After missing the empty net seconds earlier, Beau Jelsma wasn’t about to let a second opportunity to seal a Barrie Colts trip into the Eastern Conference Finals go.
The Colts’ captain raced to pick up a loose puck along the boards, cut to the front of the net, and then fired it upstairs past a desperate Kingston Frontenacs forward Jacob Battaglia with 13 seconds remaining to cap off a thrilling 6-4 victory Tuesday night and send a crowd of 3,817 at Sadlon Arena into a wild celebration.
The win in the seventh and deciding game of the second-round series eliminated Kingston and officially punched a date with the Oshawa Generals in the OHL semifinals.
It was a fitting end to the closely contended series for the heart and soul of the Colts, determined to keep his OHL career going.
“Oh, just a sigh of relief to be honest, especially hearing that crowd,” the overage Jelsma said when asked what he was thinking of when he finally put the game away. “It’s amazing. It’s the farthest I’ve ever been in my career (in the playoffs), so I’m excited for the next series.
“It’s going to be a tough one, but we’re going to be prepared.”
Kieren Dervin buried a rebound in front to cut the lead to 5-4 with 3:51 remaining and give the Frontenacs some late hope, but Jelsma’s seventh of the playoffs would clinch a Colts’ berth in the conference finals for the first time since 2016 when Barrie was swept in four games by the Niagara IceDogs.
“He’s been here for four years now. It was unreal seeing Jelsma bury that last one,” said Colts’ assistant coach Dennis Martindale. “I’m happy for him, I’m happy for everyone here. These guys work so hard every single day.
“I got to tip my hat to Kingston. This was an unreal series, and it was fun to be a part of.”
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The second-seeded Colts and third-seeded Frontenacs each finished with 88 points in the regular season standings and a series that was pegged to go the distance was every bit as close and hard-fought as expected.
Barrie, which held home-ice advantage due to winning the Central Division, would need it, winning all four games at Sadlon Arena.
“I thought we played great,” said Jelsma. “There’s really not much to say. It was Game 7, and the boys came to play.”
Kashawn Aitcheson, with a pair of goals and assist, Dalyn Wakely, with three assists, and Emil Hemming, with a goal and two assists, each had three points for the Colts who trailed 3-2 after the opening before taking control of the game with three straight goals by Owen Van Steensel, on the power play, Tristan Bertucci, and Aitcheson, on the power play.
Kingston, led by goaltender Charlie Schenkel, held the Colts’ power play at bay after captain Quinton Burns was tossed from the game for a slew-footing major on Aitcheson.
Barrie would come through on the man advantage early in the third period on Aitcheson’s fifth of the playoffs. It was all the offence the Colts would need on this night.
“Everything happens for a reason,” said Jelsma. “We were resilient all night. We got down, came back, and just kept pushing forward. I’m happy for the boys and I’m excited for the next step we’re going to take.”
The Frontenacs would strike first when Emil Pieniniemi went to his backhand to beat Barrie goaltender Sam Hillebrandt at 1:51 before Aitcheson drew the Colts even less than two minutes later.
A one-timer from the left faceoff circle by Hemming, with the Colts on the power play at 10:47, put Barrie on top. Kingston would roar back on goals by Cal Uens and Pieniniemi just 25 seconds apart late in the opening period to give them the lead again.
“We’re a very resilient group,” said Martindale. “It was back and forth in the first and then it kind of settled down in the second and we got back to our systems, our structure, and then the guys locked it down.
“We came through with a couple of big power-play goals, so it’s great.”
The Colts nearly ended the series in a 3-2 overtime loss in Kingston on Sunday, but they saved their best effort of the seven-game battle with their season on the line, outshooting the Frontenacs 46-28 and carrying the play for most of the game.
“It was a great win for the boys,” said Jelsma.
The Colts will now face the Generals, who eliminated them in six games in the opening round of the playoffs last season. Oshawa eliminated the Brantford Bulldogs in six games.
A starting date for the series is expected to be announced later Wednesday with either Thursday or Friday in Barrie the likely date.
The winner of the conference final will meet the winner of the Western Conference final featuring the London Knights and Kitchener Rangers.
Jelsma knows there’s still much more to do in these playoffs.
“We’re trying to go all the way,” he said. “This is just another step, and we have to prepare ourselves. “We’ll enjoy the night but prepare ourselves for the next series.”
That work starts on Wednesday.
“We got a really good Oshawa team that we got to get prepared for and we got to bare down,” said Martindale. “It’s going to be a battle just like Kingston. It’s going to be a hard series, and we got to be ready to go.”
ICE CHIPS: Games 1 and 2 will be in Barrie. . . Barrie finished 3-for-5 on the power play, while Kingston went 1-for-2. . . Hillebrandt, who had to leave Game 6 in Kingston after the first period when Ethan Hay collided with him, was involved in two other collisions with Frontenac players. Cedrick Guindon and Jacob Battaglia were handed goalie interference penalties. “It’s playoff hockey. Guys are going to be going hard to the net,” said Jelsma. “That’s what it’s all about, but I thought Hillebrandt was a trooper in there. He had a really good game for us tonight and he’s been great all series.”. . . The last time the Frontenacs played in a Game 7 beyond the first round was back in 1977. . . Bertucci and Jelsma both had a goal and an assist. . . Despite giving up five goals on 45 shots, Schenkel shone in goal and kept the Frontenacs in the game. “He was challenged by his coaching staff in Game 2, and he responded big and played well for the rest of the series,” said Martindale. “He was a wall back there. We had to work for our goals.”
