It’s back to square one for the Barrie Colts and Kingston Frontenacs in their OHL Eastern Conference semifinal matchup.
The best-of-seven series is all even at 2-2 after a five-goal second-period explosion powered the Frontenacs to a 9-4 victory, Thursday night, at Slush Puppie Place.
The Colts, who jumped out to a 2-0 series lead with a pair of home wins, will now look to get back the momentum on home ice in Game 5 on Saturday night.
Game time at Sadlon Arena is 7:30 p.m.
“This is all part of a series. Two great teams going at it, and it’s 2-2,” said Colts’ captain Beau Jelsma, who scored his sixth of the playoffs in the loss. “It’s 0-0 again. We just got to have a great attitude coming into Saturday night.
“I know we’ll have the fans behind us, and we’ll get this thing going again.”
The Colts, said general manager and head coach Marty Williamson, will have to quickly put this one aside and take comfort that they are coming home to a building where they have yet to lose in these playoffs.
“You’re not in trouble until you lose a game at home,” Williamson said repeating an old hockey saying. “We’ll have a big crowd in our favour. We’ll have the line matching that we want and be able to do some of the things that hopefully we haven’t been able to do here.”
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The Colts didn’t do much in a disastrous second period. A solid start had them even at 1-1 after 20 minutes, but everything came apart in the middle frame and it came apart quickly.
Quinton Burns and Tuomas Uronen, with his second of the game, scored just 32 seconds apart 1:40 into the period before Joey Willis and Uronen, to complete the hat trick, added to the lead as the Fronts reeled off five straight goals to take command.
Dalyn Wakely, with his first of two on the night, scored later in the same frame to cut the lead to 5-2, but Cedrick Guindon replied two minutes later to take the air out of any hopes of a Barrie comeback on this night.
“It kind of tumbled on us,’ said Williamson, whose club was outshot 23-4 in the second. “It’s the way it goes in the playoffs. I didn’t think our first period was too bad. I was a little disappointed with the coverage on (Uronen’s first goal) and then it just seems we lost our concentration a little bit when a couple went in.
“Then it just snowballed on us. We fought back in the third, but the empty net goals obviously put the game out of hand.”
Empty-net goals by Gage Heyes and Cal Uens, sandwiched around Wakely’s second, along with a late goal by Soto sealed away what was essentially a must-win game for the Frontenacs.
“I thought we had a pretty decent first period. “Especially on the road in a playoff game,” said Jelsma. “It was kind of a good start for us, but we took some penalties in the second that I didn’t really think were penalties. I’m not really sure why they were called, but that’s not up to me.
“It cost us and we kind of lost the game.”
The lopsided final score means little, said Jelsma. Whether it’s a 9-4 loss or it’s a 2-1 loss, it only counts as one game and the series is all even.
“How many empty net (goals) did they have?” asked Jelsma. “You know what? It is what it is, and we just got to bounce back and keep working harder, and we’re going to get this done.”
Things looked good early on. Notorious slow starters, it was Barrie that opened the scoring when Emil Hemming took a puck around the net and then stuffed it in on the wraparound near the midway point of the first.
The Frontenacs would get a break with under three minutes remaining in the period when a puck deflected in the slot to Uronen who fired it between the pads of Sam Hillebrandt to tie the game.
“We were playing well,” said Jelsma. “We spent a lot of time in the box, which I don’t know if they were penalties or not. It’s not up to me to decide, but personally I didn’t think so. Obviously, some were, and we can’t spend that much time in the box in two games, especially because they’re on home ice.
“It just builds confidence for them. Gets their energy going and they start to feel themselves. So we just got to stay out of the box and just keep her going.”
It was the first loss after five straight wins in these playoffs for Hillebrandt whose night would come to an early end at 3:38 of the second. He was replaced by Game 3 starter Ben Hrebik after giving up four goals on 19 shots.
“I’m just trying to change momentum,” said Williamson of pulling Hillebrandt. “It wasn’t about bad goaltending or anything like that. It’s just about trying to change momentum, wake the team up, or slow the other team down a bit.
“There’s not a lot you can do with coaching when a game starts to snowball like that, so a goalie change is one option.”
Kingston would dominate the shot clock again, outshooting Barrie 47-20.
“It’s getting to the point that if you don’t play 60 minutes one team will take advantage,” said Williamson. “I thought they did a better job of playing 60-minute games than we did here. We need to go back home and play a 60-minute game.”
Jelsma was blunter, saying it “sucks” they didn’t play well in front of their two goalies in Kingston.
“It is what it is,” he said. “We got to be better for them.”
The series is now a best of two-out-of-three. Williamson said his team will have to have to play its best game of the series on Saturday night.
“It’s what they did to us and now we just have to change it back,” the coach said of the momentum Kingston has after the two wins at home. “There’s no easier way to do it with your home fans here and the excitement of the building and all that kind of stuff.
“The chore will be a little bit easier.”
Jelsma can’t wait to get back in front of a packed home crowd.
“We’ve got a lot of hockey to be played yet,” he said. “I believe in this group. We’re going to get this done.”
ICE CHIPS: Game 6 is Sunday at 7 p.m. back in Kingston. . . Veteran forwards Carter Lowe and Michael Derbidge were healthy scratches on Thursday night. Rookies Sam Black and Jonah McCormick started in their place on a line between centre Bode Stewart. “We just decided to make a change and got the kids in,” said Williamson. “I thought they did fine. It wasn’t a factor one way or the other.” Williamson hasn’t made up his mind if both veterans will return Saturday. “I got three hours to think on the bus here and then we’ll make some decisions.” . . . Barrie was 2-for-3 with the man advantage, while the Frontenacs went 1-for-3. Barrie’s power plays all came in the third period. . Kashawn Aitcheson destroyed former Colt Ben Pickell in an early second-period fight. . . Tristan Bertucci and Anthony Romani had two assists each. . . Uronen would add an assist to finish with four points. The Finnish import has been the best player in the series. All five of his playoff goals and three of his six assists have come in this series. . . Charlie Schenkel stopped 16 of 20 shots and was tested very little on the night.
