The Barrie Colts looked more like themselves Saturday night and as a result, got themselves back into the win column.
Facing one of the OHL’s top teams, the Colts played an inspired, physical, full 60-minute game to snap their season-high five-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the Windsor Spitfires in front of 4,112 fans at Sadlon Arena.
Coming off easily their worst stretch of hockey this season over the last couple of weeks, Barrie (25-14-1-1) came out hard from puck drop and took it to the Spitfires (31-9-2-1), who boast the OHL’s second-best record and had just one loss in their previous 11 games coming into the night.
“We’ve been finding ways to change it up,” said Colts’ centre Brad Gardiner, who opened the scoring late in the first and had his best effort in a Colts uniform since arriving from Ottawa in a pre-season deal. “Obviously a rough little patch for us, but we’re all confident. We're facing adversity now and it’s better than later in the playoffs.
“We all agreed tonight that if we played like that, we’d be a pretty hard team to beat. Everybody contributed tonight, whether it was being physical, blocking shots, or backchecking and all those little things. We did all those things tonight and when do those, we’re a tough team to beat.”
It was a complete team effort for the Colts, who played a much sounder defensive game while a stronger forecheck up front led to more scoring chances.
“There was a lot of purpose in that dressing room,” said Colts’ head coach Marty Williamson. “I thought we played with purpose and that was the difference in our game. We were more physical, we were quicker.
“I still think there’s another level we can go, but it was a great step in the right direction today.”
The Colts held a potent Spitfires club that leads the OHL with 194 goals to 29 shots, most of which were from outside, and included just five in the third with Barrie hanging on to a 2-1 lead.
They also killed off all four Windsor power plays.
“It was something we got away from a little bit in North Bay, even that little stretch there,” said Gardiner of their strong defensive play. “You know, managing the game better. The turnovers were almost double or triple what they were at any time this year.
“We managed the game really well today. We knew they were going to come in ready to play, so we found our groove and now it’s doing it every night and staying consistent.”
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Barrie had just six goals over its five-game skid, but there was no shortage of opportunities on this night from a team that was moving its feet and buzzing all night.
“That’s the best we’ve seen from our team in a while,” said Williamson. “We were at 43 shots, which is a real good number for us, and we didn’t give up a lot. If we can generate that and play good defence, that’s the kind of combination we believe in this team.”
A new look up front with the lines seemed to do the trick for Barrie. The new line of Gardiner between Emil Hemming and Bode Stewart was a force all night.
After Luke McNamara had tied the contest early in the second, Hemming buried a chance in the slot less than six minutes later to put Barrie on top 2-1.
“I think it was huge,” Gardiner said of his line’s two goals. “I was in the right place at the right time. I’m playing with skilled players. It was fun playing with them and I think we all enjoyed playing with each other.
“Now, it’s not being satisfied with that. It’s playing a full 60 minutes every night. We’re a hungry line. It was good for all of us to see the puck going in the net tonight, but we can contribute in other ways. It’s just finding ways to contribute every night.”
Williamson and his staff admit they weren’t happy with what they saw from the line combinations in Thursday’s loss in North Bay.
“I wanted to make a switch, and for some reason that Gardiner line just caught my eye,” he said. “I thought Gardiner had his best game for us.”
The game marked the home debut for newly acquired forward Anthony Romani. Reunited with his former North Bay linemates Dalyn Wakely and Owen Van Steensel, the winger looked much better in his second game with the team.
The line had several good scoring chances and Romani ended up with his first of the season on an empty-netter that sealed the win.
“They’re just going to keep getting better and better,” Williamson said of the line. “You don’t score 300 points together in this league as a line and just forget it. They just need time together.
“For Romani, this will be his first back-to-back game tomorrow (Sunday afternoon against Niagara), so we’ll see how he responds that way. He’s a fun kid to coach.”
Captain Beau Jelsma slid over to the left wing alongside centre Cole Beaudoin and Riley Patterson. They were effective all night and should get stronger as they get used to playing with one another.
“The line combinations are going to help us get our goal total up when we get them all going,” said Williamson.
Up 2-1 in the third period, the Colts got themselves a little breathing room midway through when Carter Lowe’s shot from the left wing seemed to handcuff Windsor goaltender Joey Costanza.
The puck bounced off his glove, up and over him into the net.
The Colts wrap up the weekend Sunday afternoon on the road against the IceDogs, who beat North Bay 3-1 on Saturday night to remain three points ahead of Barrie atop the Eastern Conference and Central Division standings.
“We got to go into that building and have this kind of effort,” said Williamson. “We don’t need to do anything different against them. We need to be physical with our forecheck. (Owen) Flores is a good goalie, so you got to get your shots and chances against him because he doesn’t give up a ton.”
Game time is 2 p.m.
ICE CHIPS: Colts’ goaltender Ben Hrebik stopped 28 of 29 shots to earn his 13th win of the season. . . Rookie Jack Martin recorded his first OHL point with an assist on Lowe’s 10th goal of the season. . . Kashawn Aitcheson was a force all night, delivering three huge hits and finishing a plus three on the evening. . . Triston Bertucci recorded two assists after going pointless in his previous five games. . . Justin Handsor returned to the lineup in place of Gabriel Eliasson, who was feeling under the weather. “He texted us yesterday and didn’t make the morning skate this morning and just couldn’t go,” said Williamson. “He’ll be a game-time decision (Sunday).” . . . Hemming’s game-winner was the first of his OHL career.
