It was the same old story for the Barrie Colts on the road Friday night in Brantford.
Costly penalties and another night of being on the losing end of the specialty teams’ battle resulted in another road loss, this one a 5-2 defeat to the Bulldogs at the Brantford Civic Centre.
Down 2-0 after the first period, the Colts rebounded in the second and looked like they had some momentum heading into the third down 3-2 after goals by Cole Beaudoin and Roenick Jodoin, on the power play.
But a holding penalty to Carter Lowe just 25 seconds in led to a Lucas Moore marker on the ensuing power play and Nick Lardis squashed any chance of a comeback with his second of the night with just over two minutes remaining to help Brantford hand Barrie (12-16) its 11 loss in 14 games on the road this season.
“We killed off most of that penalty and then we give up that faceoff play, and it makes it a two-goal lead and it kind of hurts,” said Colts head coach Marty Williamson of the Moore blast from the point. “Again, between some careless penalties and stuff like that, it’s difficult to win on the road when you do things like that. I like the battle in the second and third was what it was.
“We got down two and had a couple of chances on the power play to get it back to one, but same story, different day for us. We lost the specialty team battle again.”
Barrie’s league-worst penalty kill was a bonus for a 19th-ranked Bulldogs power play that found the net twice on six chances. The Colts’ power play scored but finished 1-for-4 on the night and have now scored just twice in their last 37 opportunities.
“We had the momentum and we just needed to keep it going,” said Beaudoin, who now has six goals in his last seven games. “There were some tough bounces, but we needed to lock down there and keep pushing.”
Calvin Crombie and Jorian Donovan, with his franchise-best 23rd career marker for a defenceman, also scored for the Bulldogs (15-9-5-1), who have moved into a tie with Ottawa and Mississauga atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Barrie, which was playing with just 10 forwards, has now lost six straight away from home and have been outscored 34-17 during the tough stretch.
“Obviously we haven’t been good on the road,” said Beaudoin. “It’s tough to be on the road. Most teams struggle on the road. It’s not easy, but we need to overcome this. It’s not acceptable. We need to keep battling and we need to be together as a group.”
Beaudoin has certainly been doing his part. The second-year centre now has 14 goals on the season and has collected 10 points over his last seven games.
“I’m just trying to help the guys out. I want to win. I’m a competitive person,” said the Kanata native. “I love to win; I don’t like to lose. I hate losing and I just want the team to succeed. I’m going to do whatever I can to get the win, get the two points. I’m just working my butt off every single night, forechecking, backchecking, doing as much as I can to help the guys out.”
“I just want to get in the win column,” he added. “I hate losing and it sucks right now, but I think the team can turn it around right now. We just need to keep working, stick to our game and hopefully things start to turn around soon.”
Beaudoin is showing up to play every night.
“He sure does,” said Williamson. “The two guys that I can count on, him and (Beau) Jelsma. They come and play hockey every single night for me, and they carry a lot of guys. We need more guys like that, that are driving the play.”
Key injuries to veterans like Jacob Frasca and Beau Akey have made it tough on the young club and Beaudoin, despite being just 17, is stepping up to lead the way.
“I’m trying to be a leader for the younger guys and even some of the older guys,” he said. “I want to show them that I can go out and block shots. I want to be a leader. I think I am a good leader, and I can show the guys that, ‘Hey, if I’m working, I want you guys to work too.’ I want to win, and I think it shows in my game. I’m workhorse.
“I’m kind of counted on now and I want to show people in the stands, show my team most importantly we want a win, we need to keep grinding the stone.
Williamson admits injuries have caught up to his young club, but they need to learn to fight through this and find a way.
“We’re down a lot of guys. It’s just hard,” he said. “We’re getting line matched, and we don’t have a lot of options to get away from it because we don’t have a fourth line. It’s hard, but it’s the hand we’re dealt right now, the injuries and stuff, but we got to play right through it.”
Things don’t get any easier for the Colts on Saturday night when the Kitchener Rangers bring their OHL best 23-8-2-0 record to town.
The Rangers, who hammered the Colts 8-0 at home back in mid-October, are coming off a 6-3 loss to Sault Ste. Marie on Friday night. It’s the last game before the Christmas break for both teams.
Barrie will have to be at their best.
““We have to,” said Williamson. “It’s the last game. Empty our tanks out and play a good home game. We do seem to play a little better at home. Obviously, we can control some of the matchups on the ice, which is important to us when you have a young team, so you don’t get some of your guys exposed.
“I feel good about that. This team always responds, and I have a feeling that we’ll put out a hell of an effort (Saturday), but we basically need everything to kind of lineup for us to win hockey games.”
Puck drop at Sadlon Arena is 7:30 p.m.
ICE CHIPS: Jelsma injured himself when he ran into the linesman early in the game. The official’s knee got him right in the stomach. “That’s kind of the way it’s going a little bit,” said Williamson. “He was able to shake it off and come back in a little bit. He’s a tough kid.” . . . Forward Nolan Newton was also a scratch for the Colts, who played rookie defenceman Justin Handsor up on the wing. . . Ben West stopped 27 of 32 shots in goal for Barrie. Ben Hrebik was called up with Sam Hillebrandt away at the U.S. national world junior team camp. . . Lardis’ first goal in the first brought down the bears on Teddy Bear Toss night.
Banner image via the Barrie Colts
