GAME SUMMARY
North Bay, Ont. — OHL Friday night:
First Period
1. North Bay, Laird 1, 7:23
Penalties — Handsor Bar (slashing) 9:45, Passmore Bar, Van Bommel NBB (fighting) 12:02, Enright NBB (roughing) 18:45.
Second Period
2. Barrie, Schneid 1, 15:34 (pp)
Penalties — Tsherna Bar (instigating, fighting, misconduct), Kunopaski NBB (fighting, game misconduct) 1:41, North Bay bench (too many men) 13:57.
Third Period
3. North Bay, Vaughan 1 (Crete) 8:12
Penalties — Figliomeni Bar (hit to the head) 3:02, Testa Bar (check from behind) 4:33, McCormick Bar, Konobelj NBB (roughing) 6:47. Dubrovtsev NBB (holding) 17:55, Tsherna Bar (roughing) 20:00.
Shots on goal by
Barrie 15 9 11—35
North Bay 14 13 15—42
Goal — Barrie: Bach (L,0-1-0-0); North Bay: Loftus (W,1-0-0-0).
Power plays (goals-chances) — Barrie: 1-3; North Bay: 0-4.
Referees — Aaron Neely, Matt Boulby. Linesmen — Charlie Giesler, Devon Marson.
Attendance — 3,449 (4,262)
Former Colt Parker Vaughan made his old club pay on Friday night, wiring home the game-winning goal in the third period to give the host North Bay Battalion (1-0-0-0) a 2-1 season-opening victory over Barrie (0-1-0-0) at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens.
With the game deadlocked in the final frame, Max Crete won a faceoff cleanly back in the Barrie end directly to Vaughan at the top of the faceoff circle at 8:12. The third-year forward, selected by the Colts in the first round of the 2024 OHL Priority Selection before being traded, didn’t hesitate, snapping a shot past Barrie goaltender Hagan Bach to spoil the 2026-27 opener for his former squad.
While the Colts had a couple of good scoring chances in the dying minutes of the contest, they conceded too many prime scoring opportunities throughout the game and ultimately paid the price.
“I thought five-on-five we gave up a couple too many chances, a few too many,” said Barrie head coach Dylan Smoskowitz. “We got to tighten up, but we got a great goaltending performance (from goalie Hagan Bach), and a great penalty kill performance as well, so we gave ourselves a chance to win.”
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For a youthful Colts squad trying to navigate its way through the early stages of the season, tightening up defensive coverage remains a primary focus. Smoskowitz emphasized that learning to limit prime scoring looks will be a key part of the team’s ongoing development.
“We’re going to pride ourselves on being a solid defensive team, and chances against lead to goals against, so we really have to limit that number,” Smoskowitz noted. “I haven’t gone over the numbers yet, but I’m sure it was a little bit too high for our liking tonight and, again, it’s expected the first couple weeks of the season with a younger team, but that’s something that we’re going to spend a lot of time on and put a lot of energy into.”
With several players on both sides making their OHL debuts, early-season jitters were evident in the opening period.
North Bay opened the scoring at 7:23 of the first period when Nolan Laird beat Bach past the far pad. However, Barrie gradually settled into the game as the action progressed.
“There was some stuff we liked tonight,” Smoskowitz said. “We thought some of our younger guys — first game in the league — were a little bit overwhelmed in the first period, but settled in nicely. Again, it’s one game. We had a chance at the end of the game. It really could have gone either way. So, a bunch of positives to take out tonight, for sure.”
Barrie found its equalizer on the power play at 15:34 of the second period. Veteran forward William Schneid dug the puck loose along the sideboards and cut toward the net. Despite having Carter Lowe open across the slot, Schneid elected to shoot, beating North Bay netminder Owen Loftus under his right pad to make it a 1-1 game.
“We’re a team that’s going to manufacture offence this year in different ways, so we want bodies at the net, pucks at the net,” Smoskowitz explained. “We really don’t want to pass up too many free opportunities, because as the old saying goes, ‘Good things happen when you go to the net.’
“So it worked out for Schneid tonight”
The Colts pressed hard for an equalizer late in the third period. With Bach pulled for an extra attacker during a late power play, Lowe slid a pass across to Schneid for a high-grade scoring chance, but Loftus—making his OHL debut—robbed him in the dying seconds to preserve the Battalion victory. Loftus turned aside 35 of 36 shots on the night.
Despite a large roster turnover from last season, Barrie’s power play was effective and finished 1-for-3.
“Usually, the penalty kills at the start of the year are the ones a little bit more successful, only because the power plays are taking some time to gel,” Smoskowitz said. “But our power play had some really good looks. Obviously, we got the one on the Schneid shot, but even after that, down to the very end, we had a good look five-on-four.
“We had a few good looks six-on-four. So, for the first time as a unit together, especially with some of the moves we just made, I thought our power play looked pretty close to mid-season form.”
At the other end of the ice, Bach delivered a standout 42-save performance to keep Barrie within striking distance.
His biggest stop of the night came with 6:17 remaining, making a spectacular glove save on Crete’s one-timer during a two-on-one rush with Lincoln Edwards. Barrie was also perfect on the penalty kill, holding North Bay 0-for-4.
“Bach was great,” praised Smoskowitz. “He never faltered. There was a time we were under siege tonight, but Bach was a rock back there. You get goalie performances like that, you just wish you could put one or two more on the board for the kid. Bach has faith in our guys, like we all do, so we’ll come back with a better effort tomorrow against Sudbury. If we get another effort like that from Hagan, I like our chances.”
Colts forward Jonah McCormick briefly left the game early in the second period after taking a heavy hit from North Bay’s Carter Kunopaski, though he returned shortly after. The Battalion blueliner received a five-minute major and game misconduct for the high hit.
“He was bleeding a little bit, but there were no stitches or anything like that,” Smoskowitz confirmed. “Just a nosebleed, so he got some gauze up the nose and came back like a real warrior. He’ll be okay,”
Meanwhile, Lowe missed the entire first period due to an unexpected delay.
“It was a really bad bounce for him with an equipment malfunction, but we got it fixed up,” Smoskowitz explained. “Our equipment staff was here, so Lowe was good to go in the second.”
Despite the setback, Smoskowitz believes he and his staff have a lot to build off moving forward.
“A lot to like about this group. A lot to like about the camaraderie we saw already,” he said. “The only thing we’re missing now are the two points.”
COLTS NAME PASSMORE CAPTAIN
The Colts named defenceman Evan Passmore the 28th captain in franchise history on Thursday.
The New York Rangers prospect was an alternate captain last year, and he’ll be joined on the Barrie leadership group by alternates Eamon Edgar, Dylan Tsherna, Lowe and Schneid.
“Everything you want in a teammate, friend, protector and a class kid, that’s Evan,” said Colts general manager Marty Williamson.
“If our team can feed off of Evan’s dedication and competitiveness, we will be a tough team to beat,” said Smoskowitz.
UP NEXT
Barrie won’t have to wait long for a chance at redemption. The Colts will host the division rival Sudbury Wolves in their home opener on Saturday at Sadlon Arena.
The club is hosting a Fan Fest before the game from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will be a meet-and-greet with the players, live entertainment, a $5 happy hour, face painting, and a free hot dog and drink for fans attending the season opener.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Smoskowitz said. “Our home opener, and a lot of really cool things for the fans. We just want to put on a good show for our fans, and our guys are excited to play in front of them and feed off their energy.”
Meanwhile, the Battalion are on the road on Sunday to take on the Oshawa Generals.
