It sure wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done.
The Barrie Colts may not include the highlight reel of their 4-3 win over the Niagara IceDogs on Saturday night at Meridian Centre among their favourites, but they’ll gladly take the two points.
“All the wins count,” said head coach Dylan Smoskowitz, on a night Barrie jumped out to a 4-1 lead and then barely hung on after a late charge by the struggling IceDogs, who lost their seventh straight. “We’re never going to turn away two points. You want to bank these wins, banks these points, when you can.”
Cole Beaudoin, with a goal and two assists, and Chris Emerton, with three assists, each had three points, and goaltender Ben Hrebik made 36 saves in another stellar performance to help Barrie (13-7-1-4) extend its consecutive point streak to 12 games.
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Calvin Crombie, William Schneid, and Kashawn Aitcheson, on the power play, also scored for the Colts, who have won 10 times during the run to increase their lead atop the Central Division standings to six points.
Once again, the Colts pulled out a win where they weren’t near their best and were heavily outshot, this time 39-21.
“We found a way to get two points,” said Smoskowitz. “I feel like I’m saying this all the time, but there were very few things to like and a lot of things not to like.”
The last time the Barrie Colts paid a visit to St. Catharines, they trailed 5-1 in the third before rallying for a 6-5 shootout victory on October 5.
This time, it was Niagara (10-9-2-1) that nearly pulled off the big comeback.
Down 4-1 heading to the final period, the IceDogs got a power-play goal by Ryan Roobroeck just 48 seconds in, and then Reyth Smith cut the lead to one on a shorthanded marker with 1:24 remaining.
Niagara nearly drew even on a two-on-none in the dying seconds, but Hrebik produced a huge stop to preserve the win.
“I really don’t know, off a faceoff when you’re advantaged 5-4, how you give up a chance like that,” said Smoskowitz. “You’re killing a six-on-five and you’re defending your net, and you give up a two-on-none with seconds left. That’s net front stuff we have to really go over, review and talk about.”
It was a tough night for Barrie’s power play, giving up two shorthanded goals, including Kevin He’s breakaway marker near the end of the second period that made it 3-1.
“It’s crazy. Not one five-on-five goal against tonight, but the power play was out of sorts tonight,” said Smoskowitz. “It kind of bled into our five-on-five game, which led to some mishaps on the power play, and really unfortunate on the first (shorthanded goal), where there’s a bad bounce and a blown tire. The fastest guy in the league (Kevin He) picks up the puck and scores a beautiful goal.
“That faceoff at the end. . . You’re still trying to defend, even though you’re up five-on-four, and they find a way to find open ice and get a shot through. It’s stuff that’s not acceptable, not OK. Our guys know that, and we’ll go over it this week.”
The Colts proved opportunistic on the night, building a 3-0 lead despite few chances and just 19 shots.
“Finding a way. It seems to be the common theme of the week, at least,” Smoskowitz said. “You never want the shots to be that lopsided. Ben Hrebik or Arvin Jaswal, no matter who is in the net for us, they’re winning games for us singlehandedly right now.
“They both shared (team)player of the week honours, and they should both share MVP honours. It’s a team that’s not really gelling right now but still finds a way to get six-out-of-six points this weekend.”
Aitcheson’s late second-period goal proved to be the winner, and it came just 65 seconds after He had cut the lead to 3-1 and gave the IceDogs some life.
With Barrie on the power play, Cole Beaudoin stormed down the left side and dropped it in the slot for the Islanders’ prospect, who wired a one-timer past Vladislav Yermolenko.
The Belarusian import replaced starting Niagara goalie Charlie Robertson at the 11-minute mark of the second after he gave up three goals on 12 shots.
“It was huge,” Smoskowitz said of Aitcheson’s 16th of the season. “For as much as you can say the power play was off tonight, and they took advantage with some shorthanded goals, it just took that one chance to bury one.
“It was a great play. A well-executed entry. Something that we work on, so I was happy to see that one goes in, and it turns out that we really needed that one.”
Despite their shortcomings on Friday night, Smoskowitz praised his team for finishing off a sweep of three games this week.
There was plenty of travel with all the hours on the bus between stops in Sudbury, back to Barrie and then Erie, before back over the border to St. Catharines.
“It’s a lot of travel time, sleeping in hotels, eating food you’re not used to, and you’re still expected to perform at a high level,” said the bench boss. “It’s not an easy task. So, as frustrated as we may be with some of the details in our game, I’m really proud of these guys for coming through, sticking to it, and getting some much-needed points.”
The Colts will have plenty of time to rest up and get ready for their next contest, which will see them back in Sudbury on Friday night. It’s the fourth time this month in the Big Nickel.
“We can’t waste any days here,” said Smoskowitz. “You really don’t get weeks here where it’s six-straight days without a game, so obviously the guys need some time off. They’re going to heal their bodies. We had a lot of blocked shots.
“We’ll get some time off and get back to work with some good practices and really work these guys. Focus on the little details, obviously defensive aspects, and get these guys clicking again.”
ICE CHIPS
The IceDogs had a goal called back with 4:32 remaining in the first period. Ryerson Edgar batted the puck out of the air past Hrebik, but following a video review, the play was ruled offside.
Bode Stewart had two assists for Barrie.
Evan Passmore left the contest briefly in the third after blocking a shot.
Barrie finished one-for-five on the power play. Niagara was one-for-seven.
Hrebik’s save percentage is up to .920, good enough for fourth overall in the league.
With his three points, Beaudoin has moved into third overall in OHL scoring with 37 points, just three behind Brantford's Jake O’Brien.
ADD. OHL
Flint 4 Guelph 3
Erie 4 Sarnia 2
Owen Sound 2 Ottawa 1
Peterborough 6 Kingston 2
Saginaw 2 Windsor 1
London 2 Sault Ste. Marie 1
