The Kitchener Rangers have had the Barrie Colts number over the last five years and that didn’t change Friday night.
A poor second period did the Colts in this time, as the Rangers scored three in a span of less than five minutes midway through the frame to hand the visitors their fifth-straight defeat with a 4-1 decision at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
The Rangers (39-13-4-1), who sit second overall in the OHL standings, have been a handful for the Colts (33-18-2-2). Barrie hasn’t beaten Kitchener since a 6-4 win there on Friday, March 6, 2020.
The Colts have been outscored 18-4 at the Auditorium alone over those five seasons.
“It’s a death hole for us,” said Colts’ general manager and head coach Marty Williamson of playing Kitchener. “They seem to dominate us every year. There’re always those kinds of teams, and we got to put a stop to it, but it probably won’t be this year.”
A slumping Colts team that has been fighting illness and in the middle of a three-in-three weekend held its own in the first period, killing off a five-minute slew-footing major to Owen Van Steensel to remain scoreless.
The second period was a completely different story. Outshot 16-2, they gave up a pair of goals by Cameron Arquette sandwiched around a Cameron Reid marker that would prove to be the difference.
“The second period was just God awful,” said Williamson. “We made a mistake and everybody just imploded, and they couldn’t regroup themselves until the third period. That’s what cost us to some extent. It was a 0-0 first period and the shots were 12-4, but you take away the power play and they’re not going to get those shots on net.
“I wasn’t that unhappy (after the first), but it’s just the inconsistency of our hockey team to come out and play such a poor second period. It’s just embarrassing.”
The two shots were a season low and gave Barrie just 6 shots through the opening 40 minutes.
“Obviously, we’d like to get more shots,” said Barrie defenceman Evan Passmore. “We want to generate more chances than just getting six shots, so that’s something we want to improve on going into (Saturday’s game).”
After giving up five goals at home to the Owen Sound Attack the night before, the Colts believe they are getting away from what they say is the identity of their team; a strong defensive club that sits among the top teams with the fewest goals against.
They returned to that defensive style in the opening period, but the wheels came off the next period.
A Beau Akey turnover inside the Rangers blueline led to a two-one the other way that had former Colt Chris Grisolia slide it across to Arquette who wired it over the glove of Ben Hrebik to make it 1-0.
More than three minutes later the lead doubled when top NHL prospect Reid was left all alone in front and buried a Trent Swick pass.
Arquette then made it 3-0 a little more than two minutes later when he buried a rebound off the post on a shot by Jakub Chromiak.
“It was (a return to that defensive game) and then we start getting fancy in the second and we give up odd-man rushes, we can’t sort ourselves out on five-on-five hockey, and all the mistakes that you got to be mentally tough, and they just aren’t,” said Williamson.
“We fumble a puck and we’re line-changing on it and then changing on a rush, it’s just all a combination of bad hockey.”
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Hrebik made three sensational stops to keep the lead at three before Stewart tipped in a Beau Akey point shot early in the third to give the visitors some hope.
The Colts had an opportunity to get back in the game when Alex Bilecki was handed a double minor for a high-sticking infraction, but Kitchener goaltender Jackson Parsons held the fort.
Adrian Misaljevic put the game away on an empty-netter with 1:26 remaining.
“We got to look in the mirror here and really bare down and play for each other and try to get our next win,” said Passmore. “We got to play for each other and play a good game to try to get out of this little slump we’re in.”
That opportunity will come on Saturday when the Colts host the Peterborough Petes to finish off their busy weekend.
Dead last in the Eastern Conference, the Petes have played much better hockey in the second half and are 5-5 over their last 10 games as they desperately try to run down the Ottawa 67’s and North Bay Battalion for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
“I’ll see what our gas tank is like (Saturday), but the main thing is playing smart,” said Williamson of what his team will need to bust out of this funk and earn the one point they need to clinch a playoff berth. “Peterborough is a patient team. They play you hard, they play you physical.
“You got to be patient with them. That’s what’s been a tough part for us and it’s a tough part when you’re getting tired. Mentally you make mistakes, so we got to come back and play a 60-minute period.”
Game time Saturday night at Sadlon Arena is 7:30 p.m.
ICE CHIPS:
Van Steensel was ejected from the game and will miss tonight’s game against the Petes. . . The game marked a return to their hometown of sorts for Akey (Waterloo) and Passmore (Elmira). . . Tristan Bertucci (mono), Jack Martin (concussion), Michael Derbidge, and Cole Dubowsky were Barrie scratches. . . Kitchener outshot Barrie 36-18. . . The Colts went 0-for-3 with the man advantage, the Rangers 0-for-2.
