A familiar nemesis played the part of the Grinch and spoiled the sendoff into the Holiday Break for the Barrie Colts on Thursday night at Sadlon Arena.
Slow starts have too often been a norm for the Colts this season, and while they have managed to battle back in most, on this night they couldn’t find their way back.
The Niagara IceDogs jumped out to an early 4-1 first-period lead and then hung for a 6-5 win to send 3,631 fans home disappointed in Barrie’s final game before Christmas.
The win moved Niagara (21-9-1-1) into a tie with Barrie (21-9-1-1) atop both the Central Division and Eastern Conference standings.
The IceDogs close out their unofficial first half of the schedule Friday night in Brampton.
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“I thought the young kid (goalie Ben Hrebik) had a little bit of trouble in there coming off the shutout (4-0 on Wednesday in Owen Sound) and that’s just what happens sometimes,” said Colts’ general manager and head coach Marty Williamson. “We said we were going to win the second period, and we did. We found ourselves a way to get back into it. Unfortunately, it’s not enough and that’s what happens when you get behind by a few goals.
“They never quit; we battled right to the end. That’s a good first half for us, and I’m proud of the guys.”
Carter Lowe’s eighth of the season just 4:05 into the first period got the Colts off on the right foot, but long shots by Alex Assadourian, his first of three on the night, and Kevin He seemed to fool Hrebik just three minutes apart to put Niagara on top.
Goals by Sean Doherty and Andrei Loshko less than three minutes apart late in the period put the Colts in a deep hole they couldn’t dig themselves out of.
“We got to clean that up obviously,” Barrie centre Dalyn Wakely said of the slow starts. “You can’t fall behind two or three goals against teams in this league, especially the top ones. We know that. We know we can be a lot better.
“Our goalies have been great for us all year long, so we owe it to them a little bit more to be better the first 20 because we’re pretty good the rest of the game. We just got to clean up that first 20 and bring a more consistent, equal effort.”
After getting outshot and outplayed in the opening period, the Colts were much better in the second and would draw to within one on Riley Patterson’s first of two goals on the night and Beau Jelsma’s power-play marker a mere 47 seconds apart early on.
With the momentum swinging Barrie’s way, the IceDogs would catch a huge break when Assadourian’s shot from the point was stopped by Hrebik, but the rebound bounced off Colts’ defenceman Grayson Tiller and in.
“They’re a good team over there,” said Williamson of Niagara. “They’re an offensive team and their shots found ways to get in the net. I thought we were going to be OK if we won that second period. The one that really hurt was the fluky one that bounced off someone. You come out of that period 4-3, it’s a different third period.”
In the dressing room after the first, Williamson asked his club to start by winning the second period and they did.
“The challenge to the guys was just to win the period, and we did. We won it, 2-1,” he said. “We got ourselves back into it and just the empty-net goal there at the end, but (we) didn’t give up. Again, we righted our ship and played much better.
“We had a slow first period in Owen Sound too, so it’s something we got to address. Our first periods haven’t been our best and we got to get on the horse a little better.”
Wakely knows he and his teammates aren’t doing themselves any favours with the slow starts.
“It goes back to falling (behind) early,” said Wakely, who had three assists on the night. “Once you give up four, the next one is five and it just makes that mountain to climb even taller. I think we can control things a little better on our end and that way if a fluky one does go in then we’re within reach.
“That’s on us and we can be better.”
Patterson got the Colts back to within one with 1:58 remaining when he made good on his second shot off a scramble in front to beat Owen Flores, but Assadourian restored the two-goal lead with an empty-netter just 28 seconds later.
Wakely grabbed a loose puck behind the net and fed Tristan Bertucci in front to get back to within one again with 49 seconds remaining, but it was too little too late for the Colts.
“They had the cushion there which just made it a little tough, but we found one to give ourselves a chance,” said Williamson. “Unfortunately, we screwed up the faceoff to give them the empty net goal.”
Barrie will now get nine days to celebrate the holidays with their families before they return to action next Saturday night to host the North Bay Battalion at 7:30 p.m.
Wakely is certainly looking forward to spending time with his family and friends and enjoying some good food while watching teammates Cole Beaudoin and Beau Akey (Canada), Sam Hillebrandt (U.S.), and Emil Hemming (Finland) at the world junior hockey championships beginning on Boxing Day.
“I got to probably watch the treat intake over the next couple of weeks, but I’m super excited to go home and see my mom (Katie) and dad (Jason) and my brother (Sidney),” said Wakely, who is second in team scoring with 14 goals and 14 assists for 28 points in 24 games. “(Sidney) plays hockey too, so it’ll be nice to be under the same roof as him and enjoy some downtime for a few days.”
ICE CHIPS: The Colts play three games in four nights coming out of the break. After hosting North Bay next Saturday, the two teams complete the back-to-back on Sunday afternoon in North Bay before Barrie hosts the Oshawa Generals on New Year’s Eve. . . Former Colt defenceman Blair Scott was tossed early in the second period after being handed a game misconduct for a kneeing major. Teammate and former Colt Jack Brauti went over by the Colts’ dressing room after the game to greet many of his former teammates. . . Bertucci also had two assists to finish with three points. . . Patterson’s two goals give him three goals and five points in his last two games. . . Niagara outshot Barrie 38-32, including 17-10 in the opening period. . . The five goals given up by Hrebik was a season-high in 13 appearances this year.
