The Barrie Colts didn’t have their “best stuff” Sunday night against the Brantford Bulldogs and now find themselves trailing once again in the Eastern Conference Final.
Jett Luchanko scored the winner 12 minutes into the second period, and Ryerson Leenders stopped all 22 shots he faced to lead the Bulldogs to a 2–0 win over the Colts in front of a sell-out crowd of 4,267 at Sadlon Arena.
Barrie trails the best-of-seven series 2–1 and will look to prevent Brantford from grabbing a stranglehold in Game 4 on Tuesday back in Barrie. Game time is 7 p.m.
“I thought our guys did a good job of surviving it,” said head coach Dylan Smoskowitz, referring to the strong bounce-back by the Bulldogs after the Colts evened the series with a 5–3 win in Brantford on Friday. “It was a one-shot game the whole way through. We just couldn’t find that one shot; we didn’t get that bounce.”
“I don’t think we had our best stuff by any means, but we were right there at the end of it,” Smoskowitz added. “It’s a real positive to take out of it—knowing you are one shot or one bad break away from tying things up even when the whole team knows you didn’t have your best stuff.”
After being outplayed in their Game 2 loss on home ice, Brantford responded by outshooting Barrie 30–14 through the first two periods to help wrestle back home-ice advantage in the series. The Colts, who managed just three shots in the second period, didn’t record their first of the frame until just over four minutes remained.
“I think it was a good bounce-back game,” said Bulldogs head coach Jay McKee. “Barrie’s a strong team, and we have a lot of respect for them. I thought they outplayed us in certain areas of the game Friday, and we had to make some adjustments. We’ve got a lot of character in the room, a lot of intelligence, and a lot of enthusiasm. These guys can make adjustments pretty quickly, which helped our start tonight and the overall game.”
After a scoreless first period, Bulldogs’ top scorer Jake O’Brien and linemate Jett Luchanko—a Canadian National World Junior forward—combined to finally solve Barrie netminder Ben Hrebik, who was outstanding all night, making 38 saves.
On a two-on-one, O’Brien outwaited a sliding Parker von Richter and dragged the puck to the middle before sliding it over to Luchanko. The Philadelphia Flyers’ top prospect fired it into the open net ahead of a diving Hrebik for the game-winner.
Gabriel Frasca later sealed the win with an empty-net goal from centre ice with 32 seconds remaining.
Hrebik did everything he could, stopping a Marek Vanacker breakaway in the opening period and a Cooper Dennis one-timer in the second, while making several other highlight-reel saves.
“Our guys were good,” McKee said when asked if the shooters were frustrated by the Barrie netminder. “The energy and positivity were high. We know they have a strong goaltender, so we just tried to get more pucks toward the net. During the first couple of periods, we were attacking much more than in the prior game.
“He’s a good goalie, and we had to work for those second-chance efforts, but the bench was great. If you aren’t finding goals but you’re getting the chances, you feel comfortable that they are coming.”
The Colts nearly tied it on a power play late in the second. Carter Lowe had two great scoring chances in front of the net; he fired the first just wide and, on the second, appeared to have Leenders beat but sent a backhand sailing over the crossbar.
Barrie finished with 22 shots and acknowledged they need to do a better job of generating volume.
“We were passing up shots all game,” said forward Mason Zebeski. “I think a big part of our game is getting pucks to the net and crashing the crease. We kind of strayed away from our identity. Coming into Tuesday’s game, a major goal for us is to keep getting pucks and bodies to the net.”
That is not to say the Colts were without chances; however, whenever they threatened, Leenders was there.
“The guys made it easy on me,” said the Buffalo Sabres’ prospect, who had consulted with goaltending coach Franky Palazzese after the Game 2 loss. “The boys played a great, solid game. I was seeing everything, and when we needed to get it out, we were chipping pucks out.”
McKee noted that his goaltender has been a pillar of the team’s success all season.
“Early in the first, they had a flurry of chances, and he stood tall, keeping the momentum off their bench,” he said. “I think the guys rallied behind him.”
Smoskowitz’s message to his team after the game remained consistent with his season-long philosophy.
“We’ve got to win the day tomorrow,” he said. “Tuesday’s game starts tomorrow with a good night’s sleep, a good practice, and some good conversation. We have to be better than them tomorrow to have a chance to win on Tuesday.”
While there may be minor tweaks, the Colts’ bench boss insisted there will be no overhaul of their system.
“I didn’t think we played to our capability tonight,” he said. “I don’t think our identity showed, but I am not going to manipulate things or change our core culture. I truly believe if our group plays that ‘Barrie Colts style,’ we’re a hard out every single night.”
“We just need to play physical, play to our details, and stick together as one unit,” added Zebeski. “I think we’ll be okay.”
Changing Beaudoin’s or Aitcheson’s game would be a ‘disservice’
Asked about co-captains Kashawn Aitcheson and Cole Beaudoin and their decisions with the puck, Smoskowitz made it clear he trusts his leaders.
“Those two guys have done so much for us this year,” he said. “They’re such special, talented hockey players. If someone like me were to start manipulating how they think and take their natural ability away, I would be doing them a disservice.
“I would trust my life in their hands when they have skates on their feet and sticks in their hands. Whatever they do, it’s going to work out for us.”
ICE CHIPS: Game 5 of the series is Thursday night in Brantford. ... Beaudoin was held off the scoreboard for the first time in 13 playoff games. ... Both teams went scoreless on the power play: Barrie was 0-for-3, while Brantford was 0-for-4. ... Barrie won the faceoff battle for a third-straight game, edging Brantford 34–30.
