Returned to junior hockey by his NHL club only two days ago, Dallas Stars top prospect Emil Hemming wasted no time letting Barrie Colts head coach Dylan Smoskowitz know what he was here for.
“I’m here to dominate. Those were his first words to me,” explained Smoskowitz after the Finnish import scored twice and set up Kashawn Aitcheson’s overtime winner in a thrilling 5-4 win over the Brantford Bulldogs, the top-ranked team in the CHL, on Wednesday night at the TD Civic Centre.
“And that’s exactly what he did tonight,” added Smoskowitz of Hemming’s season debut. “It’s great to have him back. He’s a great teammate. He’s a good person, and the Barrie Colts are better with Emil Hemming in our lineup.”
Sent down by the Texas Stars – Dallas’ American Hockey League affiliate – Hemming wasted no time in helping his club knock off a Brantford team that had just two losses in 13 games this season coming into the night.
It was quite the return.
“For someone to get sent down from pro hockey when you spent all summer thinking you’ll be playing pro hockey in a certain spot in the world, and to come back to junior like he walked through that door in our dressing room with a big smile on his face, excited to be back and wanting to dominate the OHL,” added the Barrie bench boss.
Hemming had a chance to put Barrie on top with just 22 seconds remaining, but Brantford goalie David Egorov made a great save to send the game into overtime.
The winger didn’t let that stop him.
Just 30 seconds into overtime, the 29th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft took a drop pass from Cole Beaudoin at the blueline and walked into the corner before sliding a perfect pass to Aitcheson, who wired it over the right shoulder of Egorov for the winner.
This, after Barrie had blown an early 4-1 third-period lead.
“It was a big win,” said the 19-year-old. “That was a tough, tough game. I was just super glad to be back and help out the team. It was pretty easy to come back. You know all the guys. Cobo, Kash, and the guys. They help you so much there on the ice.
“I’m proud to be back.”
Evan Passmore and William Schneid also scored for Barrie (5-7-0-3), which has now put together two straight wins over teams in the Top 10 CHL rankings (Kitchener, Brantford) after having dropped six in a row.
“The game’s not over until the buzzer sounds,” said Hemming. “You just got to keep (going) on here. These are big points that we need. Even if it’s overtime or a shootout, these are big (points) that we need. Of course, you want to win.”
The Colts were well on their way to handing the Bulldogs (11-2-0-1) the first regulation loss of the season after Schneid’s power-play marker 2:50 into the third gave the visitors a 4-1 lead.
The wheels would come off quickly, though. Caleb Malhotra, Marek Vanacker, and Adam Jiricek scored 3:18 apart to wipe out the Barrie lead.
The Bulldogs continued to apply tremendous pressure, but Colts’ goaltender Ben Hrebik was stellar in holding the fort long enough for Hemming and Aitcheson to hook up on the winner.
Hrebik would face 50 shots on the night, including a huge 23-11 Brantford edge in the third.
“He was really good, and I’m so happy for Hrebik to be rewarded with a win like that against a good team,” said Smoskowitz. “I don’t think that Hrebik has let us down at all this year. He’s had a solid year for us, and it’s kind of the team that has let him down a little bit, so for us to have his back tonight and put some goals up on the board for him (was good).
“He was our backbone all night. Without Hrebik, this game doesn’t go to overtime, and we don’t come out of here with two points.”
While there was a lot to like about the win, Smoskowitz didn’t like how his team gave up a big lead in the final period. He said it’s something we don’t want “creeping into our game.”
“It’s something we’re going to dig into,” he said. “Good teams don’t allow that to happen. Good teams shut that down. Good teams kill any momentum, even if there’s one goal scored. You got a three-goal lead or a two-goal lead, you get back to work, and you shut it down. It’s something we’re going to really look over with our guys. Go over it, work on it, and be better the next time we put ourselves in that situation.”
The Colts got off to a good start in this one, with Calvin Crombie – making his first return to Brantford since being dealt to Barrie before the season – slipping the puck through the skates of Bulldogs’ defenceman David Buchman to a streaking Evan Passmore, who cut across the crease and finished off a backhand deke to beat Egorov at 9:14.
Hemming had his first a little more than three minutes later when he finished off a pass from Joseph Salandra in front. The Stars’ prospect would make it 3-0 later in the second period when he buried a rebound in front.
Adam Benak would score on the power play with 32 seconds left in the same period to cut the lead.
That set up a dramatic third period that Hemming nearly saved on a penalty shot when he was taken down on a breakaway by Brantford’s Owen Protz.
The six-foot-one, 205-pound forward went to his backhand on what appeared to be a sure goal, but Egorov kicked out his right leg to keep the score tied.
“It was a game-saver,” Hemming said of his stopped penalty shot. “I thought I had him, but the goalie just stretched out and got a piece of it. It was a great save.
“You know, the game’s not over until someone scores the (winner). It feels great to answer after that one and win it in overtime.”
If there was any disappointment in being sent down, Hemming quickly put that aside. Like Beaudoin did when he was returned by the Utah Mammoth, he wants to help Barrie win games.
“Of course, you want to play in the pros and play in the big leagues, but we just talked with Dallas and thought this was the best way to improve my game,” he said. “Just come in here and score a lot of goals and help the team win. Play big minutes.
“Of course, you’re disappointed when you get sent down, but the season is just starting. I can just prove them wrong that I’m ready, and like (Beaudoin) said, just work hard.”
The Colts return home Thursday night to host the Sarnia Sting, who are coming off a 7-3 thrashing at the hands of the Owen Sound Attack.
It was Sarnia’s third loss in a row.
“We put a lot of emphasis on this game,” Smoskowitz said of the stop in Brantford. “We spent Monday and Tuesday talking about Brantford. It’s a quick turnaround to Sarnia, which didn’t have the best showing (Wednesday). You know all 20 guys are going to come into our building a little bit extra motivated.
“I’m sure their coaches will get the best out of them tomorrow. Our guys have to rebound quickly here, and they understand it. There’ another two big points on the line, and it’s a must-win game.”
Game time at the Sadlon Arena is 7 p.m.
ICE CHIPS: Smoskowitz was telling assistant coach Dennis Martindale on the bench that Hemming would have gotten another chance in the shootout had it gone that far. “He’s just that good in the shootout,” said Smoskowitz. . . Things got pretty physical between the two teams with Brantford’s Ryder Boulton fighting both Luc Gauvreau and Aitcheson, while Crombie fought Lucas Moore. . . Crombie, who had two assists, got a big standing ovation in the first period after the Bulldogs played a nice highlight package on the video scoreboard of his time with the club. . . Barrie was 2-for-4 on the power play, while Brantford was 1-for-3. . . Beaudoin finished with two assists to improve his scoring streak to five games (3-5-8) . . . Brantford’s Jake O’Brien had three assists and now leads the OHL in scoring with 26 points (7-19).
