Ask Kashawn Aitcheson if he loves playing at the old Sudbury Community Arena, and a huge smile lights up his face.
“Oh, yeah,” the Barrie Colts defenceman said without hesitation after his record-setting night in a 6-3 win over the host Wolves on Friday night.
Aitcheson, who often draws the ire of both the rival Wolves’ players and their fans with his spirited play, recorded a first-period hat trick in just 5:07 to set a new Colts’ franchise record.
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Aitcheson’s blistering start broke the previous mark of 6:54 set by Joseph Blandisi, also in Sudbury, on February 22, 2015.
“It’s definitely a good feeling,” said the New York Islanders draft pick of setting a new franchise mark. “It’s obviously not happening without each of my teammates, so it’s a credit to them.”
Aitcheson opened the scoring at 8:52 with Barrie on the power play when he moved into the faceoff circle and fired a pass from behind the net by Cole Beaudoin past Sudbury netminder Finn Marshall.
After Nathan Villeneuve tied the contest just 54 seconds later, Aitcheson put the Colts back on top at 9:47 when it appeared he was going to walk around the net, but instead pulled the puck back to his forehand and slid it off the inside pad of Marshall and in.
With Barrie back on the power play, Aitcheson completed the hat trick at 13:09 when he wired a one-timer from the point on a cross-ice feed from Cole Emerton.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Colts head coach Dylan Smoskowitz of Aitcheson’s opening period performance. “Every time he stepped on the ice, he scored a goal. From different angles. From different opportunities.
“He’s a special kind of player, and that’s why he gets all the accolades, but it’s very well deserved. I couldn’t be more proud of that kid.”
Aitcheson improved his goal-scoring streak to six games and now has nine goals during his impressive run.
“I think it’s just players finding me, making great plays, then me just getting lucky, and finding the net,” said the Colts co-captain, who helped the Colts (9-7-0-3) run their win streak to six games.
The rugged Toronto-native, who was selected 17th overall by the Islanders in the 2025 NHL Draft, now has 15 goals in 18 games and is well on his way to passing the single-season franchise mark of 26 that he set last season.
His 15 goals are more than double that of any other defenceman this season. The next closest, London’s Henry Brzustewicz, has seven.
“You look at Brandt Clarke, Aaron Ekblad, Tristan Bertucci, or Beau Akey, all these guys have moved on to bigger things, but they started as dominant forces in Barrie,” said Smoskowitz. “And this guy is doing better than all of them. He’s relentless. His passion to win. His passion to do well for his team. His passion for his coaches.
“I feel so lucky because I know the kid out there, there’s a tiny piece that wants to go out for me. It’s so special to be around a kid like that. I’m so grateful to be able to coach him, and we’re all lucky to have him on our team.”
Aitcheson, who spent the early part of Friday’s contest battling with Sudbury forward Chase Coughlan, got back at his rival when he scored twice with him in the penalty box.
After scoring each goal, Aitcheson waved over to Coughlan that he could come out of the penalty box now.
“I’m a super emotional guy on the ice, and I like to show it,” he said with a big smile. “So, yeah, I was kind of calling him out for those two penalties. Obviously, it worked out because we got the win.”
It was also a special night for Barrie rookie goalie Hagan Bach. Making his OHL debut, the Niskayuna, New York native made 25 saves to record his first win.
“Hagen’s a fantastic kid,” said Smoskowitz, who gave credit to goaltending coach Dave Belitski for pushing to draft him and working with him at practices. “Even though he’s playing the majority of the season with Collingwood, the days that he’s in here, he makes a big impact. Our guys love him. Absolutely, adore him.”
Despite Aitcheson’s first-period efforts, the Colts would need a big finish to complete the job on this night.
Sudbury (4-13-1-0), which has now lost five straight after being swept by the Colts in the home-and-home set, bounced back with a dominant second period, tying it 3-3 on goals by Villeneuve and Alex Pharand.
With the win streak on the line, the Colts responded with one of their best periods of the season. Alex Assadourian, William Schneid, and Emil Hemming, into the empty net, all scored in a period where they outshot the Wolves 13-4.
“Each game we get tighter,” said Aitcheson. “We got a family in here. I think we play for each other every night. When things don’t go our way, we don’t get down on one another. We don’t turn on each other or point fingers.
“We just regroup, go back to our structure, go back to the way we should be playing, and try to get the win.”
Smoskowitz loved how his team responded in the third.
“I don’t know why the game got away from us in the second,” he said. “We made very uncharacteristic plays. What I will say, though, is that when the game gets away from you, it does take a special group to regroup themselves, have a good chat in the dressing room, and understand what it takes to win.
“These guys know what our identity is. They understand what it takes for this group to win, and I thought we saw that in the third period. It was a really good final 20 minutes.”
After dropping six straight, Barrie has wiped out the skid with six wins in a row.
Smoskowitz credits veteran leaders like Evan Passmore, Brad Gardiner, Cal Crombie, Ben Hrebik, Gabriel Eliasson, Beaudoin, and Aitcheson for helping get the team back on track.
The Colts can make it seven-straight wins Saturday night when they wrap up a three-in-three weekend against the Greyhounds in Sault Ste. Marie.
“These guys, they’re animals. They’re built to win,” said Smoskowitz of his leadership group. “Even during our losing streak, we did like some things that were going on out there, but for these guys to get rewarded now with a six-game winning streak, yeah, we want to keep it going, but we just got to keep playing the same way.”
ICE CHIPS
Colts’ specialty teams continued their strong play, with the penalty kill holding the Wolves at bay on four chances, and the power play scoring twice on five opportunities. Barrie’s penalty unit killed all 11 Sudbury power plays over the home-and-home set.
“It’s a really good showing for us, and it was a big turning point in these last two games,” said Smoskowitz, who credits assistant coach Patrick Sexton for the work he has done with the penalty killing unit.
Former Barrie general manager Jason Ford is back with the club as a team scout.
The contest featured a spirited fight between Sudbury’s Henry Doucet and Eliasson, who dealt the majority of the big blows.
Hemming had a goal and two assists, and now has three goals and 13 points in just five games.
Beaudoin added a pair of assists to run his scoring streak to nine games (4-15-19).
Assadourian’s game-winner was his first as a Colt.
Marshall was replaced in goal by Owen Leonard after giving up Aitcheson’s third goal at 13:09 of the first period.
ADD. OHL
Ottawa 5 Erie 2
Flint 9 North Bay 3
Kitchener 5 Saginaw 2
London 2 Kingston 1
Brantford 5 Oshawa 4
Brampton 5 Sarnia 4 (SO)
Guelph 4 Sault Ste. Marie 2
