Colts score four straight to rally for a win in Brampton

Down 3-1 early in the second period on the road to the Brampton Steelheads on Friday night, Marty Williamson looked down his bench and liked what he saw.

Not a head was hanging.

The Barrie Colts head coach preached patience and told his team the game was far from over. It was.

Four goals in a little less than 11 minutes later and the Colts were on their way to a 6-4 win over their Central Division rivals at the CAA Centre.

“The bench was fairly lively, and we told them to hang in this thing and they’d make a couple of mistakes, and they responded well,” said Williamson, whose club rallied goals by Kashawn Aitcheson and Beau Akey sandwiched between a pair by Brad Gardiner to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. “We drove the net and made some good plays, and it was nice to see.”

Coming off a tough 2-1 loss the night before at home to the Erie Otters in a game where they ran into a hot goaltender and felt they deserved better, the Colts (7-4) found themselves behind again after 20 minutes.

This time they found a way.

“A little bit of a slow period to start,” said Gardiner, who added an assist and now has six goals and eight points in his last six games. “It was ugly, but we did what we had to on the road to bounce back. Everyone contributed tonight, which we needed on the road.

“It was definitely nice to get the two points.”

Williamson knows the skill and character he has on that bench, even missing Utah prospect and workhorse Cole Beaudoin who was sick.  

“I got confidence with this team to score,” he said. “We had a tough night (Thursday), and I wondered if it would be similar to that kind of a night. Obviously missing (Beaudoin) hurt a little bit, we had to rearrange some lines, but it’s a big win for us.”

Spencer Sova would score with a little more than three minutes remaining to cut the lead to 5-4, but the Colts would get their second win in three games this season over Brampton (5-4-1) as well as a buzzer-beating empty-net goal by Beau Jelsma just for good measure.

“It’s a good sign tonight, and it's another team’s rink,” said Gardiner of the comeback. “Up 5-3 going into the third period, we knew they were going to have a push and Marty came in between the second and third period and prepped us for what to expect.

“Yeah, everyone is starting to get confident. We’re working good together as a five-man unit on the ice, whoever is out there. Everyone’s just getting more comfortable together. We’re learning what to expect from each other and our roles. We’re just getting better each night.”

The Steelheads had a huge opportunity to cut into that 5-3 lead and build momentum with a two-man advantage early in the third period, but the Colts, who killed all five Brampton power plays on the night, held the fort.  

“It was huge,” Gardiner said of killing off the five-on-three. “It would have been a completely different game. If they score on that, maybe we’re going to overtime. It’s a big kill. We got a game (Saturday), so it made it easier on everyone.”

Williamson knew it was a big kill as well.

“That was the turning point,” he said. “You give up one early like that it would have hurt because they got a lot of time left. We did give up one late, but to kill that off is a real momentum changer and made us feel positive.”

It was also a special night for Barrie rookie Parker Vaughan. The 2024 fifth-overall pick scooped up a loose puck in front and roofed a backhander over the glove of Brampton’s Jack Ivankovic just 1:34 in for his first OHL goal.

Jaiden Newton and Cole Dubowsky also each had an assist for their first points of the year.

“That was really big,” Williams said of Vaughan’s first OHL goal. “For him, we expanded his role. He got put up in the top-nine group because we were missing (Beaudoin) and I thought he responded really well.

“Besides the goal, he made some plays for me. By midway through the game, I had no issue putting him out there.”

Luke Misa, with a pair in the first, and Carson Rehkopf, early in the second, put the home side on top, before Barrie rallied to hand Brampton its fifth loss in its last six games.

Not without making it interesting of course. Emil Hemming was run over by Sova resulting in a turnover at the Brampton blueline and seconds later it was a one-goal game with 2:20 remaining.   

“He’s got to realize danger here and this isn’t the ice he’s used to playing on,” said Williamson. “He’s got to realize things happen really fast. Be safer on that kind of play. I told (coaches Dylan Smoskowitz, Dennis Martindale, Connor Cadaret, and David Belitski) to thank (the team) for the grey hair. We miss the open net on a pretty easy play and then Akey chucks one over the boards with 11 seconds left.

“We’re not doing anything the easy way right now. I’m proud of the guys hanging in. This is a big win here.”

Barrie wraps up a three-in-three weekend at home on Saturday night to the Guelph Storm.

Beaudoin is likely to miss that game as well.

“He tried to play for us (Thursday) and play through it, but he got worse as the game went on,” said Williamson. “He’s got an ear infection and he’s not feeling well. I would think he’s kind of doubtful for (Saturday) too.”

Game time at Sadlon Arena is 7:30 p.m.

“It hurts not having Beaudoin in the lineup, and obviously he’s a leader and a go-to player, but we’re going to need a little bit from everyone like we did get tonight,” said Gardiner.

ICE CHIPS

Goalie Ben Hrebik made 24 saves to earn his third win. “He was a little scrambly early, but I thought he really settled in and that’s what a young goalie in these kinds of circumstances is,” said Williamson. “He made some huge saves at 3-1 that were pretty important to us and then we were able to build off it.”. . . Dalyn Wakely had two assists and now has four goals and eight points in six games with Barrie since being acquired from North Bay. Akey also added an assist for a two-point night. . . Barrie outshot Brampton 33-18. . . Nolan Newton (concussion) has missed seven games.