The battle for the last playoff berth in the Eastern Conference is on and the Barrie Colts kicked it into high gear Saturday night against one of their key opponents in the race.
Beau Jelsma scored twice and recorded five points and Bode Stewart had a goal and four points to lead the offence, while goalie Sam Hillebrandt stopped all 42 shots he faced for his first OHL shutout to help power the Colts to a 7-0 stomping of the Niagara IceDogs in front of 4,031 happy fans at Sadlon Arena.
Coupled with Peterborough’s 3-1 loss to the Spirit in Saginaw, the Colts moved to two points within the Petes and five points ahead of the IceDogs in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Barrie (16-22-1-0), which snapped a three-game losing streak, holds three games in hand on Peterborough and two on Niagara.
“Yeah, it was huge. The crowd was into it,” said Stewart of the win in a playoff-like atmosphere. “We knew it was a big game and we needed to get a win and kind of start some momentum.
“So, it was huge for us.”
It was only a little more than a week ago the IceDogs (11-24-5-1) beat the Colts 4-1 at home to draw within three points. With all three teams struggling at the bottom of the conference and pretty much one playoff spot up for grabs, these head-to-head contests take that much more importance and a shorthanded Colts lineup responded with a dominating effort.
“I thought we did,” said Colts general manager and head coach Marty Williamson. “We’re short benched. Carter Lowe got sick, and Jaiden Newton is a little banged up, so we had to run some guys hard. But I thought they played well.
“I thought our blueline really played well. We took the neutral zone away from them and did a good job that way and obviously Hillebrandt did a hell of a job in net for us.”
Making just his second start after winning a gold medal with Team USA at the world junior hockey championships, the rookie goalie was strong all night in lowering his goals against average to a respectable 3.39 and save percentage to .902.
“We did it all for him,” said Stewart, who along with his teammates mugged the game’s first star after his first career shutout. “Every blocked shot, every smart play was for him. We knew he wanted that bad, so we gave it to him tonight.”
Hillebrandt came up big in a game the Colts really needed.
“We were trying to hang on for him,” said Williamson. “We took that penalty with (6:09) remaining that worried me a bit, but we did a good job. These are the games, if we want to get into the playoffs, we got to beat Peterborough and beat Niagara and not lose those points.
“We got a couple of games in hand. All of us are struggling to win against the rest of the teams, but these games are really important.”
Along with big offensive nights by Jelsma and Stewart, Riley Patterson had a goal and two assists, while linemates Tai York and Cole Beaudoin had a goal and assist each.
Roenick Jodoin had two assists and was strong all night.
“We challenged Roenick Jodoin and Bode Stewart to play better,” said Williamson. “We didn’t think they had the best game against Sudbury (a 7-3 loss Thursday) and both of them responded with really good games. To me, that says a lot about their character.”
Williamson believes Stewart is only beginning to blossom into the impact forward he can be.
“He’s a young kid and he didn’t play much last year,” he said of Stewart. “He was really getting his feet under him and that injury kind of hit him. We really want him to have a big second half here for us and hopefully get a little bit stronger in the summertime and we think he’ll be good.
“He’s really got speed to burn and that’s a huge asset in this league. He’ll be a nice piece for us next year.”
Stewart along with linemates Jelsma and Jodoin combined for three goals and eight assists for 11 points on the night.
“I feel good,” said the 2022 second-round pick of Saginaw who was acquired before the season. “I’m on a new line here and I feel like we’re jelling pretty well. I’m super happy to be playing with those two guys and I think we can do something special.”
Zach Wigle had the other goal for the Colts, who looked shaky for the opening five minutes, before kicking it into high gear and taking over the game.
Barrie scored twice in the first and then put the game away with four more goals in the second.
“I thought so too,” said Williamson when asked of the slow start before dominating the rest of the way. “We were a little quiet, a little hesitant and then we got going. The guys like three lines, obviously.
“There are times you’d like to have a fourth line to get them out there, but I thought Jelsma’s and Beaudoin’s lines did really well for us. We had some big nights.”
The Colts opened the weekend with the loss at home to the Wolves and they’ll close it Sunday afternoon in Sudbury.
The Colts are likely to be shorthanded once again. Beaudoin is off to Moncton to play in the NHL/CHL Top Prospects Game, while the returns of Lowe and Newton are uncertain.
Recently signed prospect defenceman Noah Smith is slated to make his OHL debut.
“We got to be smart,” said Williamson of facing Sudbury. “As I’ve said, these are great tests for our group and that kind of stuff. They’re an awfully good team and they’re built to win a championship this year, and we’re kind of on different cycles.
“Going up there, obviously Beaudoin will be a big loss because he’s headed off to the Top Prospects. So, not having him has kind of taken a weapon away from us, but it’s a good challenge for the rest of the guys. Let’s step up and have a heck of a game and let the chips fall where they’ll fall.”
Game time at the Sudbury Community Arena is 2 p.m.
ICE CHIPS: The Colts are hoping a night’s rest will help Lowe feel good enough to dress on Sunday. “We don’t know. I hope he’s feeling better,” said Williamson. “He got some soup down, so hopefully he’ll give us a little bit.” The Colts also were hoping that Sudbury area native Nolan Newton would dress as an affiliate player, but he told the team he’s not ready. “He needs more time to get into shape,” said Williamson. . . Jelsma now has five goals and 11 points in his last six games to up his scoring numbers to 17 goals and 27 assists for 44 points in 39 games. York’s power-play goal was his third in two games. Patterson now has two goals and six assists for eight points in his last five games. . . With his power-play goal, Beaudoin now has four goals in his last five games. . . Barrie’s power-play was 2-for-4 on the night. Niagara was 0-for-3. . . While the Colts were short two forwards, the IceDogs were short a goalie and defenceman. . . Owen Flores started in goal for Niagara and was pulled after giving up six goals on 29 shots through two periods. Charlie Robertson stopped 15 of 16 shots in the third. . . Since a 4-1 win over Windsor on Nov. 30, the Colts have only had below 3,500 fans once (2,935 Oct. 18 vs. Sudbury). Barrie has drawn more than 4,000 fans five times in the last seven games.
Banner image via the Barrie Colts - forward Bode Stewart, who had a goal and four points, congratulates goalie Sam Hillebrandt after his first OHL career shutout in a 7-0 whitewash of the Sudbury Wolves, Saturday night, at Sadlon Arena.
