It may have taken them a little longer, but the Barrie Colts proved Sunday night in Oshawa that it’s always better to show up late than never.
Parker von Richter, shorthanded, and Cole Beaudoin scored a little more than two minutes apart late in the third period to even things up, before Ben Wilmott, with his second of the night, squeezed one through goaltender Matthew Humphries 1:16 into overtime to power the Colts to a stunning 6-5 come-from-behind win over the host Generals at the Tribute Communities Centre.
A lacklustre effort through the game had left Barrie (45-13-3-4) in a 5-3 hole and shorthanded with only 3:18 remaining. Down, they were certainly not out.
“I really did think we were out of this game, and it didn’t have much to do with the Oshawa Generals,” said Colts’ head coach Dylan Smoskowitz, who earned his 44th win behind the bench in a 5-2 win over the Sudbury Wolves on Saturday night to set a new franchise record for wins by a rookie coach. “I thought it was more of us tonight, just being a little bit more of a disinterested bunch is probably a good way to put it.
“When the guys did show interest, they stuck to it. We got some gratuitous bounces and ended up on the right side of it somehow.”
Emil Hemming and Brad Gardiner, both on the power play, also scored for the Colts, who kept their slim hopes of finishing atop the Eastern Conference standings alive with the victory. They trail the Brantford Bulldogs by five points, with both teams having three games remaining in the season.
For Smoskowitz, with the playoffs right around the corner, what’s most important is how they play.
“At this point, with the way the standings have shaken out, the wins and losses are pretty irrelevant,” said Smoskowitz. “It’s about how we play. It’s about our internal performance and how we’re going to grade ourselves. I don’t think anybody would give us a good grade today.
“So, the two points, at this point, are a consolation. To say the least, a lot of video and practice time and meetings will be taking place this week to right the ship and get us really clicking heading into the playoffs.”
Colts’ co-captain Kashawn Aitcheson drew four assists to set yet another franchise record. The New York Islanders’ prospect now has 28 goals and 42 assists for 70 points in 54 games, setting the single-season record for points by a defenceman.
Aitcheson passed the previous record of 69 points set by Luch Nasato in 1997-98.
Brady Blaseg, Anthony Figliomeni, Harrison Franssen, Owen Griffin, and Brooks Rogowski scored for Oshawa (18-43-3-1), which came into this one sitting in the cellar of the OHL standings and eliminated from playoff contention.
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If the Colts thought they could cruise through this one, the Generals showed them that nothing is given.
“That’s the thing. No disrespect to the Oshawa Generals, I thought they played hard tonight in front of a sold-out building,” said Smoskowitz. “They played inspired. They played fast. They played physically. They definitely deserved to win that game.
“They got robbed there, but the way that our opponents play is not the issue. We pride ourselves on focusing on the 20 guys we have dressed in Barrie Colts uniforms. We just expect a higher level of execution, a higher level of intensity going forward.”
Down 3-2 after power-play goals a little more than four minutes apart to start the second period by Hemming and Gardiner, the Generals would bounce back on power-play markers by Franssen and Rogowski, squeezed around Griffin’s team-leading 25th of the season.
Things went from bad to worse for the Colts when Gardiner was handed an unsportsmanlike conduct minor, sending the Generals back on the power play with under five minutes remaining.
The Colts’ penalty kill — tied for third overall in shorthanded goals with 11 — would come through in a big way when von Richter pounced on a Wilmott rebound and fired it over the shoulder of Humphries at 16:42.
Beaudoin would then tie it when he pounced on a loose puck in front for his third goal in the last four games.
It’s the second time this season the Colts were down late and killing a penalty when the penalty kill scored to spark a late comeback win.
“I don’t know that’s something we want to rely on too often, but it is really nice to know, when the time calls for it, our PK guys know what to do and know how to get the job done offensively,” said Smoskowitz, who credited assistant coach Patrick Sexton for drawing up the play.
Barrie goaltender Arvin Jaswal would come up huge early in the extra frame when he made a pad stop on Lucas Moore, who had walked in all alone.
Seconds later, Gardiner cut to the net and slid it across to Wilmott, who shovelled it through Humphries and just over the goal line for the game winner. The play was reviewed, but the goal would stand.
While it was a game with a good outcome, Smoskowitz said it’s one they would like to soon forget.”
“This team definitely doesn’t panic,” said Smoskowitz, of Barrie’s ability to pull out comebacks. “I think there was some disappointment on that bench before the comeback, I would say that.
“There were some guys disappointed in the way the team was playing. Some guys were disappointed in the way they were playing as individuals, but no panic.”
Barrie will wrap up its regular season schedule this week when they head to Kingston on Wednesday night, Peterborough on Thursday night, before returning home Saturday night to host the Niagara IceDogs.
“These next three games are all about us,” said Smoskowitz. “It’s all about keeping our intensity up. It’s all about getting back to our habits. It’s all about being stuck in our systems and how we really want to play these games. Then, eventually, our focus will be on our first-round opponent.
“So, until we kind of find that out. . . all of our time and energy will be spent on really fine-tuning what we have going on internally.”
COLTS ‘LUCKY’ ON PASSMORE INJURY
Blueliner Evan Passmore was a scratch after taking a shot off his right hand in Saturday’s win over Sudbury. The veteran, who left the game, went to the hospital and was there late. Fortunately for Passmore and the Colts, the X-Rays and CT scan came back negative for any broken bones.
“To be honest, Evan wanted to play tonight,” said Smoskowitz. “We got really, really lucky on that one. He was up pretty late at the hospital getting these tests done, but everything came back negative. So, we just figured we’d give him the night off. No long-term issues there.”
ICE CHIPS: With the win, Barrie swept the season series against Oshawa 4-0. . . Beaudoin finished with three points and now sits fifth overall in OHL scoring with 86 points. . . Shots were 29-29. . . Barrie was 2-for-5 on the power play, Oshawa 2-for-6. . . Joe Salandra had two assists and now has 3 goals and 6 points in his last four games. . . von Richter had a goal and an assist to run his point streak to six games (4-4-8).
