Heartbreak in overtime has the Barrie Colts down 2-0 heading home in the OHL Championship Series against the Kitchener Rangers.
Matthew Andonovski scored 18:03 into the extra frame to spoil a Barrie comeback in the dying seconds and help the Rangers grab control of the best-of-seven series with a 4-3 victory, Friday night, in front of a sellout crowd of 7,533 at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
Kashawn Aitcheson, with Barrie on the power play and Ben Hrebik pulled from the net, sent the game into overtime when he hammered home a rebound at the side of the net with 3.9 seconds remaining.
Andonovski, though, was the hero on this night when Cameron Reid teed him up at the point, and he drilled a one-timer that appeared to deflect off William Schneid, who went down to block the shot.
The puck soared over the left shoulder of Ben Hrebik to help the Rangers run their perfect home record in the playoffs to 11-0.
“(Reid) threaded me the pass, and after that it was kind of a blur,” said Andonovski, who was returned by the Ottawa Senators to Kitchener just after Christmas from their AHL affiliate in Belleville. “I saw it go in the net, and I heard the crowd go nuts, and all the boys were happy.”
“That’s the biggest goal I’ve ever scored,” he added.
Andonovski’s overtime winner was a tough pill to swallow for the Colts after forcing overtime with the clock running out, but Colts’ head coach Dylan Smoskowitz was proud of the fight his club showed after giving up a late go-ahead goal.
“If there’s one thing I know about these guys, it’s that these guys will never, ever quit. No matter what,” he said. “They’ve come back from 5-1 deficits. I’ve got guys just gasping for air going on the ice, blocking shots with their face.
“Again, that’s what makes this team so special. It’s nothing that we do as coaches. It’s just this group, this brotherhood. They love to battle. They love to live and die for each other, and when you get that kind of connection, you get a no quit attitude.”
Up a goal, Barrie entered the third period with a good opportunity to add to its lead when Kitchener’s Jared Woolley was handed an unsportsmanlike penalty at the end of the second period.
Instead, the Rangers evened things at 2-2 just 28 seconds in when Carson Campbell polished off a two-on-one for the shorthanded equalizer.
“I made that mistake there, diving down,” said von Richter of the tying goal. “Coming back to the bench, the guys were really supportive. The brotherhood that we have, everyone picks each other up (following) mistakes.
“Going forward there, we had no doubt we were going to score that goal to tie the game at the end and take it to overtime. It just didn’t work out the way we wanted in overtime.”
With the game all even, the Rangers grabbed the first lead of the game, and one that appeared to stick, after Kashawn Aitcheson was handed a roughing penalty with 2:50 remaining in the game.
With time running out and the Rangers on the power play, Christian Humphreys took a pass from Reid, turned into the slot, and wired a shot past Hrebik with 2:26 remaining.
A couple of unbelievable plays at the blueline helped Barrie draw even with time running out. Both von Richter and Ben Wilmott swatted clearing attempts down at the blue line to hold the puck in the Kitchener end.
Brad Gardiner pounced on a rebound in front that Christian Kirsch made a pad save on, but the puck went straight to Aitcheson at the side of the net, and he gave the Colts life with the clock ticking down.
“We trust our systems,” said Smoskowitz. “It’s a six-on-four. Our assistant coach Dennis Martindale does a fantastic job of getting our guys prepped, and they understand the game plan.
“Some great keeps (in the end). I think one of the hardest shots (von Richter) blocked was to keep that puck in with a couple of seconds left there.”
Kitchener head coach Jussi Ahokas liked the way his team battled through late adversity and played, what he said, its best hockey of the night in overtime.
The Rangers, who outshot the Colts 59-33 in the game, held a 20-7 advantage in the extra frame.
“Anything can happen in the playoffs, and you have to be ready,” said Ahokas. “I think our guys did a great job of going through adversity. You have to go through adversity. Nobody said it’s going to be easy. This is the finals. It’s going to be tough.
“It’s always going to be hard, and I thought we played our best hockey in overtime. The guys really showed they wanted to win this one.”
Hrebik, once again, sparkled in goal, making 54 saves.
“I feel really safe having him in net,” said von Richter. “He makes a crazy amount of saves for us, day in and day out. He holds us in there each day, and he’s a rock back there.”
UP NEXT
While a tough loss for the Colts, who pretty much kept the Rangers under wraps through 40 minutes and held a 2-1 lead going into the third on goals by Brad Gardiner and Emil Hemming, they will return home Sunday for Game 3, looking forward to getting in front of their home fans at a sold-out Sadlon Arena.
“We gave it our all tonight,” said Colts’ defenceman Parker von Richter. “Going back home, that’s where we thrive. When we go back home, we’re going to give it all we got, and see what happens.”
As usual for Smoskowitz, winning their off day will be key heading into Game 3.
“We have to win (Saturday),” he said. “Tomorrow’s a massive day, in terms of recovery. In terms of learning more about our opponent. In terms of scheming up a game plan. Again, we can teach the guys all we want, and we will, but the one thing these guys are looking forward to the most is just getting to the rink to see each other, hang out, get into the cold tubs and video room, and get on the ice for a couple of touches.
“But you have no chance of winning on Sunday if we can’t win Saturday.”
While they may be down in the series heading home, von Richter said he and his teammates know what it takes to bounce back.
“We’ll stick together going home,” he said. “You saw in the series against Brantford (trailing 3-1), we’re not afraid of being down in a series. We’re going to take it to them when we go back home.”
SMOSKOWITZ PRAISES DEFENDER ON TYING GOAL
Barrie’s von Richter was hard on himself after the game, taking responsibility for the shorthanded goal by Kitchener early in the third when he went down to try and block the pass across, but his head coach was having none of it.
“We’ve been off the ice now for 25 minutes, and he’s still out of breath,” Smoskowitz said of von Richter. “He sits here and tells you it’s his mistake that cost us the goal. It’s crazy to me. It’s not his mistake. He’s a warrior. He was fantastic.
“He’s one of the only reasons we got to that point, but yet he’s going to come here and put it on himself, because his brothers down there, he just cares more about them than himself. I’ve never seen anything like the team we have. I’ve never been a part of anything like that.”
GAME-WINNER PAYS OFF FOR CHARITY
Andonovski’s overtime winner not only paid off for the host Rangers on this night, but the SickKids Foundation also cashed in on the deciding goal.
The goal secured a donation to Andrew’s Ambition Initiative from the OHL’s Overtime Heroes program.
SALANDRA TO MISS REMAINDER OF THE SEASON
Colts’ forward Joe Salandra is out for the remainder of the season after being stretchered off the ice late in the second period of Game 1.
It’s expected the rookie will be out for six to eight weeks after breaking his fibula. The belief is that it was a clean break, and no surgery is necessary. Salandra flew back home to New Jersey for an MRI to confirm the break.
ICE CHIPS
Justin Handsor, Eamon Edgar, Teague Vader, and Jonah McCormick were on the bench in overtime for the Colts, while sniper Jack Pridham was glued to Kitchener’s bench in the extra frame.
Ben Wilmott, who scored twice in Game 1, had two assists.
Both teams went 1-for-3 on the power play.
Blueliners have scored four of Kitchener’s eight goals.
Attendance at the Aud was the highest since 2012.
