The Barrie Colts took care of a little business on Sunday afternoon in North Bay, but they know the work is far from done.
Cole Beaudoin recorded a hat trick and four points, and the red-hot Ben Wilmott added two goals and a three-point effort to help the Colts officially punch their ticket into this year’s OHL playoffs with a 7-4 win over the host Battalion at the Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens.
While Barrie has eyes on bigger and better things this season, it was good to tick one off on its must-do list.
“It’s a nice feather in your cap to know that you’ll be going to the dance,” said Colts’ head coach Dylan Smoskowitz of being one of three teams (Brantford and Ottawa) in the Eastern Conference to clinch a playoff berth. “It’s something for our guys to look forward to. As a coach, it’s another way to motivate these guys.
“Now that we’ve solidified a spot, practices have to ramp up in terms of the intensity and the details. Even preparation has to ramp up. So, when playoffs get here, now that we know we’re going to be there for sure, we prepare for it.”
Mason Zebeski and Joe Salandra also scored for the Colts (35-11-2-4), who have won five straight and sit two points behind the Brantford Bulldogs atop the conference standings.
With 16 games remaining on the OHL schedule, the opportunity to lock up home ice advantage throughout the playoffs is within grasp.
“It’s definitely a benefit to be able to stay at home in these long series,” said Smoskowitz. “We got to experience it last year in our second-round matchup with Kingston. If we were on the road for that Game 7, things might have gone a little differently.
“To have our home fans behind us, I’m sure the guys would feel more comfortable. As a coach, you get the last change and get your matchups in. It’s a big deal, and we’re definitely gunning for as many home games as possible.”
Former Colt Parker Vaughan, Sebastien Gervais, Ethan Procyszyn, and Brandt Harper scored for the Troops (26-22-2-1), who, along with the Niagara IceDogs, sit 21 points behind Barrie atop the Central Division standings.
Despite the win, Smoskowitz was far from pleased with the wild finish to this one.
Trailing 5-1 early in the third, the Battalion rallied to get within two before Beaudoin sealed it with his third goal of the night into an empty net with 30 seconds remaining.
For a team that prides itself on its defensive play and is looking for that to lead them on a deep playoff run, a wide-open period with a combined seven goals was certainly not the ideal way to lock down the two points.
“It’s so hard to get prepared for the playoffs and just think you’re going to flip a switch,” said Smoskowitz. “Everything we do today, everything we do this week in practice, these are the habits we’re building. So, when playoffs come around, that’s the team we’re going to be. If we’re going to be this lackadaisical, detailed soft team in the third period just because we have a couple of goals’ lead, we’re going to end up losing a lot of games.
“It’s something I’m not happy about right now. . . I’m not in a good mood right now, even though we got the win, but it’s something I’m looking forward to in talking about as a coaching staff and coming up with a plan to correct with our group this week in practice.”
The start was a very different story for the Colts. Playing their third game in three nights, including a 3-2 shootout win over North Bay at home on Saturday, the Colts jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
The strong start, says Smoskowitz, was important.
“I think the biggest thing with that start today was playing a three-in-three, with two games on the road and a quick turnaround from a hard-fought battle last night to today, we didn’t want to be the ones who needed to find another gear and push in the third,” he said. “We wanted to have that lead.
“I didn’t love our third period. I didn’t love how passive we were. Maybe, not as dialed in as we have been in the past in our third periods, but it’s something, as a group, we’ll chat about and correct and be better next time.”
There are better ways to keep teams at a distance in the third.
“Going toe-to-toe and trading goals in the third period is not the way we want to do it,” added Smoskowitz. “We want to keep teams at a distance by keeping them out of our zone, keeping them out of our goalscoring area, keeping them to the outside, and keeping them off the power play.
“Those are all things we did not do today, so it’s again something we have to dive into, and get our guys in the right mindset for Thursday (versus Kingston).”
Beaudoin’s big game gave him 23 goals and 65 points to move into sixth overall in OHL scoring. The Utah Mammoth top prospect has surpassed his career high of 62 points in 2023-24.
Not bad for a player who entered the league four years ago with questions surrounding his skating and how much he would score.
“You talk about his skating, no one can catch him, no one can stop him,” said Smoskowitz. “His edges, his acceleration, his balance, his speed and strength, it’s NHL-ready. Here you have an NHL player, playing at an OHL level, and I get to watch it every night. So, I’m a little bit used to it, but if I’m an opposing coach, I don’t know how you shut this guy down.
“Sometimes our opposition plays it so well and do exactly how you draw it up, and there’s Cobo willing himself to get through the defence and through the checks. It’s something that we all enjoy watching.”
ICE CHIPS: This weekend was the annual mom’s road trip, which included them reading out the starting lineup in the Barrie dressing room before the game. . . Wilmott has seven goals in his last five games. . . Ben Hrebik made 29 saves to pick up his career-high 22nd win, surpassing the 21 he earned last season. Jack Lisson was chased from the net early in the third after giving up five goals on 29 shots. Cole Vrugdenhil completed the game, giving up a goal on five shots in just under 16 minutes. . . The Colts return to action Thursday night when they host the Kingston Frontenacs at Sadlon Arena. Game time is 7 p.m.
