Colts top Frontenacs to grab 2-0 series lead

The Barrie Colts are in the driver’s seat and heading to Kingston with an opportunity to grab a stranglehold in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Frontenacs.

Riley Patterson and Emil Hemming scored twice and added an assist and Grayson Tiller had a goal and two helpers to finish each with three points and lead the Colts to a 7-4 victory in front of 4,110 boisterous fans, Saturday night, at Sadlon Arena.

The Colts are primed for round 2

The Colts, who hung on to home-ice advantage, now lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 as the scene shifts to Slush Puppie Place for Games 3 on Tuesday night.

Game time is 7 p.m.

“Getting both at home is obviously humongous,” said Tiller, who along with his teammates are now 5-0 on home ice. “Going into Kingston 2-0, the job is only half done. We want to go in there and get both two, but taking care of business here was definitely important.”

In Game 1, the Colts reeled off four unanswered goals to grab the win. Last night, they scored three unanswered beginning with Tiller’s game-winner midway through the second.

Brad Gardiner, back after missing four games, scored 1:28 later, and Hemming, into an empty net, sealed the win for the Colts who held a 6-4 heading into the final period.

After a wild second period where the teams combined for six goals, the Colts, led by goaltender Sam Hillebrandt, locked things down against a Kingston team loaded with offensive weapons.

“We went goal-for-goal there for a bit, but we talked on the bench that we really had to tighten up defensively,” said Tiller, whose club was outshot 43-31. “I thought we did that in the third period. We locked it down and didn’t give up many Grade A chances.”

Barrie, said Martindale, made some adjustments after the second intermission. While play was pretty much wide-open through the first 40 minutes, that changed in the third.

“The boys bought into our adjustments, and we just locked it down,” said Martindale. “It was a total team effort. Everyone was contributing.”

That was pretty much the case on the scoresheet as 12 different players recorded at least a point, including Anthony Romani who scored his team-leading ninth goal of the playoffs.

“I think the depth on this team is the best in the league,” said Tiller. “On any given night, anyone can step up. Lines 1 through 4, defenceman 1 through 6, and both goalies can step up.

“Everyone can steal a game for us and take advantage of other teams.”

That depth has been a key factor for the Colts who pretty much didn’t have to rely on one line to carry the load all season.

“That’s one of our strengths, that (head coach Marty Williamson) is not scared to roll four lines, and he can match any line,” said Martindale. “It’s pretty good for us. It keeps everyone engaged, and that’s the way we play. It’s a total team effort.”

Kingston carried the play early and got goals from Cal Uens and Emil Pieniniemi, but for the second time in the series came away from the opening period tied 2-2 despite a large swath of the play being in the Barrie zone.

Tuomas Uronen and Cedrick Guindon also scored for the Frontenacs, who battled back three times to tie the game but eventually couldn’t keep pace.

“I felt we had better legs than them,” said Tiller, who is having an excellent playoff run with two goals and eight points in seven games. “I felt like we were moving. When we start taking those two or three extra strides, we really started taking advantage of them and taking it to them.”

The Frontenacs return home for the next two games where they have been very good, finishing with a record 25-7-1-1, including a franchise-record 16-game home win streak late in the season.

The Colts are focused on taking things just game-by-game and not thinking about anything else now but Tuesday night.  

“We know it’s a very hard building that we’re going into,” said Martindale. “I think they won (16) in a row at home, so we know it’s going to be a hard game. We’re going to look at the video, clip our clips, make our adjustments, and just go with the same mindset.

“Just stick to our game and stick to our process, and then the boys know what we have to do.”

The work is only beginning.

“Still a lot of work ahead of us,” added Martindale. “We know it’s going to be a tough go on Tuesday and a tough go on Thursday. We know what we’re going into.”

ICE CHIPS:

Colts’ blueliner Kashawn Aitcheson left the game early for a short bit after taking a slap shot off the leg. . . Kingston goalie Charlie Schenkel had a tough night giving up two soft goals and was pulled at 3:06 of the second after giving four goals on just 13 shots. Mason Vaccari replaced him and stopped 14 of 16 shots the rest of the way. . . Barrie specialty teams continue to play well in the playoffs. The power play, which finished 1-for-3, sits first overall with a 45.5 per cent efficiency rate. The penalty kill did its job holding Kingston at bay on three chances. “That’s a good power play,” said Martindale of the Frontenacs. “They were top five (fourth) in the league all season. I see how hard (assistant coach Dylan Smoskowitz) works at his PK. They did a good job again for us tonight. They’ve been good for us all year, so it’s huge.” . . . The Colts completed the 2025 OHL Priority Selection earlier Saturday and introduced several of this year’s draft class, including first-round pick Alexander Sementsov, before the contest on Saturday. . . Patterson had a shorthanded goal called back at 7:49 of the second period. . .  Fans were as loud as they’ve been all season at Sadlon Arena and Barrie players and coaches took notice. “It’s huge,” said Martindale. “You see the atmosphere in here and it’s great. Colts’ Nation is great for us. It fires up the boys and gets us ready. To me, it’s a huge advantage.”