Jacob Frasca tapped in the cross-crease pass from Riley Patterson and let his emotions explode, dropping to his right knee and pumping his fist twice high in the air.
Less than three minutes later, the Barrie Colts overager would add another goal into an empty net late in the third period to seal a 5-1 win over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Saturday night, at Sadlon Arena.
If this was goodbye, what a way to end his junior hockey career in Barrie.
“It feels good,” said Frasca, who along with captain Connor Punnett is expected to be dealt by the rebuilding club ahead of Tuesday’s overage trade deadline. “It feels good just to have all the boys happy and excited after a win. Everyone’s dancing and happy.
“If that’s the way to go out, then that’s how things should go.”
It was an emotional night for Frasca who realized it was likely the last time he’d be pulling over a Colts jersey. If it was, he’s happy that it ended on a winning note.
“I’ve been here since I was 16, basically a quarter of my life that I have been wearing a Barrie Colts uniform,” said Frasca, who was Barrie’s third-round pick (45th overall) in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection. “It may have been my last Barrie Colts goal, it may not have been, but I’m just happy I got the results.
“I thought we were playing good, and it was good to come around and put it in the back of the net.”
Down 1-0 after two periods, Frasca capped off a thrilling third period that saw the Colts come to life against one of the OHL’s top teams with five unanswered goals.
Barrie general manager and head coach Marty Williamson couldn’t help but smile after watching his assistant captain celebrate on the ice after his first goal.
“I felt really good for him to see him get those couple of goals,” he said. “We’ll see what the next couple of days bring. We haven’t got anything iron clad. We’ll see what the next couple of days are.”
It was an important win for the Colts (15-18-1-0), who moved to within three points of the Peterborough Petes for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
Barrie still holds three games in hand on the Petes, who lost 6-2 in Saginaw.
The West Division leading Greyhounds (25-11-2-1), who came into the night just one point behind the Kitchener Rangers for top spot in the OHL standings, grabbed an early lead on a first period goal by Jack Beck.
A lead they would carry into the third thanks in part to the play of Barrie native Landon Miller, who was making his first start in net in his hometown.
Jelsma, though, would even things up just 1:09 into the third when he scored on a breakaway. Then it was off to the races for the Colts.
A little more than four minutes later, Cole Beaudoin split the Soo defence, raced in, and slid it five-hole past Miller for the winner.
Patterson made it 3-1 less than three minutes later when he wired a one-timer in the slot on a feed from Kashawn Aitcheson. He then helped put away the game on a pretty no-look pass to Frasca, with Barrie on the power play.
“We took steps in the game,” said Williamson, whose club had fallen to Sarnia and London coming in. “I thought we upped our energy compared to the other two games on the weekend. Then in the second period, we kind of upped our energy to make some plays, but we couldn’t get any goals, kind of fumbled pucks around the net.
“Then we executed in the third period. It’s nice to see. To score five goals against that team, you had a good period.”
A little chat in the second intermission helped ignite the rally.
“We let it get away from us a little bit with the energy and the momentum, but during the second intermission we had our leadership group talk, just basically decide we had to take away this game from them,” said Frasca.
“That’s exactly what we did. The first shift, Jelsma had a nice breakaway and we just kept building and building, and Beaudoin and Patterson scored and that’s exactly what you want, guys being inspired by each other. That’s why we took over and that’s why we won tonight.”
After a disappointing 2-1 defeat at home Thursday to Sarnia and then a 6-2 loss Friday in London, the young Colts looked ripe for a weekend sweep.
Instead, like they’ve done several times on home ice, they’ve battled back and used a big third period to get a win.
“That’s the part that puts the smile on my face,” said Williamson. “I get frustrated with them at times, but these are the kind of games and third periods we’ve seen from them. They’re a resilient group and that’s a great quality to have.
“We seem to check a box that this team will never give up and they’re kind of there for each other, so that’s a real positive. We still got to grow our game and continue to get better.”
While it’s not easy, seeking deals to move Frasca and Punnett is what’s best for the team and gives them an opportunity to end their careers with a contender.
“I think our older guys know what the purpose of this year and our team is, and these things kind of have to be done,” said the head coach. “This is this league. Staying pat is almost death in this league. You either got to rebuild and get a bank account of draft picks, or else you got to go for it.
“I don’t like being in the middle. I want one or the other, but we still think we can be a good hockey team. We got good young talent.”
ICE CHIPS: Ben West, making his eighth straight start, earned first star honours after stopping 29 of 30 shots. . . Patterson finished with a goal and two assists and now has 26 points, good for third in OHL rookie scoring. His 12 goals have him tied with London’s Sam O’Reilly and Windsor’s Cole Davis for most by a rookie. “Patty is coming,” said Williamson. “A great play on the power play, that’s the vision we expect from him. We need him in those kinds of areas where he slipped it to Frasca for the tap in.” . . . Jelsma’s third period goal was his third in the last two nights. “He’s just a dog on the bone,” said Williamson. “He plays hard every night. He’s one of these low maintenance guys that coaches love.” . . . Frasca posed for pictures on the ice with a few teammates after the game. . . Saturday was 80’s night at the rink and along with the hits of the 80’s, the Colts players arrived dressed in 80’s style clothing. Patterson was the easy winner, sporting shades and a swinging necklace along with shiny blue, purple and red coloured jacket and pants. . . Barrie returns to action Wednesday night when they face the Otters in Erie.
Banner image via Sam Hossack / Barrie Colts - The Barrie Colts celebrate a Riley Patterson goal in the third period of a 5-1 win over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Saturday night, at Sadlon Arena.
