A strong finish wasn’t enough for the Barrie Colts to make up for a somewhat slow start on Friday night in Kingston.
Down a goal heading into the third period, Barrie poured it on with 17 shots, including a breakaway by Beau Jelsma, but Frontenacs goaltender Mason Vaccari held the fort to lead the home side to a 4-2 win at the Leon’s Centre.
The Colts (6-7) jumped on top in this one with Jacob Frasca scoring just 1:46 into the contest, but the Frontenacs (6-8) dominated the latter part of the opening period, outshooting Barrie 21-7 to grab a lead they would never relinquish.
Christopher Thibodeau tied the contest a little more than four minutes later and then Chicago Blackhawks prospect Paul Ludwinski shovelled home a Matthew Soto rebound past Sam Hillebrandt to put Kingston on top for good.
“I actually thought we came out well for the first seven or eight minutes, then I thought the back half of the period we just got flat, got off our game” said Colts head coach Marty Williamson. “I thought we had a good second and a real good third. It’s just unfortunate. We get a breakaway, we get up opportunities, but we just didn’t execute.”
The Colts, who had their brief two-game win snapped, got stronger as the game went on, but the rough end to the first would prove to be the difference.
“I thought we were a little inconsistent throughout the game,” said Colts’ rookie blueliner Jack Brauti, who drew an assist on Frasca’s marker. “We need to be solid through the whole 60 minutes, but I think that comes with more games and more reps, and I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
The Colts’ offence generated little early as Vaccari was seldom tested but trailing 3-2 in the third, they had their chances to tie it.
The best opportunity coming late when Jelsma raced in alone, but his deke to the forehand was stopped cold by the right pad of Vaccari.
“We knew we weren’t good for 10 minutes of that first period,” said Williamson. “We were standing around, got off our game and we just weren’t winning any battles, any races. I thought when we regrouped for the second period, we were much better and then, obviously, in the third.
“We got to execute. We had a breakaway, a couple of good looks. Got to give Vaccari credit because he made some big saves.”
Barrie would pull Hillebrandt with 1:25 remaining and got control of the puck in the Kingston end, but Eduard Sale’s shot from the point with heavy traffic in front hit a shin and bounced out of the zone leading to an empty-net goal by Quinton Burns that sealed the win for Kingston.
Once again, Barrie’s lack of execution in the offensive zone caught up with them.
“(Jelsma’s breakaway) was a really good play. (Chris) Grisolia had a real point-blank shot too and buried it into (Vaccari’s) belly,” said Williamson. “Then with the goalie out, we did a really good job to win the battle and Sale just has to make a better decision. He’s got guys open (Connor Punnett at the other point), and he gets the shot blocked and the game is over.”
A power-play marker, Ethan Miedema would extend the Kingston lead to 3-1 past the midway point of the second, before Barrie got it back to a one-goal game less than five minutes later.
Zach Wigle, standing alone in front, tipped a long point shot by Grayson Tiller past Vaccari to put the Colts on the doorstep, but it was as close as they would get.
“It’s one of the things, our youth is lacking a little bit. The extra plays and just the vision to see things,” Williamson said of the lack of finish. “We’re getting better and we’re growing, but it caught up to us a little bit that we just didn’t finish up well enough.”
On the other side of the rink, the Colts have been much better of late. Despite giving up 37 shots, they held the Frontenacs to few quality chances after the first period.
“I thought so too,” said Williamson. “We’re looking off the puck, we’re seeing things. We did a pretty good job. They throw a lot of movement at you inside the zone, and we never broke. We bent a little bit, but we never broke.”
Barrie’s Eastern Road swing will give them Saturday off before wrapping up the weekend Sunday afternoon in Ottawa.
It marks the first overnight stay for Barrie this season and provides the young club with a good chance to bond. Everybody made the trip with the exception of overage goaltender Ben West (sick) who stayed home.
“It’s great, especially going to a new city. We can walk around a little bit,” said Brauti. “It’s great for the team. We’ll have some bonding, have some chats. Overall, it will help us grow.”
Visits to the nation’s capital haven’t been very fruitful for the Colts over the last few seasons.
“I think they are one of the most structured teams in the league,” Williamson said of the 67’s. “They just don’t give up any shots. They want to play a real boring game and you got to be real patient against them.
“You got to be able to realize numbers and when they get pucks in deep, because you turn pucks over, they’re a very structured hockey team.”
Game time Sunday afternoon at TD Place is 2 p.m.
ICE CHIPS: Colts defenceman Kashawn Aitcheson left the game with less than seven minutes in the third and didn’t return after taking an elbow to the head. . . With West not making the trip, 2022 ninth-round pick (173rd overall) Ben Hrebik is backing up Hillebrandt this weekend. . . The game marked the first time the Colts have faced Tyler Savard since dealing the forward to Kingston before this season. . . The Frontenacs held a special tribute before the contest for radio play-by-play man Jim Gilchrist who was calling his 3,000 game on Friday. Gilchrist has been calling OHL games for 44 years now. . . Kingston dominated the faceoff dot winning 40 of 64 draws. . . The Colts were O-for-1 with the man advantage, while the Frontenacs were 1-for-3. . . The contest finished with a lot of pushing and shoving, which should make next Thursday’s game between the two teams in Barrie interesting.
Banner image via the Kingston Frontenacs
