What was good for the Barrie Colts early on in their Eastern Conference quarter-final series, worked just as well for the host Hamilton Bulldogs Tuesday night at First Ontario Centre.
The Colts buried the Bulldogs with six power-play goals at home to take a 2-0 series lead, but on this night it was the Bulldogs making the Colts pay for their lack of discipline.
Hamilton scored four times with the man advantage to grab a 5-3 win and send the best-of-seven series back to Barrie Thursday night all even at 2-2.
"They were 4-for-6 on the power play and that was the problem," said Colts head coach Marty Williamson. "We took some bad penalties and didn't get some breaks on some calls, and they got some breaks on our power play.
"Five-on-five hockey, I thought we played pretty well. We did some good things out there, but when you give up four out of six that's a tough night with the PK (penalty kill)."
While the Colts would have loved nothing more than to return to Sadlon Arena with the opportunity to put the series to bed, the loss was uncharacteristic of their game and one that Braden Haché believes they'll be able to put behind them.
Only Saginaw (686) had fewer penalty minutes than Barrie in the OHL this season.
"It happens. Lots has happened and I think this is teaching us how to move forward," said Haché, whose rising shot from the point cut the Hamilton lead to 4-3 midway through the third period. "I don't think you'll see another one (like this) from us. We have a special group and a calm group.
"We're confident coming into the next game and no matter what, win or lose, we got to focus on the next game because it comes quick. We're going to look to do that."
The good news is that the Colts will have captain Brandt Clarke back for Game 5. The star defenceman, who has three goals and 11 points in the first three games, was suspended after receiving a kneeing major and misconduct in Game 3 on Sunday.
"Obviously, our best player we get back," said Williamson. "It's a big boost for us.
The Colts trailed the whole contest Tuesday. Cole Brown scored on the power play just 5:13 in before Declan McDonnell tied it 69 seconds later.
Jorian Donovan, on the power play, and Adrian Rebelo, put Hamilton back on top in the second, before Ethan Cardwell, with Barrie on the power play, cut the lead to one just 58 seconds into the third.
Nick Lardis, on the power play, beat Barrie goaltender Ben West, making his first start of the series, to restore Hamilton's two goal lead, before Haché got it to within one again midway through the frame.
Lardis' second power-play goal of the night, though, would ice the win with a little more than four minutes remaining.
"I think the biggest thing for us is making them play Barrie hockey and we veered away from that a little bit," said Haché. "We'll be able to regroup at home and force them to play Colts hockey.
"That's going to be hard for them to do. We noticed that in the first couple of games and that's going to be our game plan for the next game."
West, who turned 19 on Tuesday, stopped 29 of 34 shots. Anson Thornton had worked the first two games of the series in net for Barrie.
"Westie did OK for us," said Williamson. "He's played them hard all year, he played them well, actually. This thing looks like it's going six or seven, so we need both goalies to be ready, and we'll make a decision on who's going to go in the home game."
While the Bulldogs appear to have momentum after winning the last two games, Williamson sees it differently.
"Heading home is momentum," he said. "It's a two-out-of-three series now, and we get to play in our building, with our fans and these are the momentum swings the playoffs take, and they go back and forth. I'm not worried about their momentum, we'll be ready for Thursday."
The Colts return home, where they dominated the Bulldogs, outscoring them 16-5 in the opening two games.
"We'll regroup tomorrow, and we're going home where we're comfortable," said Haché. "We'll watch video, and we'll be prepared. It's just some adversity for our group and when we come out on top we'll know how to face it."
Game time on Thursday is 7:30 p.m.
ICE CHIPS: When forward Beau Jelsma returns to the series still remains a question. "He's in concussion protocol," said Williamson. "We'll see how skating goes, how practices go, before he's eligible to play." Sahil Panwar, who was handed a two-games suspension for a hit to Jelsma's head in Game 1, returned to the Hamilton lineup last night and had an assist. . . Former Barrie Colt goaltender Jet Greaves made his NHL debut Tuesday night for the Columbus Blue Jackets in Toronto and was fantastic, stopping 46 of 49 shots in a 4-2 loss. . . With Clarke, Punnett and Tiller recovering from shoulder surgery out of the lineup, forward Callum Chisholm was moved back to the blueline. Chisholm played the early part of the season there as well due to injuries. Ben Pickell, making his OHL playoff debut, replaced Chisholm up front. . . Hamilton outshot Barrie 34-31. . . Game 6 of the series goes Monday night in Hamilton. Game 7, if necessary, is back in Barrie on Tuesday.
banner image: Terry Wilson/OHL Images
