Bertucci leads Colts over Battalion

Tristan Bertucci is feeling right at home these days with the Barrie Colts and, as a result, the defenceman is playing his best hockey with the club since being acquired from the Flint Firebirds before the season.

Bertucci, who has been a force through December, was at it again Saturday night, recording a power-play goal and an assist while once again logging major minutes on the back end to help the Colts kick off their second half of the OHL schedule with a 5-2 win over the North Bay Battalion in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,270 at Sadlon Arena.

With Beau Akey away at world juniors, the Dallas Stars’ prospect has been handed more responsibility on the blueline and he’s responded in a big way.

Including last night, Bertucci now has three goals and 12 assists in his last nine games.

“We count on him a lot. He plays a lot of minutes for us,” said Colts’ general manager and head coach Marty Williamson. “He’s able to avoid the simple play and make plays for us coming out of our zone like he does. It’s nice to have that. He doesn’t bang puck off boards, he wants to put it on a stick or hit the middle guy.

“You need that back there. You need easy breakouts rather than grunting everything out. That’s what I really appreciate in his game. His patience and willingness to take a hit to make a play and to do those things for us. He’s been a big addition for us and right from Day 1 he’s played well.”

Bertucci admits there was an adjustment period having to get used to playing with new teammates and new systems. He’s feeling much more comfortable and the impact he’s having night-in and night-out shows it.

“It’s tough coming to a brand-new team after being with the same team for so long,” said the Stars’ 2023 second-round pick (61^st overall) who had just a goal and eight assists through his first 24 games in Barrie. “Just building chemistry with the guys and learning the systems and getting fully comfortable in it. I’m just letting my skill, and my playmaking, adapt to that.”

With Akey gone, Bertucci has stepped into that quarterback role on the point. He loves the added responsibility.

“When we have those guys away at world juniors, certain guys have to step up,” he said. “I just wanted to take on that extra load and to do the best to help the team win in his absence.”

 On Saturday, Bertucci was putting in his normal time on both the power play and penalty kill while being out there for many of the game’s important minutes.

He even stepped in when North Bay’s Jacob Therrien took a run at a teammate along the boards. While he wasn’t named one of the game’s three stars, he easily could have been.

“He can play on the left or right side,” said Williamson. “He’s a pretty versatile guy and I just think he’s one of the smartest defencemen in the league when he’s zoned in. He’s the type of guy you can really count on in the last minutes of games or periods.

“He had one little bobble there on a one-on-one, but it doesn’t happen too often. You can count on him when you need him.”

The win moved the Colts (22-9-1-1) back into a first-place tie with the Niagara IceDogs, who fell 4-1 in Flint, atop both the Eastern Conference and Central Division standings.

After Barrie rookie Parker Vaughan and North Bay’s Nick Wellenreiter traded first-period goals, the Colts got the break they needed when Battalion goalie Mike McIvor misplayed a puck behind the net just 44 seconds into the second period and the puck went right out in front to Michael Derbidge who deposited it into the empty cage.

The Colts would outscore the Battalion (13-16-3-0) 4-1 in a strong second to take control.

“We weren’t really happy with our first, giving up 17 shots, and I thought Derby got us going with that break,” said Williamson, whose club was outshot 17-9 in the opening period. “We had some good chances, with our five-on-three, but again we’re putting different guys in spots where we had the other guys, so everything is not in sync as we want it to be, but I thought our effort was pretty good in that second and third period.

“We really didn’t give up too much and played a pretty good hockey game.”

The game marked the return of former Colt Shamar Moses to Barrie since the early October deal that sent Dalyn Wakely the other way.

The 2022 Barrie first-round pick hammered a one-time shot from the point on the power play late in the second to cut the then Barrie lead to 3-2, before Bertucci and Carter Lowe a little more than two minutes apart to put Barrie in command.

The goals by Vaughan, Derbidge and Brad Gardiner broke recent scoring skids for the trio. For Vaughan, it was his first goal since Nov. 23, for Derbidge, only his second of the season and first since Nov. 2.

For Gardiner, who did the throwing the monkey off the back motion after his 11^th goal, it was his first in eight games.

“Derbidge tends to wander at times, but when he plays the structure he falls into things,” said Williamson. “He’s actually got a good shot and a little knack we saw last year, so it was nice to see him get rewarded.

“Vaughan has been really good for us and doing good things out there, and he battles for a (2008 birthdate). I think he’s going to be pretty special down the road.”

The Battalion looked to have received the spark they perhaps needed early in the third when a wraparound attempt by Owen Van Steensel was ruled to have crossed the goal line after a lengthy review to cut the lead to 5-3.

The goal would be overturned on goaltender interference after another lengthy review when replays showed Ethan Procyszyn’s stick catching Ben Hrebik under his mask and pushing him over.

The two teams will meet again Sunday afternoon in the completion of a home-and-home set back in North Bay. Barrie will play five games in seven nights this week and nine times in 15 days in a busy stretch to open the second half.

“These are big games, especially since we didn’t end (the pre-holiday schedule) how we wanted to,” said Bertucci. “So, these are big games to keep climbing the standings and then stay in first place.”

Game time at the North Bay Memorial Gardens is 2 p.m.

“We want to go up there and try to have a little more consistency,” said Williamson. “We’ve been good on the road. Go in there and get another win.”

ICE CHIPS:

Hrebik stopped 39 of 41 shots to earn first-star honours. . . Wakely will make his first return to North Bay since being traded to Barrie. . . The line of Jared Newton between rookie call-ups Jack Martin and Sam Black had another strong effort Saturday, providing a ton of energy, said Williamson. Both Martin and Black are expected to return to their respective junior clubs, but not quite yet. “On the road, they’re almost more important to me because they can actually play against most lines in the league,” said Williamson. “They don’t hurt me, so they’re going to stay together (Sunday) and I’m thankful for it.” . . . Each of Derbidge, Gardiner, Lowe, and Vaughan also added an assist, while captain Beau Jelsma pitched in with two helpers. With the two points, Lowe now has nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 33 games, surpassing the 7 goals and 20 points he had over his first 94 games and two OHL seasons.