On a night that marked the return of Hunter Haight to Barrie and a chance to get a close look at the OHL's next superstar in Michael Misa, it was a veteran Colts forward who stole the spotlight by ending his long scoring drought.
Declan McDonnell potted his first goal since Sept. 30 and added an assist to double his point total in the last 17 games and lead Barrie to an impressive 5-2 win over the Western Conference-leading Saginaw Spirit, Thursday night, at Sadlon Arena.
The overage forward, whose late goal in the opening period was his first in 19 games, skated to the team bench and reached behind his back to get the monkey off his back.
McDonnell had just two assists since recording a goal and two assists in the opening two games of the OHL season.
"It feels good," the Lake View, N.Y native said of finally snapping his long scoring slump. "I haven't scored since Sudbury, so it feels good to get it out of the way.
"The floodgates are open now and I just got to keep working hard to get pucks to the net."
Colts head coach Marty Williamson was feeling much the wiser after his captain hit the scoresheet.
"I thought Mac was a force tonight," said Williamson. "We kind of talked about (the jinx) in practice and he came through. He kind of made me look like a genius because I told him the curse is over.
"We're proud of him. He's been playing hard for us and I thought he played well last week and he didn't get rewarded, so it's nice to see him get rewarded with a couple of points. The goal, especially."
McDonnell was perfectly fine with his coach taking a bit of the credit. He'll do and take whatever it is to help the team.
"I'll give Marty some credit," said the 20-year-old. "He said I'd break it tonight and helped me break it, so I'm happy he helped me out and I was able to get it."
Jacob Frasca, who added three assists, Ethan Cardwell, Beau Jelsma and Evan Vierling, into an empty net, also scored for the Colts (12-9-2-1), who won their second straight to move within two points of the second-place Mississauga Steelheads in the Central Division standings.
"This was a big one tonight and we got a lot of games coming up before the Christmas break," said McDonnell. "We can move up, we just got to keep working hard."
Haight, who returned to Barrie for the first time since being traded to Saginaw (18-8-2-0) in a blockbuster deal last week, along with Misa were the only ones to beat Anson Thornton on this night.
The Colts goalie made his second-straight impressive start, turning aside 45 of 47 shots by the Spirit.
After going through a tough stretch last month, Thornton appears to certainly have his "mojo" back.
"Yeah, he sure does," said Williamson. "He was good in there and we did a good job of taking away the second chances and that kind of stuff. We were giving up shots and he made a comment he thought he could see almost everything, and when he can see the puck they're not going to score much on him.
"So, it's a real good sign. It's a kid that's feeling confident."
McDonnell got things started at 8:23 of the first period. From the side of the net, he found Frasca in the lower faceoff circle and the veteran rifled it upstairs past Saginaw goalie Tristan Lennox.
Misa, who was granted exceptional player status and was taken first overall by Saginaw in this year's OHL Priority Selection, continued his outstanding rookie campaign when he stormed in from the left wing and rifled a low shot far side past Thornton to tie it a little less than five minutes later.
It was his 16th goal and 31st point in 22 games this season.
McDonnell would finally end his dry spell to put Barrie back on top at 16:55 when he raced down the right side and rifled a shot over the right shoulder of Lennox.
"He shoots the puck too well and he's got too many good instincts and you know he's going to break through," said Williamson of his captain. "I fully expect him to get one on Saturday (against Sudbury) too. That line's got a little mojo to it.
"I thought he led the way. We came out more physical in the first period and he kind of took the tone for some good things."
A pair of Barrie power-play goals would help the Colts grab control early in the second. Cardwell scored just 14 seconds in and then Jelsma made it 4-1 a little more than a minute later.
A once struggling power play is coming to life and Barrie now sits ninth overall with a 22.8 per cent success rate.
"We looked at the power play and (assistant coach Phil Barski) has been working hard at it," said Williamson. "We're talking about changing things and, really, in the last 15 games I think we were at 25 per cent, and he said let's just keep with it and keep working on things.
"I thought they came through well. Two-for-three and they were big power-play goals. We needed them."
Haight would cut the lead in half late in the second with Saginaw on a two-man power play advantage, but it was as close as Thornton would allow them to come.
The Minnesota Wild prospect now has four goals and 10 points in four games since joining the Spirit. He had three goals and nine points in 20 games with Barrie.
"(Haight) had been here awhile, and he was a great player and was a fun guy to play with, but it's good to get the win against them," said McDonnell. "We just came out hard."
The Colts continue their busy stretch to the Christmas break when they host the Sudbury Wolves here Saturday night and then hit the road Sunday night to take on the Oshawa Generals.
Barrie hosts Sudbury again here Tuesday night, before heading into the holiday break with three games in three nights next weekend.
"It's a good chance for us to keep building on that consistency," said Williamson. "We got a lot of games before Christmas, so we need to play smart and not shoot ourselves in the foot."
Game time Saturday night is 7:30 p.m.
ICE CHIPS: Kashawn Aitcheson rocked Saginaw's Nic Sima with two huge body checks. The Colts rookie nailed the Spirit forward midway through the third and then later sent Sima into the glass in the corner. "He's got that ability, so it's nice to see," said Williamson. . . Thornton's 45-save performance was a career best and the Colts goalie improves to 5-1-0-0 when facing 38 shots or more. . . Frasca's four-point night was a career best. The veteran now has nine goals and 24 points in 24 games. He had 10 goals and 25 points over his first 81 career games. . . Saginaw outshot Barrie 47-26, including 20-9 in the third. . . The LA Kings have loaned Brandt Clarke to Canada for the world junior hockey championships.
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