Cole Beaudoin has his wingman back and that’s a good thing for the Barrie Colts.
In his return to the lineup Sunday night after serving a two-game suspension, Riley Patterson set up both of Beaudoin’s goals and added another assist to help lead the Colts to a 4-3 win over the Oshawa Generals at the Tribute Communities Centre.
Regular linemates last season with left winger Tai York, Sunday marked the first time the dynamic pair of NHL draft prospects had played together this season and it didn’t take much time for the chemistry to return.
Beaudoin and Patterson combed for two goals and six points, including Beaudoin’s winner on the power play 1:42 into the third period.
“It’s really nice having him back,” said Beaudoin, who missed the two games of the season after being away at NHL training camp with Utah. “I miss playing with him. Last year we played with each other for half the year and built a lot of chemistry.
“So, to play with him tonight and get a few goals was really huge. We just got to keep building on that this upcoming week at practice and move forward to the games next weekend.”
Twice Patterson set up Beaudoin on one-timers.
The first coming later in the second period gave Barrie a 3-2 lead. Patterson spun and fired a loose puck in front at the net, but it was blocked and bounced right back to him.
He calmly slid the puck over to Beaudoin, who blasted it past Oshawa goalie Jacob Oester.
Beaudoin would double the lead when he hammered a cross-ice pass from Patterson past Oester.
“He made two nice passes to me for one-timer goals. That was sweet of him to do that,” said Beaudoin on his first two goals of the season “He has that scoring touch but then we have the chemistry we’ve built to find each other to score goals.
“It was really two sweet passes from him today.”
Williamson knew it was only a matter of time before that chemistry returned.
“They’re yin and yang, they feed off each other,” said Colts general manager and head coach Marty Williamson. “Patty has the patience to look across and Cole’s doing a good job of getting himself open.”
Luca Marrelli scored for Oshawa with 8:49 remaining in the third to cut the lead to one but despite some hairy moments, the Colts (3-2) hung on for their second-straight win.
“I thought we played a good hockey game,” said Williamson. “To win on the road, you got to play well, and we played a good hockey game. Yeah, it was a little closer than we wanted, we did a lot of good things tonight. That’s a good hockey team over there.”
The Generals (2-1-0-1), who eliminated the Colts in last year’s playoffs and once again are listed among this year’s top contenders, just had Anaheim Ducks third overall pick Beckett Sennecke return on Sunday. Top NHL prospect Colby Barlow was just acquired earlier this week.
“Oshawa is a top, top team, making some moves and getting some top players,” said Beaudoin. “Coming into their barn it’s always loud. Their fans are noisy and to come in here and get a big win on the road, is huge for our group. It’s just lots of confidence for our team.”
After scoring just four goals in their previous three games, the Colts offense is coming to life with the return in the past week of Beaudoin, Patterson, and Beau Akey.
Injured captain Beau Jelsma returns from Pittsburgh on Tuesday and while he’s still two weeks away from action, the Colts are nearing having a full lineup.
It’s the team we envisioned,” said Williamson. “Jelsma will be at practice Tuesday and that’s another positive. He’s not ready to play, but just having him back is pretty exciting.”
Lauri Sinivuori gave the Generals a 1-0 lead late in the first before Emil Hemming buried a rebound in front of a Beaudoin shot on the power play at 6:13 in the second.
Matthew Buckley put Oshawa back on top at 10:39, but a laser by Wigle less than two minutes later tied things up again.
The return of talent has also helped boost Barrie’s struggling power play. They scored twice on four chances with the man advantage.
“It makes a lot of difference when you can put fresh guys out there and have two units like we can,” said Williamson. “Hemming is making some good plays out there. As I said to them, I’m starting to really like this hockey team and we’re starting to care defensively that we’re not careless.
“That’s the way we played today. We didn’t give up an awful lot. They got a couple of lucky goals that bounced off things and went in. We made a big mistake on the three-on-three rush, but we’ll sort that out.”
The Colt return to action Friday night when they hit the road to take on the London Knights, before returning home Saturday for Round 2 against the Brampton Steelheads.
“Their crowd is going to be going crazy and they’re going to be noisy, but we need to do the same thing we did tonight,” Beaudoin said about going into London. “Continue to play our game and good things will come.”
Game time on Friday at Canada Life Place is 7 p.m.
ICE CHIPS: Tai York left the contest halfway through the game. “I don’t think it was too serious, but there was a little swelling, so we got to make sure it’s OK,” said Williamson. Nolan Newton, who was injured Saturday, did not dress. “I don’t think it’s long-term. We’ll get him back Tuesday.” . . . Williamson pointed out the improved play of Bode Stewart and Brad Gardiner. “Gardiner and Stewart gave me much better games than at home, and I’m really happy with that,” he said. . . Hillebrand was sharp again, stopping 29 of 32 shots. Oester made 24 saves. . . Hemming has two goals and five points in five games.
