The Barrie Colts season came to a crushing end Thursday night in Oshawa after the Generals dealt the knockout blow, scoring three times in 93 seconds early in the third period to break open a 3-3 tie and cruise to an 8-4 win at the Tribute Communities Centre.
The win wrapped up a four-game sweep of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final series for the Generals, who will face the London Knights for a second-straight year in the OHL Championship, which is set to begin sometime next week.
“Obviously not the outcome we wanted,” said Colts’ centre and Utah prospect Cole Beaudoin. “We’ve been grinding all season long, and I love all those guys in there, but we fell short, and, like Marty said, kudos to them.
“They have a good team over there, but we fought to the end.”
Two nights after a tough 7-6 double overtime loss put them on the brink of elimination, the Colts let another opportunity on the road slip through their grasp.
“It sucks,” said Beaudoin, who opened the scoring in this one. “We were right there, and then the third period came around, and they got one. Got a penalty, and they got one right after that, and it was an uphill battle from there.
“We fought to the end, so I’m proud of the group. But definitely frustrating.”
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A high-powered Oshawa offence led by six first-round NHL draft picks, including snipers Beckett Sennecke and Orillia native Colby Barlow proved to be too much for the Colts.
Both Barlow and Sennecke lead the Generals with four goals each in the series and had a combined 20 points, while OHL playoff scoring leader and defenceman Luca Marelli finished with two goals and 11 points.
“They played hard,” Colts’ general manager and head coach Marty Williamson said of his team. “We lost our way a little bit on how to defend. You allow seven goals and then again tonight another six or seven, or eight with the empty net. With those kinds of numbers, it’s tough to win hockey games.
“Who knows how much that series that took seven games against Kingston takes out of you mentally, but a ton of credit to Oshawa, they played awfully well. (Generals head coach Brad Malone) did a great job coming in halfway through the season. Taking over is a difficult thing to coach, and for him to have that team the way they are is a credit to Oshawa and Brad.”
All even and with their season on the line heading to third, the Colts suffered a nightmare start when Grayson Tiller’s shot hit Matthew Buckley in the shin pads and the Generals forward beat Ben Hrebik on the ensuing breakaway to give the home team the lead just 3:40 in.
Then, 54 seconds later, with the Colts shorthanded after a penalty for too many men, Marelli slid the puck to Barlow at the top of the faceoff circle, and the Winnipeg prospect hammered a one-timer past Hrebik.
Marrelli would complete the trio of rapid blows just 25 seconds later to make it 6-3, and the writing was on the wall.
After Buckley’s go-ahead goal and the Barrie penalty, the Generals smelled blood in the water and put the Colts and the series away.
“That’s what we talk about, the critical moments. The emphasis on when you get an opportunity,” said Malone about taking advantage of the momentum. “These kids know when the moment was there, and obviously, to execute was massive.
“It really kind of changed the momentum fully for the game, and I thought from there we were in full control.”
The Generals’ power play made the Colts pay all series, finishing 7-for-18. Barrie would score just once on nine chances with the man advantage.
“It’s one of the strongest in the league and one of their weapons,” said Williamson of Oshawa’s power play which leads all playoff teams with 24 goals in 16 games. “There were times our guys did a fantastic job against it and then there were other times it’s a matter of inches and pucks get through and the goalie doesn’t get there, or whatever the play is.
“The Barlows, the Senneckes, and the Ritchies can make you pay, or the Marellis. That’s why penalties and discipline were so important.”
Dalyn Wakely, playing his final OHL game along with fellow overagers Beau Jelsma and Owen Van Steensel, gave the Colts some faint hope when he cut the lead to 6-4 with 6:06 remaining, but Owen Griffin’s second of the night and Callum Ritchie would put the series on ice.
“There’s so much experience and leadership in that room,” said Barlow. “It was a clean slate for 20 minutes. It was a 20-minute hockey game, and all the guys put everything on the line and got the job done.”
Barrie appeared to get off to a strong start in this one when Bode Stewart’s backhand in front went off a skate and past Jacob Oster just 15 seconds into the game, but the goal was called off after a review found the Colts were offside.
Beaudoin would give Barrie a first-period lead when he buried a rebound off a Tristan Bertucci point shot at 13:35.
The Generals would grab the lead in the second on goals by Luca D’Amato and Noah Powell, before Anthony Romani and Brad Gardiner scored 33 seconds apart midway through the frame to put the Colts back on top.
Oshawa would reel off the next four goals.
Barrie had three goals called off in the series after video reviews.
“Even the first game, where we thought we didn’t have a great start to it, it was a 2-1 hockey game with an empty-net goal and tonight’s 3-3 going into the third, and (Tuesday) in overtime where we had the lead with around a minute to go,” Williamson said of his team’s effort to bounce back on the road after dropping the first two games of the series on home ice. “There were a lot of intangibles, a lot of things to like, and obviously, as (Beaudoin) said it’s frustrating. We just didn’t see the bounces go our way.”
It was an emotional Barrie team after the loss. A season that started with so much promise ended just short of reaching an OHL championship and for Beaudoin it was hard knowing that this was the final junior hockey game for teammates Jelsma, Wakely, and Van Steensel.
“It sucks,” he said. “We wanted to win it for our team, but also for them. We wanted to keep this thing going and unfortunately it had to end today. They did everything.
“To be with Jelsma for three years now, he’s helped me so much. For (Wakely) and (Van Steensel) to come in, they taught me so much as well and they brought so much experience to this team.”
After a suffering a four-game sweep at the hands of the Knights in last year’s OHL final, the Generals were determined to give themselves another shot.
“It’s exciting, but to be honest this is where we were supposed to be,” said Malone. “This has been the conversation since Day 1 for this group. To say that we didn’t expect us to be here, I know we wanted to be here. Sometimes during the regular season as a coach, it was tough for me to drag out the energy and the investment that it takes to win a championship, but I think these guys were looking ahead.
“They wanted this opportunity again, and they battled hard to get back to here in the playoffs. I’m very proud of the guys for dialling it in and really pulling together.”
ICE CHIPS: Hrebik got his first start of the series and stopped 22 of 30 shots. Oster made 27 saves for Oshawa. . . Oshawa won its second-straight Bobby Orr Trophy but as per the traditional superstition refused to touch it in the post-game presentation. . . The back-to-back Bobby Orr wins by the Generals marks the first time in OHL history that has happened.
