Patterson scores overtime winner as late rally leads Colts over Sudbury Wolves

It was a case of better late than never for the Barrie Colts on Thursday night at Sadlon Arena.

Emil Hemming jammed home the equalizer with 59 seconds remaining and then Riley Patterson raced down the ice on a partial breakaway in overtime and fired it upstairs as the Colts rallied from a 3-0 first-period deficit for a thrilling 4-3 comeback victory over the Sudbury Wolves.

“We never quit,” said Patterson, who potted the winner 2:12 into the extra frame. “I think it shows the character we have on this team and a lot of great players. Players that don’t want to quit. It’s good to get the win.”

Down by a goal, the goalie pulled and time running out, the Colts (16-7) drew even on a marker that officials first ruled wasn’t good before a lengthy review overturned the call.

In a case of déjà vu going back to Game 2 of last year’s playoff series against the Oshawa Generals, Hemming jammed home a loose puck in the crease after officials had whistled the play dead.

In a similar play last year, Cole Beaudoin appeared to score the game-tying goal with eight seconds remaining but officials ruled the whistle had blown.

League officials admitted after it was the wrong call and cost the Colts a chance to take a 2-0 series lead. Officials Jesse Wilmot and Kevin McArthur would get it right this time, but not before Colts head coach Marty Williamson had to get them to review the play in the first place.

“He wasn’t going to look at it,” said Williamson, who made his case to the officials at the bench. “I said, ‘You got to look at it. This is the continuation call that burned us in the playoffs last year.’ It doesn’t matter if you blow the whistle, it’s the continuation of the play.

“He finally looked at it and was very respectable when he came back. It’s just not the way he saw it, but he was overruled and the right call got made. That’s what we have video for. We don’t obviously agree with how long it takes, but we’re happy tonight.”

That set the stage for Patterson’s game-winner.

The Vancouver Canucks prospect grabbed a loose puck just inside the Barrie blue line and raced down the ice with Sudbury’s Nick DeAngelis in hot pursuit. He moved to his left as he approached the net but kept the puck to his right and fired it top corner over the glove of Nate Krawchuk.

“I thought he’d run himself out of room,” said Williamson of the winner. “Those are nice hands when you can make a quick move like that and then elevate the puck. Again, that’s what he is. He’s got those hands, and he made a big-time play.”

Patterson admits he didn’t have the move in mind, but simply went with the play and everything worked out.

“You kind of go out there and your mind goes everywhere, it’s the overtime,” he said. “I just tried to put a good move on him, and I think I did. It was great to tie up the game there. We had the long review there, but great job by the boys on the ice to tie it up and get me the opportunity to go out there in overtime.”

A rough start put the Colts in a big early hole. A Sam Hillebrandt giveaway behind the net led to Alex Pharand’s marker just 31seconds in.

Blake Clayton and Kieron Walton would add to the lead for the Wolves (12-8-4-0) before a disastrous opening period would end for Barrie.

 It also spelled the end of the night for Hillebrandt who gave up three goals on eight shots and was replaced by Ben Hrebik to start the second.

“Three goals on eight shots and it was a tough one for Hilly, but we looked slow,” said Williamson. “I thought that was our slowest period, that’s what I said to them. We need to pick up the speed if we’re going to get back in this thing.”

Even after the first, and despite the comeback, it was far from Barrie’s best hockey.

“We were fighting it tonight,” said Williamson. “Besides the first period, even though the shot total went our way, we weren’t clean on a lot of stuff, and they tended to bog down. We bogged down too, but we were just not making plays.”

A much better second finally got the Colts on the board. Beau Jelsma deflected a point shot to Dalyn Wakely in front and the Edmonton Oilers prospect buried it.

Barrie would cut the lead to 3-2 on the power play when Wakely’s shot from the slot missed the net but bounced back in front to Cole Beaudoin, who whipped it in.  

“I thought a pretty productive second period even though we didn’t get rewarded much,” said Williamson. “It was a pretty good period for us (outshot Sudbury 20-9). We got the one goal, but it just seemed they were hard to come by.

“Fortunately, we got two more. The power play didn’t look that great, but we banged it in and got a power-play goal, which is big.”

It wasn’t a pretty win, but the Colts found a way to pull it out on a night they weren’t at their best.

 “It wasn’t the start we wanted, but it’s the character we have on the team,” said Patterson. “We came into the dressing room and talked to each other about kind of what’s going on and we figured out how to switch it and stick with it.”

Patterson and Hemming have found it a little tough of late on the offensive side, but they both came up big on this night.

For Patterson, it was just his second goal in the last seven games. For Hemming, it was just his second in the last 11 games.

“They were big goals,” said Williamson, whose club has won all five games against Sudbury this season.

Williamson was proud his team hung tough and didn’t just roll over after getting behind early.

“To be able to shut it down, and credit to Hrebik for going in there and doing a good job for us, and then credit to the guys,” he said. “I did think we picked up our tempo and though it wasn’t perfect we did try.”

The two Central Division rivals will do it again Friday night, this time back in Sudbury.

“We’ll go right back up there,” said Williamson. “It’s a tough building, so it’ll be an interesting game. I think it’ll be a better game than this game. We’ll see how it goes.”

Game time at the Sudbury Community Arena is 7:05 p.m.

ICE CHIPS: The review on Hemming’s equalizer lasted around 10 minutes. It was reviewed a second time for goalie interference, adding another three minutes. “It was a long review,” said Patterson. “It was tough to sit on the bench that long, but there was a similar call in the playoffs last year with the whistle blowing. We knew they had to review it, and we were trying to get the refs to review it and it’s a good thing they did.”. . . Hrebik stopped all 17 shots he faced to move to 6-0. . . Barrie outshot Sudbury 48-26. . . Fresh off his excellent performance at the CHL USA Top Prospect Game where he laid out several big hits and scored once in the CHL’s 6-1 and 3-2 victories, Colts’ defenceman Kashawn Aitcheson was given the night off. “I thought he was one of the better players on the ice there and consistently for both games. It’s just a credit to him,” said Williamson. “He’s a great kid, he’s worked hard at this, he’s so coachable. He loves this hockey team. He wanted to play desperately tonight. I had to say no you’re not playing (five games in five nights), but he wanted to play. We’ll get him in tomorrow night. We’re happy to have him back.”. . . Barrie signed 2024 OHL second-round pick (27^th overall) Ben Bowen on Thursday. “Ben brings a high level of excellence in goal scoring and proved that in U16, where he scored over 50 goals,” said Williamson. “Ben will be a big part of our future, and we’re looking forward to helping him continue his development.”