will look to continue their success in Barrie after two dominating efforts in Games 3 and 4 put them ahead 3-1 in the series.
“It’s not supposed to be easy,” McKee told his team after the loss, similar to the message he gave them after losing at home in Game 2. “You have to grind in and be better in certain areas. We certainly had our looks tonight.
“We have to be more disciplined. Eight penalties in a conference final when I don’t think we took eight penalties in a game all season. That’s not going to cut it.”
The message Smoskowitz delivered to his team after staving off elimination was the same one he has delivered to them since they first showed up for training camp back in August.
“We have to win the day,” he said. “It’s going to be a late night getting home tonight. Have a good practice tomorrow and go over some video. We have to win tomorrow to have a chance Saturday.”
ICE CHIPS: Lineup changes for Barrie saw Eamon Edgar and Nicholas Desiderio slide in on the fourth line in the place of Jonah McCormick and Luc Gauvreau. . . Aitcheson had his usual big night, logging a ton of ice time while adding a pair of assists. . . Beaudoin had an assist on the night, despite limited ice time. . . Schneid added an assist for a two-point night. . . Brantford outshot Barrie 37-31. . . The Colts were 1-for-8 with the man advantage, while the Bulldogs went 1-for-3.
