The Barrie Colts showed plenty of promise and played well for long stretches on Thursday night at Sadlon Arena, but in the Ontario Hockey League, close doesn’t cut it without a complete 60-minute effort.
The Colts (1-5-1-0) paid the price for a late lapse, falling 7-4 to the Kingston Frontenacs (4-4), who were led on this night by a four-goal performance by Alex Misiak, including the winner at 5:44 of the final frame.
Barrie had held the upper hand for much of the evening and carried a 4-4 tie into the third period. The Colts even came out flying in the final frame, outshooting the Frontenacs 6-1 in the opening five minutes. However, the tide turned quickly midway through the period when Misiak and Ty Robar scored less than five minutes apart to put Kingston in control for the first time on the night.
From there, a slumping Frontenacs team — which entered the game having won just once in its previous five contests —completely slammed the door on the Colts over the final nine minutes. Misiak sealed the win with an empty-netter to cap off a dominant performance.
“At the end of that game, they shut it down pretty well,” said Colts head coach Dylan Smoskowitz. “We just got deflated as a group. I liked our 40 minutes. There are parts of it I didn’t like. I thought we should have had the lead. We gave them a couple of goals off face-off plays tonight, and we definitely have to clean that up.
“But again, it’s a pretty good effort for most of it, but the hard teams win it, and you’ve got to play a full 60 minutes.”
Barrie rookie defenceman Lucas Matheson echoed the sentiment regarding how things went off the rails after the sharp start to the third.
“They’re obviously a really good team,” said Matheson. “I think we got off our game. Some guys were trying to do it themselves, and maybe we got away from what we do best. So, just not getting the results we want.”
The loss was another tough pill to swallow for a young Colts squad that continues to show improvement each game but has had its issues closing out games.
“It’s all a learning process,” Smoskowitz noted. “We’ve learned a couple of times already in third periods how much better you have to play, and how thirds have to be your best period. Whatever you’ve done all game long, you’ve got to be harder, you’ve got to be faster, you’ve got to be more detailed and stuff like that, so definitely a good one, and we’ll show the guys some clips (Friday) of it.”
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A major key to Kingston’s victory was its dynamic top line of Tomas Pobezal, Landon Wright and Misiak. The trio was a force all night, combining for four goals and seven points, constantly generating prime scoring opportunities that Barrie struggled to contain.
“They were really good,” Smoskowitz said of Kingston’s top line. “We tried a couple of different guys on them, but they just found ways to get their shots through and make an extra pass here and there. They were really good, and definitely something that a lot of teams in this league have to watch out for.”
Despite the final result, the Colts gave Kingston all they could handle for the first two periods, relying on a relentless forecheck to generate turnovers and sustained offensive pressure.
Dylan Tsherna opened the scoring for Barrie with a shorthanded marker just 1:44 into the game. Misiak responded for Kingston with a pair of goals, including a power-play tally, to tie it 1-1, but Carter Lowe answered late in the frame to make it 2-2. Just 28 seconds into the second period, Ben Lombardi potted his first OHL goal to put Barrie back on top 3-2.
“I liked our forecheck. I thought our forwards had good sticks,” Smoskowitz said of Barrie’s early pressure. “It’s something we talked about going over the pregame, having a good stick detail against these guys, and kind of breaking up some passes, and making some plays ourselves, and I thought I got that from all four lines... It was just unfortunate that we couldn’t put a couple more in the back of their net.”
Maxim Shirochenkov made his OHL debut for the Colts and made an immediate impact, collecting his first career point on a slick cross-slot pass that Nicholas Desiderio hammered home past Kingston goaltender Matthew Minchak to give Barrie a 4-3 lead at 9:18 of the second period. Kingston’s Andre Mondoux tied the game at 4-4 less than three minutes later by beating Hagan Bach with his second of the night.
Smoskowitz was quick to praise Shirochenkov’s debut performance alongside his linemates.
“I thought Max looked good,” Smoskowitz said. “He made the beautiful pass to Desiderio for the goal there. He got his first point in the OHL. So, congratulations to him, but again, he was just winning battles, moving his feet well. I thought he made some plays in the offensive zone.
“That whole line of Shirochenkov, Desiderio and (Phillip) Shargorodsky was one of our best lines all night... I’m really proud of those guys, but happy to see Max get rewarded.”
With Thursday’s defeat behind them, the Colts immediately look ahead as they embark on their first overnight road trip of the season. Though a brief journey, it represents a valuable opportunity for team bonding and crucial points.
Barrie travels to St. Catharines to face the Niagara IceDogs on Saturday night at 7 p.m., before heading across the border to visit the Erie Otters on Sunday at 4 p.m.
“Yeah, it should be fun,” Smoskowitz said of the road trip. “The guys are looking forward to it. It’s not that long of a road trip... The guys will still find ways to have some fun, and then bond out there, so we’re looking forward to that.
“And again, four points on the line, so definitely two games that we believe are within our grasp and two games we’ll definitely be prepared for.”
Saturday’s matchup also gives Barrie a shot at redemption against a Central Division rival. The IceDogs previously handed the Colts a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss on home ice earlier this season, leaving the team eager to turn the tables.
“We’re excited to play them. We have something to prove against them,” said Matheson. “We have a better hockey (game) than we played against them last time, so we’re hoping to go prove that now.”
SMOSKOWITZ TO GUIDE CANADA WHITE AT WORLD U17S
Dylan Smoskowitz is set to make his official international coaching debut with the Canadian national program early next month.
The Barrie Colts bench boss was named the head coach of Canada’s Team White for the upcoming World U17 Championships in Oakville, from Nov. 1-7.
Helping out Smoskowitz on the bench will be assistants Kyle Chipchura of the Edmonton Oil Kings, Mathieu Gravel of the Drummondville Voltigeurs, and Dylan Beston of the Newfoundland Regiment.
Smoskowitz, who helped out at the U17 national development camp held earlier this summer, is in his second season as head coach in Barrie, after spending the previous three years as an assistant coach with the Colts. He helped guide Barrie to a berth in last year’s OHL championship against the Kitchener Rangers.
ICE CHIPS: Shots were even at 34-34… Kingston was 1-for-3 on the power play, Barrie 0-for-2… Jonah McCormick (ankle) remains out of the lineup for the Colts… Eamon Edgar, Sebastian Mogull, Michael Tang, and Ryan Yurkiw also drew assists for Barrie… Misiak’s six goals in just eight games have matched his high set in the previous two seasons.
