Beau Akey and Cole Beaudoin hooked up for some third-period Barrie Colts magic and goaltender Sam Hillebrandt made sure it didn’t go to waste to send a near-sellout crowd of 4,186 fans at Sadlon Arena home happy Saturday night.
In easily the most entertaining home game of the season, Beaudoin deflected a perfect set-up by Akey in front for the winner with 10:22 remaining and then Hillebrandt stoned sniper Colby Barlow twice down the stretch to help the Colts hold on for a thrilling 6-4 win over the Oshawa Generals.
The back-and-forth battle between the two Eastern Conference heavyweights didn’t disappoint one bit, with the Colts (13-6) receiving some big-time efforts by the veteran trio late to seal the deal.
“They beat us in the playoffs last year, so we wanted to come out and show them we’re a top team this year and they shouldn’t mess with us,” said Beaudoin, who along with his teammates fell in six games to Oshawa in the opening round. “I think we did that and battled to the very end.
“I’m proud of the guys and it’s good to finish off the weekend with the two points.”
Akey, who had an earlier assist and was a force all night, spotted Beaudoin driving hard to the net and placed a “brilliant” pass through the seam that the Utah NHL prospect tipped past Jacob Oester for his team-leading third game-winner of the season.
Akey looked like he was going to shoot, but instead put it right on Beaudoin’s tape.
“It was an amazing pass from a great player,” Beaudoin said of the feed. “Obviously, I was just trying to get on the forecheck. (Riley Patterson) made a nice little play to me and then I was just trying to take it low to high, and then go to (Michael) Derbidge.
“Derbidge went over to Akey and I’m just trying to drive across the net, and he made a brilliant pass.”
Williamson sees the Edmonton Oilers prospect rounding into shape after missing most of last season with a pair of shoulder surgeries.
“I thought he was outstanding too in Brampton,” the Colts coach said of Akey. “He’s just starting to dominate out there and getting more and more comfortable getting over that injury.
“It’s a big injury and he missed a lot of hockey and we’re starting to see the best of him.”
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After Beaudoin’s go-ahead goal, Hillebrandt slammed the door.
First, he robbed Barlow with a pad save off a cross-crease pass.
Then with Oshawa (12-8-1-0) pushing to tie it, Barlow took a perfect cross-slot pass from Calum Ritchie on the doorstep with 6:48 remaining and appeared to have a wide-open cage before Hillebrandt stretched back across the crease and shot his glove out to snatch what appeared to be the equalizer.
Barlow immediately threw his hands up over his head in disbelief.
“It was unbelievable,” Beaudoin said of his goalie’s two huge saves. “He never stops working. He’s always working, and it shows right there. He won us the game there.
“They could have easily got two there and he stopped them and shut the door.”
It was Barrie’s second win this season over Oshawa, with Beaudoin also notching the winner in a 4-3 road victory on Oct. 6.
“That’s big time,” Colts general manager and head coach Marty Williamson said of the two huge saves by his goalie. “It’s a crazy game out there. You had two tired teams, they played out in Ottawa last night and we’re playing our third game, so there were some big mistakes out there and it was tough on the goaltenders.
“Sammy came up with two saves and we needed it at the right time, that’s for sure.”
Carter Lowe, with a pair, Kashawn Aitcheson, Zach Wigle, at the buzzer, and Patterson also scored for the Colts, who moved into a tie with the Niagara IceDogs atop the Central Division standings.
David Svozil gave Oshawa its lone lead of the game midway through the first. Barlow, on the power play, Brooks Rogowski, and Luca Marrelli would also score for the Generals, who battled back to draw even three times, before Beaudoin put Barrie on top for good.
“It’s two good teams,” said Williamson. “Neither one of us were quite lock-down tonight. I thought it was going to be a tighter game, and I see it turned into more of a wide-open game.”
The rivalry between the two was certainly evident Saturday night.
“These are big games,” said Williamson. “This is a carryover from last year in the playoffs. That was a heck of a series we had with them; every game was hard-fought. I think all four games are going to be the same way when we play. We want to prove something. They beat us last year, and we want to beat them.
“I thought our guys came out with a great tempo. I thought we made some mistakes, but they were tired mistakes.”
The win capped off a busy week for the Colts who faced three stern tests, beginning with a 3-2 overtime win in Brantford and then a tough 5-2 loss in Brampton where a miscue led to the winner late.
“They were three hard-fought games and really, we deserved a better fate last night, said Williamson. “We had (scoring) chances, like 16-8. I thought Jack Ivankovic played very well for them and unfortunately, we made a bad mistake on that third goal (winner).
“But to get two out of three this weekend, and we did it with some suspensions and missing some guys, that’s big.”
Barrie heads out on a Western Conference road trip next week beginning Thursday night in Windsor. They take on the Flint Firebirds on Saturday, before wrapping things up Sunday afternoon in Sarnia.
Game time against the Spitfires at the WFCU Centre is 7:05 p.m.
ICE CHIPS:
Suspensions are piling up for the Colts. Bodie Stewart was the latest to join the list, earning three games for a hit in Brampton on Friday. Jaiden Newton sat out the first of his two-game suspension, while Evan Passmore has two games left on his five-game suspension. . . Williamson praised young blueliner Justin Handsor, who provided key minutes in Passmore’s absence. “He sure did,” said the Colts’ coach. “Since we lost Passmore, he’s stepped in and done a really good job for us. I just think there are some really bright lights. We got two more that played in Brantford with Teague Vader and Noah Barton. We know we got some players coming.”. . . Forward Carter Lowe is also starting to heat up, with his 15 points surpassing his career high of 12 last year. His two goals and assist gave him four goals and seven assists over his last seven games. . . Wigle also added two assists to his goal for a three-point night. . . Oshawa held a 33-26 advantage in shots.
