Colts begin the second half believing they ‘can play with anybody’

The Barrie Colts embark on the unofficial second half of their season Saturday night when they host the North Bay Battalion and the hope is that the successful start to the year that has put them in contention for both a Central Division and Eastern Conference title continues.

Barrie (21-9-1-1) trails the Niagara IceDogs by two points with one game in hand as the puck drops on Game No. 33 of a 68-game OHL schedule tonight at Sadlon Arena.

The Colts believed they were contenders heading into this season and numbers show they are right there. The confidence remains that they can take a serious run at a second franchise OHL championship.

“We’re showing we can play with anybody, and we just got to tweak the team a little bit in the next couple of weeks and we’re going to have a good second half,” said Colts general manager and head coach Marty Williamson.

The OHL Trade Deadline is just around the corner on January 10 and the belief is that Barrie will be among the teams looking to bolster the lineup to put themselves over the top.

Key additions like Dalyn Wakely, Tristan Bertucci, Brad Gardiner, Emil Hemming, and Gabriel Eliasson via trades or the CHL Import Draft before and early in the season bolstered an already solid roster.

That depth has been a strength early on.

“We’re a super deep team,” said Wakely, who has been a force on the ice and a leader in the room since being acquired from North Bay in early October. “That’s what’s impressive and I think will help us down the stretch here. We’ll be able to rely on all four lines to go.

“Each night someone different is stepping up, so you need that if you’re going to go on a long run and this group’s got it.”

That balanced attack and team commitment to keep the puck out of the net are among the main reasons behind Barrie’s strong start.

The club doesn’t have a single player among the Top 50 scorers in the league. Cole Beaudoin, with 13 goals and 29 points in 24 games, leads the team in scoring and sits 52^nd overall among scoring leaders.

Barrie’s offensive attack seems to come from different players each night. Defencemen Kashawn Aitcheson, Tristan Bertucci and Beau Akey have added to the attack from the back end.

“It’s not just one guy,” said captain Beau Jelsma. “It’s throughout the whole lineup and we really harp on that. It takes a team to win and that’s what we’re doing right now. We’re playing as a team and it’s going our way.”

No team in the Eastern Conference has been better than Barrie at keeping the puck out of its net. The club has given up just 90 goals in 32 games.

While starting goalie Sam Hillebrandt has shown he can carry a team and Ben Hrebik has been a huge surprise in the backup role, a big, mobile blue line has helped keep the front of the net clear and limited second and third scoring chances.

Forwards have committed themselves to play without the puck.

The penalty kill has been outstanding and ranks No. 1 overall.

 “That’s what we hang our hat on, that we’re going to play strong defence,” said Williamson. “Our penalty killing is right up there, they’re doing a good job, and we think we can grow our scoring into elite in the second half when we settle our lines.

“We’ve had a weird start to the season. I think we’ve only had about 10 or 12 games where we’ve had our full lineup and we’ve been really good in that stretch.”

If there’s been a key area where the Colts need to improve, it’s been their slow starts.

Barrie boasts an impressive 13-1-0-1 record when scoring first this season, but too often they have made things much tougher on themselves with slow starts.

“We got to clean that up obviously,” said Wakely. “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 minutes 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.”

With so much at stake and the battle for positioning and home ice set to ramp up, there’s little room for error.

“Eventually, when you get later into the season, definitely (against) a playoff team, you come out a little bit slower you’re going to dig yourself a hole that sometimes you won’t be able to climb out of,” said assistant coach Dylan Smoskowitz.  “It’s definitely something we’re going to be focusing on in the second half.”

More scoring is expected to be at the top of the shopping list for Williamson and the Colts, and they’ll need it.

The battle for the top of the conference is shaping up to be fierce with the Oshawa Generals, Brampton Steelheads, Brantford Bulldogs, Kingston Frontenacs, and IceDogs all capable of big runs.

The Colts kick off a busy stretch of nine games in just 15 days and will have to do it with Beaudoin, Akey, Hillebrandt, and Emil Hemming away in Ottawa for the world junior hockey championships.

Every point will be crucial for a team that has big expectations.

“We’ve worked really hard to be in the spot we are,” said Wakely. “I think we’ve earned everything we’ve got so far and maybe deserve a little bit better too, but I think in the second half we got to refocus a little bit.

“Teams are gunning for all the teams at the top of the standings. We’re one of those teams, so we got to be ready to go when we’re back after the break.”

Game time Saturday vs. the Troops is 7:30 p.m.

ICE CHIPS:

The Colts complete a weekend home-and-home set Sunday afternoon in North Bay at 2 p.m. . . . Tonight’s contest marks the return of former Colt Shamar Moses to Barrie. The power winger was traded to North Bay in a deal for Wakely. Moses, who had 0 points in five games with Barrie before the deal, has 7 goals and 28 points in 26 games with the Troops. . . The Battalion is expected to look to the future at the deadline with names like Anthony Romani, Owen Van Steensel, and Jacob LeBlanc available.