Fresh off a 4-3 overtime defeat that cost his team home ice advantage and even its Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at one with the Niagara IceDogs, a calm Dylan Smoskowitz didn’t hesitate for a second when asked what his Barrie Colts needed to do moving ahead.
“Nothing changes,” said the Barrie head coach ahead of Games 3 and 4 in St. Catharines.
The Colts stayed the course with what brought them, and, on Saturday at Sadlon Arena, they capped off a run of three straight wins with a decisive 5-0 blanking of the IceDogs to close out the best-of-seven series in five games.
While Barrie spent hours studying, watching game tapes, and planning practices in preparation for their series against Niagara, the focus, says Smoskowitz, needed to be turned to where it mattered most.
“You want to know everything about your opponent. Somewhere along the way, we kind of lost the focus on ourselves,” said Smoskowitz. “I think once we started to regain that focus on ourselves, our identity, and how we want to play, we really saw the true Barrie Colts, and what we’re capable of.
“I liked spurts of our game for Games 3 and 4, and I liked our entire game (tonight). It was something that we stressed, and something that we challenged the players with, and they answered it all tonight.”
After a season where they piled up 45 wins, 99 points, and finished atop the Central Division, the Colts weren’t about to let a little adversity derail their game.
Convincing 5-2 and 9-6 wins at Meridian Centre set up the opportunity to end the series on Saturday.
“You act like it’s do or die, but losing one game in a series isn’t a big deal,” said overage forward Calvin Crombie. “We took that, and we have a bunch of guys in this room who have been to the playoffs, who have been to the finals, and you know that’s part of the playoffs, that you’re going to lose.
“You can’t panic, and you can’t get down on yourselves. You’ve got to keep level-headed, and you’ve got to keep going, and almost bring the energy level higher. That’s what we did here.”
Ben Hrebik made 29 saves to record his first career playoff shutout, and Brad Gardiner, Carter Lowe, Ben Wilmott, William Schneid, and Emil Hemming all scored in the series-clinching win for the Colts, who advance to face the Ottawa 67’s in the second round.
“We’re expecting a close series, whether it’s four games and a one-goal game every game, or whether it’s seven games and we go right down to the wire,” said Smoskowitz, whose club split the season series 2-2 with Ottawa. “Our team is ready for anything.
“Obviously, our coaches are going to dive into Ottawa tomorrow and have a good week of prep. They’re a good team. They’re a well-coached team. We’re going to do our due diligence and do our work, but this team is ready for any kind of fight that Ottawa, or anybody else for that matter, is ready to give us.”
Playing in front of another sellout crowd of 4,236, the home team raised the noise level early with a pair of spirited fights before the game was even two minutes old.
Captain Cole Beaudoin scored a win over Niagara captain Ethan Czata at centre ice, then just over a minute later, Crombie took down Reyth Smith.
Another strong start helped the Colts get the ball rolling.
In Game 3, they outshot the IceDogs 20-3 in the opening period and led 2-1. That night, the Colts jumped out to a 5-0 lead just past the midway point of the first, before cruising to a 9-6 win.
Meanwhile on Saturday, Barrie doubled Niagara 14-7 in shots to take a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes, before Lowe and Wilmott added to the lead early in the second to take control.
“Obviously, we had a good start the other day, and we wanted to follow up with that,” said Crombie, back in the lineup after serving a one-game suspension. “You want to get in there and get shots on (Niagara goalie Vladislav Yermolenko) early and test him like we did the game before, when I wasn’t playing. We did that.
“We got on the board early, and we kept the lead and played defensively sound, and it worked for us.”
Smoskowitz said he really liked how his team progressed throughout the series, feeling his team played a little bit better every game.
“We really gave them nothing tonight,” he said. “There was one thing we stressed over the last couple of days, that we wanted to be in the driver’s seat. We wanted to be in control. We wanted to control our emotions. We wanted to control the pace of play. We wanted to control the energy. We wanted to control physicality.
“I didn’t feel at any point tonight that we were out of control.”
When they needed a big stop, their veteran goalie was there. Hrebik celebrated his 20th birthday in style.
“He’s been stellar all year,” said Crombie. “You can’t ask for much more back there. He was the goalie of the month for two months in a row (November and December). He’s phenomenal back there, and we always rely on him. Especially when we need a big save.”
The night was an emotional one for IceDogs overager and former Colt Grayson Tiller, who played his final OHL game.
The blueliner could hardly keep his emotions in while shaking hands with his former teammates after the game. A fan favourite and popular player in the dressing room during his four years in Barrie, several Colts took the time to give their former teammate a long hug and offer words of support.
“The only thing I said to Grayson in the handshake was just how proud I was of him and am of him,” said Smoskowitz. “He’s a fine, fine young man when he was in Barrie. He was first class all the way. He’s a great hockey player, but an even better person.
“He’s going to go on and do some great things. I did hear through the grapevine that he is going to join the police force, which I think is fantastic for him. I’m very proud of the person he is, and really thankful that I got the opportunity to coach him.”
UP NEXT
The best-of-seven series between the Colts and 67's will open Thursday in Barrie, with Game 2 on Saturday at Sadlon Arena.
ICE CHIPS
This marks the second-straight season the Colts have eliminated the IceDogs in five games in the first round of the playoffs.
Former Colt Parker Vaughan scored at 17:09 of the second overtime to help North Bay eliminate the Peterborough with a 5-4 win at home on Saturday. The Battalion take the series 4-2 and advance to face Brantford in the other Eastern Conference semifinal. In the Western Conference, Kitchener takes on Sault Ste. Marie, while Windsor faces Flint .
ADD. OHL
EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
North Bay 5 Peterborough 4 (2OT) (Battalion win series 4-2)
