Colts let multi-goal third period lead slip as Rangers steal 4-2 win

Kitchener, Ont. — OHL Friday night:
First Period
     1. Barrie, Matheson 1 (Shirochenkov) 6:30 (pp)
     Penalties — Arquette Kit (hooking) 5:13, Desiderio Bar (tripping) 11:53, Edgar Bar (roughing), Lam Kit (roughing) 19:17.
Second Period
     2. Barrie, Edgar 5 (McNally, Lowe) 18:15
     Penalties — McNally Bar (roughing), Chiarot Kit (roughing) 12:29, Kitchener bench (delay of game), Schneider Kit (double high-sticking) 19:20.
Third Period
     3. Kitchener, Romano 8 (Bilecki, Arquette) 5:28
     4. Kitchener, Arquette 15 (Kut, Romano) 13:56
     5. Kitchener, LaBrash 3 (Chiarot, Bilecki) 17:41 (pp)
     6. Kitchener, Ellis 8 (Arquette) 19:51 (pp) (en)
     Penalties — Testa Bar (holding) 4:45, Desiderio Bar (slashing) 16:02, Chiarot Kit (holding) 17:46, Edgar Bar (holding the stick, misconduct) 18:03.

Shots on goal by
Barrie 10 10 4—24
Kitchener 9 10 9—28
     Goal (shots-saves) — Barrie: Bach (L,1-9-1-0); Kitchener: Hriczov (W,4-2-0-0).
     Power plays (goals-chances) — Barrie: 1-5; Kitchener: 3-5.
     Referees — Connor Mallon, Aiden Dionne. Linesmen — Riley Clipper, Mason Hardy.
     Attendance — 7,061 (7,131)

The Barrie Colts have had trouble closing out games this season, and Friday night in Kitchener provided the latest example.

The host Rangers scored four unanswered goals in the third period to erase a two-goal deficit, handing a stunned Colts squad a 4-2 loss in front of 7,061 fans at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.

Luca Romano, Cameron Arquette, Jack LaBrash, and Haeden Ellis — into an empty net — scored for the Rangers (12-6-2-1), who won their fourth straight game and spoiled an impressive road effort by the Colts (4-14-3-0) over the opening 40 minutes.

Barrie had a golden opportunity to put the game away late in the second period and into the third with a full two-minute, two-man advantage, but they couldn’t capitalize.cInstead, Romano scored a power-play goal 5:28 into the final frame to ignite the Kitchener comeback.

With a win firmly in their grasp, the Colts let it slip away.

“I think it’s honestly more of a mental thing than anything,” Colts head coach Dylan Smoskowitz said of his young team’s inability to finish off strong efforts. “Guys are playing a little bit timid and a little bit slow, and that’s why you take a penalty. It’s not because you’re undisciplined or you’re dumb. It’s just you’re half a step late, and you’re probably thinking too much about defending a lead. Next thing you know, you’re behind the guy, and it leads to a stick infraction — a trip, a slash, a hook, something like that.

“Then, obviously, it really pumps the team up when they get to go on the man advantage late in the game like that. So it’s something we’ve got to clean up, but the best way to learn is actually to go through it.”

Coming off a 4-3 overtime win in Owen Sound on Wednesday, the Colts looked to build on that momentum, and they did so early in their first return to Kitchener since meeting in last year’s OHL championship series.

Barrie struck early on the power play when Maxim Shirochenkov slid the puck back to Lucas Matheson at the point. The rookie blueliner stepped into the slot and wired a shot past Kitchener goaltender Mason Hriczov at 6:30.

“The first 20 was a great road period,” Smoskowitz said. “We grabbed one on the power play with Matheson’s first — a great play. The crowd was kind of out of it, and then we kept rolling and kept it quiet. We stayed disciplined and didn’t give them any great looks. It wasn’t until the third that this place got rocking.”

Barrie appeared to extend its lead to 2-0 in the second period when Anthony Figliomeni banged home a loose puck in the crease. However, a lengthy video review overturned the call as referees Connor Mallon and Aiden Dionne whistled Jonah McCormick for goaltender interference.

Replays showed McCormick’s left leg barely touched Hriczov, who was positioned to the left of the net and never really moved. McCormick was also being guided from behind by a Kitchener defender.

“You tell your guys, and it’s something we preach a bunch — whether in video or practice— you drive to the net, you stop at the net, you hang out at the net,” Smoskowitz said of the disallowed goal. “Sometimes you get a little bit overzealous, and you get too close, but again, it’s hockey, and you make hard plays. Sometimes they go your way, sometimes they don’t.”

Despite the controversial ruling, the Colts pushed forward. Eamon Edgar scored minutes later at 18:15, which temporarily gave Barrie the 2-0 cushion they were looking for.

“You push through it,” Smoskowitz said. “It’s not going to stop us from going to the net. You want to play within the rules, and you don’t want to cross the line, but sometimes things happen really quickly. They are bang-bang plays, and guys are sticking to their habits, which is getting to that paint.

“Whether that was called a goal or no goal, our guys are ready for the next shift, whether it’s a power play or five-on-five. It’s onwards and upwards. You get ready for your next shift.”

The Colts nearly pushed their lead to three in the final seconds of the second period after the Rangers ran into penalty trouble. Kaden Schneider was handed a high-sticking double minor after catching Shirochenkov with his stick.

Though the call wasn’t made until the next stoppage and following a lengthy review, an additional Kitchener bench minor gave Barrie a full two minutes of five-on-three play.

They came agonizingly close on a back-door feed from Matheson to Declan McNally, but the near-miss allowed the Rangers to survive the period and stay within striking distance.

“You get that third one, you give yourself more of a cushion, and you almost put the other team out of it in the sense that they know they have a bigger hill to climb,” Smoskowitz said. “It was a really good look in the 40 seconds before the second period ended with that back-door play.

“It’s pretty fun to see those two 16-year-olds out there snapping it around pretty good, but maybe next time. If we put that one over the line, we have a three-goal lead and can shut it down.”

Instead, the Rangers came alive after Romano’s opening strike. Arquette and LeBrash — the latter on the power play — subsequently beat Barrie goaltender Hagan Bach to give the home team a 3-2 lead with 2:19 remaining.

“They made it happen,” Smoskowitz said of the Rangers' comeback. “It’s just really unfortunate tonight that we didn’t send that one into overtime and come out with at least a point.”

Ellis iced the game with another controversial sequence, being awarded an empty-net goal with just nine seconds remaining. Though Ellis actually hit the post, officials ruled it a goal due to a foul by Shirochenkov.

“If there’s 1:09 left, I probably would be more upset,” Smoskowitz said of the ruling. “With nine seconds left, whether that goal crossed the line or not, it didn’t have much of an outcome on the game. You don’t want to be in that situation anyway — playing in a game where you had a two-goal lead, and now you’re pulling your goalie, trying to tie it up to go to overtime.

“So, sometimes you just kind of do it to yourself.”

HARD WORK PAYING OFF FOR MATHESON

Smoskowitz was pleased to see Matheson rewarded with his first OHL goal on Friday night.

The 17th overall pick in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection scored five goals in four preseason games and is steadily making a broader impact. He has a goal and seven points through 16 games, looking increasingly comfortable after leading Canada’s Team Red to a bronze medal at the recent U17 World Hockey Challenge in Oakville.

“Lucas has done a really good job of sticking with it, showing up to work every day, and just getting better,” Smoskowitz said. “I don’t think there’s a day that’s gone by where Lucas hasn’t asked for video, wanted to stay on the ice for extra reps, or done something he didn’t have to do to make sure he’s continuing to develop.

“I think the U17 challenge was fantastic for him. He’s come back with that swagger and confidence he had coming out of U16 last year. I’m looking forward to watching him continue to develop and work hard.”

RANGERS EXPLOIT COLTS' PENALTY KILL

Barrie’s penalty kill entered the night ranked fourth overall in the OHL, but Kitchener solved it effectively, capitalizing on three of four opportunities. Barrie finished 1-for-5 on the power play overall.

“It’s funny, the penalty kill is fourth in the league and has been a real bright spot for us, and it just had a couple of mental lapses tonight, and they capitalized,” Smoskowitz said. “They have some good shooters and good playmakers.”

COLTS HOLDING 'WAKEUP SKATE BEFORE STEELHEADS CLASH

Smoskowitz said he’ll talk to his team Saturday morning when they hit the ice for a 10-to-15-minute wakeup skate in preparation for their matchup against the Brampton Steelheads.

“We’ll have a chat then, show them some of the good stuff we did, some stuff we want to clean up, and then really shift our focus to Brampton — what Brampton does well, and what we think we can exploit,” the Colts head coach said. “It’s a really good game for us, a banner-raising ceremony… I hear it’s almost sold out already, so I know the energy is going to be in the building. I’m looking forward to giving our fans a good show.”

Meanwhile, Kitchener hosts the Ottawa 67's on Sunday afternoon.

ICE CHIPS

Carter Lowe picked up an assist and now has five points (3G, 1A) in his last three games.

Colts forward Nicholas Desiderio and Hriczov grew up in the same neighbourhood in North Caldwell, N.J. In an interview between periods on the Rangers broadcast, Desiderio noted the two childhood friends used to fish for bass together.