Goaltender Ben Hrebik calmed the Storm in overtime and Anthony Romani and Cole Beaudoin scored in the shootout to power the Barrie Colts to a 5-4 win over Guelph at the Sleeman Centre on Wednesday night.
Making his third-straight start, Hrebik turned aside 39 shots in regulation time and then made three huge stops in overtime before slamming the door on three of four penalty shots to help the Colts eke out an important win over a determined Storm club fighting for its playoff life.
“He’s doing a heck of a job in there and giving us a chance,” Colts’ general manager and head coach Marty Williamson said of his goaltender who was previously rotating starts with Sam Hillebrandt. “We’re making some mistakes. They’re (Guelph) desperate. They’re trying desperately to get into the playoffs. I thought Jett Luchanko had a phenomenal game. He looked like a world-beater out there.
“We weren’t able to keep him in check, but the guys persevered.”
The overtime featured quality scoring chances for both teams, but it was Hrebik who was the difference as he stoned Max Namestnikov in close and made two other game-savers to send the game to a shootout.
Beaudoin would end it on the fourth attempt when he walked in and fired one through the pads of Ellsworth.
“Ben’s awesome,” said Riley Patterson, who scored twice. “He helps us every game and makes every game winnable. The improvement and development he’s made over the last two years with the club has been awesome.
“He’s an awesome friend and has been just a great goalie for us, and he’s going to win us a lot of games.”
The win moved Barrie (35-18-2-2) to within two points of the Brantford Bulldogs and Oshawa Generals atop the Eastern Conference Standings with two games in hand on each team.
With just 11 games remaining in the OHL regular season, the battle for home ice through the Eastern playoffs is heating up.
“Every game is huge,” said Patterson, who along with his teammates will return home Thursday evening to host the Saginaw Spirit. “We obviously have our sights set on finishing first in the Eastern Conference and we got to do all we can to make sure we do that.”
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The loss was a costly one for Guelph (18-29-5-4), which trails both the Owen Sound Attack and Sarnia Sting by four points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“Everybody is desperate right now,” said Williamson. “This reminds me a lot of us last year, where we were desperate to get in the playoffs and find points in games, and Guelph is doing the same thing.
“They’re four points out and everything meant everything to them. That can be a determining factor, just that desperation. It’s harder to be desperate when we’re in a different position like we are.”
The third period would kick off a wild finish in this one.
Tied at 2-2, Luchanko scored his second of the game just 1:01 into the period to give the host Storm the lead, but Romani evened it up a little more than a minute later on a wicked shot that found the top of the net.
It was the 100th goal of his OHL career and his 11th in 24 games this season with Barrie.
Patterson, with his second of the contest, would put Barrie ahead with under five minutes remaining on the power play with his team-leading 24th of the season.
The Storm, though, wouldn’t go away.
On the power play, and with Colin Ellsworth pulled from the goal with five seconds remaining, Jake Karabela spun around at the top of the slot and made an impressive backhand pass to Luchanko.
The Philadelphia Flyers top prospect found Charlie Paquette to the right of Hrebik, and Paquette fired it past Hrebik to tie the game in dramatic-fashion.
“We had the lead, and it was just an unlucky bounce there right over (Cole Beaudoin’s) stick,” said Williamson. “The puck looked like it was just going to sit right there for him, and it bounced over his stick and they somehow found a way to get into the back of the net.”
It wasn’t pretty, but they got an important two points.
“We just found a way,” said Patterson. “It’s tough to weather a goal with seconds (left) with a team at their home barn. They get momentum and it gets loud in their building, and I think it’s good for us to kill the momentum the best we could in overtime and just some great saves from Hrebik in the shootout and some great goals to help us secure the win.”
After a scoreless opening period, Patterson opened the scoring early in the second when the puck took a weird bounce out of the corner to him right in front of the net and he beat Ellsworth.
Karabela would tie it just 24 seconds later and then Luchanko would put Guelph up midway through the frame, before Owen Van Steensel would draw Barrie even on a breakaway goal at 17:15.
Barrie would find a way to get the lead in the third, but a few nights after pulling a late comeback of its own, it would be Guelph finding a way to extend this one.
“It was a great play,” Williamson said of the pass by Karabela that set up the last-second equalizer by Paquette. “We thought we had it shut down there. “
The Colts will return home for a date with the Spirit and before the game the club will retire the jersey of former winger and NHL enforcer Kyle Clifford.
Doors open at 5:45 p.m. with the ceremony set to begin at 6:45 p.m. Puck drop at Sadlon Arena is 7:15 p.m.
Saginaw, led by OHL scoring leader Michael Misa and forward Igor Chernyshov (12 goals and 32 points in 12 games), leads the OHL in scoring.
“We know they’re one of the best offensive teams,” said Williamson. “We better be strong against them, that’s for sure.”
ICE CHIPS: With Guelph up 1-0 in the shootout and Barrie down to its last attempt, Romani wired one upstairs to tie it. “Just the calmness of him,” said Williamson of the Vancouver prospect. “That puck bounced, and it started rolling. The poor guy was going to get screwed there, but it settled down and he just finished. It was similar to his goal during the game. He had nice composure, and he just buried it.” . . . Jaiden Newton began a two-game suspension (passing max on fights) and Dalyn Wakely is suspended pending a review after a crosschecking major on Saturday. . . Beau Akey has gone 28 games without scoring a goal. . .Jack Martin (concussion) returned to the lineup after missing more than a month. . . With his 20th goal on Saturday, Kashawn Aitcheson became just the fourth Barrie Colt defenceman to hit the 20-goal mark. Brandt Clarke (40), Aaron Ekblad (23), and Andrew Marshall (23) are the others. . . Guelph outshot Barrie 43-31. . . Both teams went 1-for-1 on the power play.
