A good talk between periods proved to be exactly what the doctor ordered Saturday night for the Barrie Colts.
After a rough second period helped erase a strong start against the Oshawa Generals, the Colts regrouped in the following intermission and then headed out in the third period and scored twice to win 4-2 in front of 4,163 fans at Sadlon Arena.
Outshot 13-8 and outplayed in the middle frame, the Colts came out firing to snap a 2-2 tie.
Cole Beaudoin’s second of the game, just under two minutes in, proved to be the winner, and then Emil Hemming sealed it with 1:31 remaining on a highlight-reel play driven by Beaudoin’s determination and set up by Ben Wilmott.
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The win over Oshawa, which has now lost 14 straight, was Barrie’s eighth in its last nine games (8-0-1-0).
“They brought it to us in the second period, and we were kind of on our heels, but we had a really good third period and bounced back,” said Beaudoin, who added an assist for a three-point night and now has four goals and eight assists (12 points) in five games since returning from the IIHF World Junior Championships.
“We settled (down) in the lockeroom after the second and just tried to stay calm. We know we’re a good team and know we’re capable of coming back.”
Barrie (27-10-2-4) took control early and grab a 2-0 lead on goals by Brad Gardiner and Cole Beaudoin, on the power play, before Omni Kalto beat Arvin Jaswal with 51 seconds remaining in the first period to swing the momentum.
The Generals (9-31-1-1) carried that into the middle frame, and were rewarded when Owen Griffin set up Porter Byrd-Leitner in front to tie it at 4:34.
“The first period was what we like to do,” said Colts’ head coach Dylan Smoskowitz. “We played fast. We played hard. We got pucks deep. We had seven scoring chances. That was our identity, and then you get a couple of goals, and, in the second period, guys think they can do it on their own, and you see what happens.
“No matter who you play in this league, if you take your foot off the gas, and, even more so, you don’t play your identity, which is what makes us successful, you’re going to lose a lot of hockey games.”
After a discussion in between periods, the Colts were a much different team in the third, outshooting Oshawa 20-12 en route to beating them for the second time in less than a week.
“I’m super proud of the guys,” said Smoskowitz, whose club won 4-1 in Oshawa last Sunday. “It was a really good conversation between the second and third. Our leaders stepped up, and those first two shifts (in the third) were probably our best shifts of the entire season.
“I’m really proud of the response.”
Intense early pressure in the third, despite some big stops by Generals’ goaltender Matthew Humphries, paid off for the Colts when Beaudoin jammed home a loose puck in front of the net.
The Utah prospect then helped give Barrie some breathing room late on a goal that is certain to find its way into several weekly highlight reels.
Hemming fired it up to Beaudoin at centre, who managed to fight off two Oshawa defenders and walk in alone before being stopped by Humphries.
Wilmott picked up the rebound and make a no-look, behind-the-back pass to a trailing Hemming, who buried it for his third in two games.
A determined Beaudoin was not going to let himself be pushed off the puck.
“Hemmer made a nice pass to me, and I knew I had two defenders closing on me, and I just tried to use my speed to get around them and kind of get free,” he said. “But that’s all Willy and Hemmer making the play and putting it in the net.”
Wilmott, who had two assists on the night, now has four goals and four assists for eight points in five games since joining the Colts at the trade deadline.
The Colts’ top line has shown great chemistry, racking up a combined 12 goals and 36 points in a little more than a week.
“Unbelievable,” Beaudoin said of Wilmott’s pass on Hemming’s goal. “You see in that play, the vision he has. He’s got eyes in the back of his head with some of the passes he makes, and his shot. It’s been a great compliment to play with him and Hemmer, and we’ve been loving it, but there’s still lots of work to be done during practice every day.
“We just try to talk off the ice and on the ice, so it’s been good.”
From Beaudoin’s speed and will to get the puck up the ice to Wilmott’s awareness of where his new teammates are, Smoskowitz was once again left impressed by his top line.
“Oh man, that was a man with a child there,” Smoskowitz said of Beaudoin fighting off one defender who was draped all over him and then another who came into help out. “He drove them as long as he could and then swatted them away. I think Cole was upset he didn’t score, or at least get a penalty shot, but my goodness, what a play by Ben Wilmott.
“He had eyes on the back of his head to find Emil Hemming there. The three of them are doing something special right now, and as a coach, as a hockey fan in general, I’m just excited to watch them go.”
A couple of nights after handing a 5-3 defeat to the Flint Firebirds, who came in leading the OHL standings, the red-hot Colts were facing a Generals team that sat dead last.
Still, Smoskowitz knew his team could ill afford to overlook its young opponents.
“Especially a team as desperate as them,” said the Barrie bench boss. “That’s another thing we mentioned to the boys in the room. We said it’s 2-2, and this is the closest they’ve been to winning a hockey game in a long time. They’re very excited right now.
“I think those first two shifts really reset the tone and showed them, ‘OK, we’re really in for a dogfight now.’ It was a really good job with the response.”
UP NEXT
The Colts face a quick turnaround heading down Highway 26 to take on the Owen Sound Attack on Sunday afternoon.
“They’re a team that always plays us tough,” said Smoskowitz. “They’re kind of built like us. A big, strong team. They like to play physical. We’re expecting a really good battle tomorrow.”
Game time at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre is 2 p.m.
Oshawa also plays the second of back-to-back games on Sunday, hosting Brampton.
ICE CHIPS
Jaswal made 32 saves to improve his record to 9-3-0-1. Humphries stopped 42 to fall to 0-7-1-0.
Aitcheson had two assists and sits tied for second in scoring among blueliners with 40 points, seven behind Windsor’s Carson Woodhall.
Gardiner’s 20th goal sets a career high.
Barrie’s Joseph Salandra and Justin Handsor were given the night off after playing in the top prospects game earlier this week.
Beaudoin, who is likely to jump to pro hockey next season, was happy to see the Colts add at the trade deadline. “It means a lot,” he said. They got trust in us, trust in this group to go for a run in the playoffs. That’s what I wanted with my last year, coming here. I want to go on a run. I’ve loved it here for the last four years. I want to go on a deep run, and I want to win a championship here. That’s what this city deserves. That’s what this group deserves.”
ADD. OHL
Windsor 5 Brampton 2
Brantford 5 Kingston 2
Ottawa 5 Gatineau 3
London 5 Owen Sound 4
Saginaw 6 Erie 1
Peterborough 1 Niagara 0
