The combination of a lack of discipline and a struggling penalty kill is proving to be just too much for the Barrie Colts to overcome these days.
The latest example came Friday night in Sudbury against the OHL’s last-place team as the Colts and their league-worst penalty kill were lit up for three more power-play goals in a 5-3 loss to the Wolves at the Sudbury Community Arena.
The defeat was the sixth-straight for the Colts, who now sit just two points up on the Wolves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
“On paper, we’re a great team. We got lots of NHL guys, lots of young and upcoming guys. We just have to stay out of the box,” said Colts overage forward Calvin Crombie. “That’s something that we’re definitely struggling with right now.
“Five-on-five, we’re dominating teams. They can’t (battle) with us, but we just have to stay out of the box. That’s one of the things we’ve got to work on, for sure.”
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Barrie (3-7-0-3) dug itself a 3-1 first-period deficit thanks in large part to a pair of Sudbury (3-8-1-0) goals with the man advantage.
It was a hole the Colts could never fully dig themselves out of.
“We find ourselves in the position that we’re chasing all the time, and that’s not a position you want to be in,” said Crombie, who scored 1:29 into the third period to get the Colts within a goal. “That’s something we’ve got to work on as a group. We got to stay out of the box and keep our heads focused right from the get-go.
“If we stay out of the box and get the early one, then we won’t be chasing, and they’ll be the ones chasing.”
The penalty kill continues to struggle mightily. Barrie has now given up 15 goals on 46 chances for an efficiency mark of just 67.4 per cent.
The Wolves, who finished the night 3-for-4 with the man advantage, had just six power-play goals in 11 games coming into this one.
“We talked about it before the game that discipline was going to be a key,” said Colts’ head coach Dylan Smoskowitz. “I thought we had a couple of undisciplined penalties, which will always come back to bite you in the butt. You can live through a penalty that you deserve, and, OK, maybe you save a goal or make a hard play on it. Our PK is just not cutting it right now.
“It’s something that we really got to look into and dig into deep and correct the ship because I agree that our five-on-five play was pretty good. I thought we missed chances that we could have buried, but you give a team that many power-play goals and it’s hard to come back from that.”
Alex Pharand’s power-play marker at 6:27 opened the scoring, before Colt killer Kieron Walton doubled the Sudbury lead a little more than two minutes later on a bad giveaway by Brad Gardiner in front of Barrie goaltender Arvin Jaswal.
Gardiner got that right back 40 seconds later, with Barrie on the power play, when he took a nice, backhanded pass from Joe Salandra in front and ripped it over Finn Marshall.
But the Wolves’ power play struck again late in the first when Jan Chovan buried a rebound in front.
Five-on-five, the Colts fared well. A strong start to the second helped them cut the lead once again when rookie Eamon Edgar fired home his first OHL goal on a pass from Bode Stewart from along the sideboards midway through the second.
The Wolves restored the two-goal lead late in the same period when Nathan Villeneuve walked in from the point and fired a shot that beat Jaswal.
“We’re right there,” said Smoskowitz. “I feel bad for these guys because we’re working so hard. We are right there, but we just can’t seem to get the bounce or have the team get a kill at the proper time.
“It’s not something where we have to correct a million things, and it’s too broken right now. We just have to work our way out of this rut.”
Crombie gave the Colts some hope early in the third period when he batted a Stewart pass out of the air past Marshall to make it 4-3.
Barrie’s power-play got a pair of chances in the first half of the final period to even things up, but it couldn’t connect, and Rowan Henderson insured a Wolves win with 1:26 remaining when he scored into an empty net.
“I actually thought our power play worked well today,” said Smoskowitz, whose sixth-ranked power play finished 1-for-4 on the night. “We snapped the puck around and had some good looks, but we had just a bad bounce, or bad ice, or hit a stick and things like that.
“I thought the structure was good, and the guys knew what to do out there. We just didn’t get that key one to tie the game and really put them on their heels, which is unfortunate.”
The chances were there for Barrie.
“Sometimes, bounces aren’t going to go your way,” said Crombie. “Our power play has been good, but you’ve got to respond and get one there. You’ve got to capitalize on the momentum.”
Unfortunately for the slumping Colts, the road ahead gets a lot tougher. They host the Kitchener Rangers on Saturday night and then travel on Wednesday night to face the Bradford Bulldogs.
Kitchener sits third in the Western Conference standings, while the Bulldogs have yet to lose a game in regulation time this season.
“A really tough customer,” Smoskowitz said of Kitchener. “Top 10 in the CHL. Nationally ranked. It’s a challenge we’re excited for. Get back in front of our home fans and try to give Kitchener hell and all they can handle.
“I know our guys are going to rebound here. It’s a streak that we want snapped desperately.”
For Crombie, it’s a new day for him and his teammates.
“It’s a new opportunity. You have to take every day, one day at a time, and that’s the only way,” he said. “You’ve got to stay positive and keep going with the group of guys. We’re all still positive.
“Yeah, it’s tough. You come off six (losses). No one likes to lose. We stay positive, it’s a new day, a new opportunity. So, we’re going to take them just as we take any other team.”
ICE CHIPS
Goalie Ben Hrebik and forward Carter Lowe didn’t make the trip to Sudbury. Hrebik was given the night off to rest for Saturday’s contest, and Hagen Bach filled the role of backup. Lowe, says Smoskowitz, is a little banged up. “We let him stay home and rest,” he said. “He’ll be back in the lineup (Saturday).” . . . Barrie outshot Sudbury 35-29. . . A pair of Barrie fans who made the trek to Sudbury had a good laugh after they drew a chorus of boos when it was announced on the scoreboard that they had won a pair of tickets to Game 2 of the World Series in Toronto. . . Cole Beaudoin and Stewart each had two assists.
OTHER SCORES
Peterborough 4 Sault Ste. Marie 3 (OT)
Kitchener 4 Flint 1
London 3 Ottawa 2 (OT)
Niagara 6 Brampton 3
Saginaw 5 Erie 3
Brantford 3 Sarnia 1
Windsor 4 Owen Sound 3 (SO)
Guelph 6 Kingston 3
