Thanks in large part to their veteran leaders, the Barrie Colts continue to put that ugly six-game losing skid in the rearview mirror.
The leadership group is stepping up in a big way, and they did it again on Saturday night, combining for four goals and nine points to help Barrie run its win streak to four games with a 4-2 victory over the Erie Otters at Sadlon Arena.
Leading the way were co-captains Kashawn Aitcheson and Cole Beaudoin.
Aitcheson, who leads all OHL blueliners with 11 goals, scored twice to give him five goals in the last four games, while Beaudoin, who now has 22 points in just 12 games, scored once and added a pair of assists to run his scoring streak to seven games (4-9-13).
Alternate captains Brad Gardiner and Emil Hemming also continued to fill the scoresheet in the win. Gardiner notched his 10th of the season and added an assist, while Hemming added a pair of assists to give him seven points (2-5-7) in three games since returning from the AHL’s Texas Stars earlier this week.
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After dropping six games, the veteran group is doing what they do best and leading the way.
“They are,” said Colts’ head coach Dylan Smoskowitz. “These guys set the pace for us. They set the pace for us in practice; they set the pace in games. They’re putting up a bunch of points for us right now.”
Gardiner was quick to praise the play of his younger teammates. Right now, everyone’s playing a part in the turnaround.
“We got a great group of older guys, and younger guys that are coming to the rink being sponges, learning every day and getting better every day, too,” he said. “It’s not just the older guys, it’s the younger guys helping push us every day at practice, and we’re all just trying to be the best we can and get better every day.”
One thing the Colts certainly did better on Saturday night was a strong finish. Earlier in the week, Barrie blew a 4-1 third-period lead to the Brantford Bulldogs – the CHL’s top-ranked team – before eventually winning 5-4 in overtime.
Last night, they took a 3-1 lead into the third and put on a dominating performance to put the game away, outshooting the Otters 20-9, though that number was 17-1 at one point.
Barrie outshot Erie (5-11-1-0) 38-17 over the final 40 minutes and 46-29 overall.
“It does feel good,” Smoskowitz said of the win streak. “What I was most pleased with tonight was our third period. We’ve had a lot of games where we go into the third with a lead, or we build a lead, and we let it slip away. The fact that we didn’t let it slip away is one thing, but just the way we played in that third period.
“It was a total buy-in from all 20 guys. I didn’t have to cut it down to two lines and four defencemen. Four lines rolled, six defencemen rolled, and it was just kind of rinse and repeat. It was really fun to watch that third period.”
After struggling on home ice earlier this season, the Colts have now won their last three at Sadlon Arena.
“It was nice to get some wins in front of the home crowd,” said Smoskowitz of the win last night and over Sarnia on Thursday. “They’ve been fantastic and cheering us on. They haven’t gotten down during our losing streak, and they’re really picking us up here during our winning streak.
“We get those two wins against those nationally ranked opponents (Kitchener and Brantford), and I’m very impressed with our guys now coming back against these teams and keeping the emotional intensity high.”
The teams traded goals midway through the first when Gardiner took a pass from Calvin Crombie at the side of the net and tucked it under Erie goalie Noah Erliden.
The Otters responded a little more than two minutes later when Ritter Coombs walked around the net and beat Barrie goalie Ben Hrebik with a wraparound play.
The Colts took control of the contest in the second period when Beaudoin raced in and slipped it back to a trailing Aitcheson in front with Barrie on the power play.
Beaudoin got what proved to be the game-winner late in the same frame when he wired a one-timer in the slot past Erliden to make it 3-1.
“With Hemmer coming back, it helped our depth a lot,” said Gardiner. “We have lots of different guys in the lineup contributing right now. Lots of positives from the wins over the past week. We just got to keep going.”
Erie ran into penalty trouble in the third, and the Colts, on the power play, took advantage when Aitcheson skated to the middle in the high slot and fired one home.
Callum Hughes scored with Erie on a two-man advantage and 3:21 remaining, but it was too little, too late.
“Our goal going into the third period tonight was not to just let the team bring it to us, but to keep initiating and keep the momentum in our favour,” said Gardiner. “Against obviously a good team like Brantford, we were the better team for two periods, and they kind of turned it on in the third.
“It’s just learning how to manage those games, manage the puck, make a few different plays, and that game looks a little different.”
After winning against top-ranked teams, taking advantage of a pair of struggling Western Conference teams at home was a must.
“It’s not very easy to win in this league,” said Smoskowitz. “On any given night, any team can beat anyone in this league, and that’s the beauty of junior hockey. So, the fact that our guys can buckle down and dig in for a whole 60 minutes the last four nights, the last four games, I’m very proud of them.”
Barrie will host the Sudbury Wolves on Thursday evening before kicking off a northern road swing on Friday against those same Wolves on Friday night.
The northern trek continues Saturday night in Sault Ste. Marie.
“It’s our first road trip, which will be fun,” said Gardiner. “Lots of new guys, and we’ll do lots of fun team stuff on the road, so we’re all excited for that. Obviously, big games.
“We’re getting better every day, and we have a good week of practice ahead. It starts there, and, hopefully, we keep this thing rolling.”
ICE CHIPS
The Barrie penalty kill remains dead last in the OHL, but it’s certainly improved over the win streak. “It was a real strength for us tonight,” said Smoskowitz, whose club held Erie to 1-for-6 with the man advantage. “I actually thought we generated some offence from it as well, and it gave us momentum throughout the game. It’s been a stress of ours, the penalty-kill, but the percentages will eventually rise.” . . . After cutting the lead to 4-2 on a two-man advantage with just over three minutes remaining, the Otters still had 1:02 on the power play but chose not to pull their goalie. In a bit of a strange decision, the Otters never pulled Erliden for an extra attacker. . . After getting just one win in his first eight starts, Hrebik has now won three straight games.
ADD. OHL
Kitchener 4 Brampton 0
Sault Ste. Marie 6 Oshawa 1
Peterborough 3 Kingston 1
Owen Sound 4 Sudbury 3
Brantford 7 Flint 0
Saginaw 6 Windsor 3
