Peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, and salt and pepper are some things that happen to go really well together.
Fortunately for the Barrie Colts, so do Dayln Wakely, Brad Gardiner, and Bode Stewart.
Gardiner and Wakely, each with a goal and assist, and Stewart, with an assist, combined for two goals and five points in another dominant effort by the trio to lead the Colts to a 4-2 win over the Brampton Steelheads, Saturday night, at Sadlon Arena.
Fresh off a combined four-goal, six-point effort in a 5-4 loss Friday in London, the Colts trio has already racked up six goals and nine points in just two games since uniting after the acquisition of Wakely from North Bay on Thursday.
Now that’s instant chemistry.
“Stewie and I have been playing together for the last few weeks and obviously Wake’s a good player,” said Gardiner of the trio being able to gel so quickly. “I think whoever (Wakely) plays with makes anybody better. Stew and I have been bonding on and off the ice and Wakely came in pretty seamlessly.
“It helps Stewie and me and makes us better players, so as games go on, practices go on we’ll create more chemistry and keep getting better and better.”
The trio were easily Barrie’s best line in the games against two of the country’s top junior teams.
“Yeah, they’ve been pretty good,” said Colts general manager and head coach Marty Williamson. “They’re working well together and there’s lots of speed on the line, and Wakely has kind of invigorated them, so it’s a nice combo.”
It’s certainly got Gardiner going, who moved from centre to right wing. After earning two assists in the first two games, the Dallas Stars prospect went scoreless in his next three games.
Since joining Wakely and Stewart, Gardiner has his first three goals as a Colt and four points.
“He’s really picked up his game and enjoys playing the wing,” said Williamson of Gardiner who was acquired from Ottawa in the offseason. “He’s done a good job for us.”
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It was a nice bounce back for the Colts (4-3) after a disappointing loss in London where they coughed up a 4-2 third-period lead.
It also helped atone for a 4-1 loss to the same Steelheads here a little over a week ago.
“We’re still making a few mistakes and not quite clicking, but they persevered and that’s what I liked about them,” Williamson said of his team’s effort Saturday. “Every period, we fumbled a little bit, but did some good things, too.
“They kept to it and found a way to win a hockey game, which is important for us.”
It was the third straight loss for Brampton (4-3), which opened the scoring on Adam Zidlicky’s goal at 8:05 of the first period.
Barrie would reel off the next four goals.
Gardiner tied it at 2:42 of the second on a three-way passing play with Wakely and Stewart, before Wakely buried a rebound past Jacob Gibbons just 48 seconds later to give the Colts the lead.
With his first goal as a Colt, Gabriel Eliasson would wrist one home from the point at 7:38 of the third for what proved to be the winner.
“He’s a pretty happy big guy, I’ll tell you that,” said Williamson. “He played a good game. He got a little crippled on that one pass on the blueline (that led to a late goal by Mason Zebeski) and other than that I thought he played really well.
“He broke up rushes, made some good breakouts for us, and did a good job.”
Beau Akey, with his first of the season and first since early November of last year, fired it down the ice into an empty net to seal the win.
Zebeski scored with 1:08 remaining to cut the lead to 4-2, but it was too little, too late for Brampton.
Facing two big tests, Gardiner felt he and his teammates certainly earned a passing grade.
“Even a game like tonight, it’s a group effort,” he said. “Everyone was killing penalties, blocking shots, standing up for each other, and getting on the scoresheet. I think it’s a good sign to see contributions from everyone out there on the ice.
“We’re going to keep getting better and better as this thing gets going.”
Barrie’s fourth line of Jaiden Newton, Parker Vaughan, and Michael Derbidge pitched in some key minutes in the third period and even got in on a goal when Eliasson scored.
“They had some really good shifts,” said Williamson. “They were part of the big guy’s goal. We were tired too. Wakely was cramping up a bit, and some of our guys were pretty tired out there.
“It was a pretty heavy game we played in London. It was a physical game and mentally taxing game, so it was nice to get some shifts from them to ease up on the guys a bit.”
The Colts outshot the Steelheads, 51-36, including 20-12 in the third to put the game away.
“We did well,” said Williamson. “That’s a tough team that’s supposed to be really strong defensively and we were able to pepper them. Hopefully a few more go in some nights.”
The Colts return to action Thursday night when they host the Owen Sound Attack. Game time is 7 p.m.
ICE CHIPS: Gardiner’s two points were career points 100 and 101. Wakely played his 200th OHL game. . . Veteran defenceman Grayson Tiller was a healthy scratch. “I just wasn’t happy with his game, and we made a move to get the young kid (Justin Handsor) in.” . . . Both teams finished 0-for-4 on the power play. . . Brampton rookie and former Barrie Jr. Colts U16 forward Troy Patton made his OHL debut Saturday. Patton was a second-round pick (34th overall) in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection. . . Brampton’s Porter Martone and Barrie’s Kashawn Aitcheson were at it all night and got into a fight after the final buzzard. Aitcheson was handed a game misconduct. . . After giving up four goals and eight points to the top line of Carson Rehkopf, Angus MacDonnell, and Martone, the Colts held arguably the OHL’s top line off the scoresheet on Saturday.
